Just some info I was told

[HADES20]

The wonderful people at the dealer called an we had a pretty lengthy and fun conversation and so on but the told me that the sonic is recommended for a Carbon cleaning in the engine every 15k miles I'm not sure if its both or just the 1.8 (that's what mine is ) but I thought I'd share that with you all

 

[$ub$onic]

What do they mean by carbon cleaning

 

[River_Rat]

Interesting. You wouldn't happen to be near 15k would you?

 

[HADES20]

I'm like 400 something away from 14k but since my sonic hades had a trauma attack the cleaned him already

The service tech told me that the use a liquid they pour into the engine and it soaks and cleans everything up like the fuel injectors and so on, cuz apparently the fuel that the government regulates is of a higher octane or something

 

[River_Rat]

I have the 1.4, but I think I remember the owners manual specifically stating that such maintenance was not necessary. Or I could have made that up. I'm sure it couldn't hurt, though.

 

[firstorbit84]

Sure, blame it on the govt.

I'm sure most over the counter products should work too: sea foam, gum out, Lucas fuel treatment, etc

 

[HADES20]

Sure, blame it on the govt.

I'm sure most over the counter products should work too: sea foam, gum out, Lucas fuel treatment, etc

Yea that's what he said but I think he said its a 100 something dollar job for them to do it but since its that much ill try auto zone first

 

[sonic24740]

Sure, blame it on the govt.

I'm sure most over the counter products should work too: sea foam, gum out, Lucas fuel treatment, etc

Sea Foams the bomb i use that **** on everything....

 

[sx sonic]

Haveing been a tech that service is really only a benefit to people that use sh!tty gas and make frequent short trips, those conditions greatly increase the speed that carbon builds up in the intake.

What the service entails is usually hooking up a sprayer system to the intake that injects a cleaner in that breaks down the carbon and cleans it away. If carbon build up is a problem this will improve throttle response, mpg, and power.

If you use quality gas (exxon, chevron, shell, etc) and drive longer trips this service isn't neccesary until atleats 50k mi

 

[firstorbit84]

at least these products will work in cleaning the carbon out unlike direct injection motors

 

[Chrish051873]

Sea Foams the bomb i use that **** on everything....

I also love sea foam , it's in everything I own. Ecspecially the ATV's

 

[key1cc]

Haveing been a tech that service is really only a benefit to people that use sh!tty gas and make frequent short trips, those conditions greatly increase the speed that carbon builds up in the intake.

What the service entails is usually hooking up a sprayer system to the intake that injects a cleaner in that breaks down the carbon and cleans it away. If carbon build up is a problem this will improve throttle response, mpg, and power.

If you use quality gas (exxon, chevron, shell, etc) and drive longer trips this service isn't neccesary until atleats 50k mi

What about sunoco and BP? They are the closest gas stations to me....also does the distance matter if you reach engine operating temperature? And drive hard?

 

[Preloader]

I use E85 to clean my injectors and valves.

 

[mitdr774]

The injector cleaning is just another "upsell" at the dealer to try and get some money out of you. I only ever sold them on the rare occasion that I honestly though it would do some good. That didnt happen very often.

They are probably using the BG44K three part kit. On a 15K mile car I doubt it will do anything other than transfer money from your wallet to theirs. I dont know if BG still does it, but they used to have a token in the can. every token was worth a set amount. The area BG rep would pay us for them, a kickback if you want to call it that.

 

[slitzell]

What about sunoco and BP? They are the closest gas stations to me....also does the distance matter if you reach engine operating temperature? And drive hard?

Sunoco sucks dick.

 

[firstorbit84]

Hate to tell you but all the gas brands are selling the same thing. the only difference is the additive that they usually only put in the premium grades, like v-power, techron, etc

 

[slitzell]

And the amount of ethanol. But i disagree, i am a believer that a difference in quality does exist.

It is like saying all produce is the same, but i would never buy mine from walmart

 

[JohnT]

Don't spray solvent into to your intake/throttle body. Carbon buildup on the walls of the intake does not pose a problem. The washed through incompletely combusted carbon and solvent will, however, foul your catalytic converter in a hurry. In addition I would be careful with what you send through the plastic intake manifold as many of the organic solvents they use will soften and potentially dissolve the plastic.

This service is just for profit and makes you feel good because you are "cleaning" your engine.

Since the car is not direct injection you can use injector cleaner with the gas if you want to keep the valves clean. It may help but it will probably do very little.

And the primary cause of the carbon buildup is actually from the EGR system. The exhaust gas is recirculated on rundown to cool the cylinders to reduce NOx emissions (NOx production increases as a function of combustion temp). Now don't go ripping your EGR out it won't make the car faster. And leave the damn cats on the car too.

 

[HADES20]

And the amount of ethanol. But i disagree, i am a believer that a difference in quality does exist.

It is like saying all produce is the same, but i would never buy mine from walmart

Same here I feel there's a difference aswell bp gas burns quicker in mine atleast it feels like it does

 

[sx sonic]

toptiergas.com list fuels that have been confirmed to be of sound quality. The suppliers listed are a good starting point for maintaining clean intake valves, effecint running and maximizing injector life.

I am also of the opinion that not all gasoline is the same. It is true that many stations receive the exact same fuel blend, there are different base stocks, additives and refineries along with the comoanies quality control. Haveing some friends that work at ExxonMobile and BP I know for a fact that atleast these 2 companies have different gas. Additives can also have a substantial impact on how a fuel performs (the differences generally take time to become noticable in the form of better running, cleaner valves, healthier fuel components).

Water is a basic compound compared to the complex chemistry of gasoline. Is all water you drink the same (bottle, draft, well, city, etc)? I think that's a pretty good analogy. Some of it is the same, most are similar and some are bad.

I'm big on preventitive maintanence and use top tier fuel (shell in my case) and regularly use a reputable fuel treatment (lucas) and so far have not had issues with any of my vehicles. I have worked on a few fairly low mileage cars that had rough running that was determined to be poor fuel, some of these was the result of the person useing a know poor supplier for gas. We tell them to use good gas and run injector cleaners every once in a while and send them on there way. So make what you want out of that