Learned in a BMW magazine "tech" section that BMW markets a fuel additive designed to "clean" fuel injectors and intake valves. This BMW compound is similar to the Chevron Technolon (sp) gas additive and the Red Line SI-1 fuel additive. The recommendation in the magazine was to use either the Red Line or BMW fuel additive product on a long term basis to help preserve the performance potential of the engine.

Do others have knowledge or experience with this type of product?

I purchased a case of the "BMW fuel additive S", part no. 82-14-1-467-739 and plan to use one small bottle with each tank of gas. Wish me luck. Never had a fuel injected car before. I was just adjusting to the synthetic oil, the extended service intervals, and no leaks. Now, I have to cope to "cleaning" my injectors and intake valves.

Regards to all,

John Petrich in Seattle

 

Hmm, all my cars since the late 80's have been fuel injected. With the 87 truck I used to add the cleaners, but by the mid 90's there was no need since Texaco, now Shell, and Mobil started to use the additives in California.

My brother who works for Mercedes told me to use a couple of tanks of the high octane gas with the additives and that would be good enough, of course both Mercedes and BMW say to use the high octane in any case. In the high altitude of Colorado I use 87 instead of 89 so they car will burn the gas with a couple of tanks of 89 once in awhile. The car has been running great with over 26k on it.

What does anybody else have to say?

 

Hi,
This is my first post, but I have been secretly lurking in the background for some months. I would say that a bottle of additive every fill up would be too much. I have heard lots of nasty stories that had the word additive in them.

Mr Whoa

 

In my experiences, and talking with mechanics about this subject, additives do not work very well at keeping your injectors very clean. It does help a little though. I would not use more than one bottle every 3,000 miles or so. Now what I do is add every 15,000 miles or so. And if I feel like blowing a few bucks, nothing works better than taking it to a shop and having them hook it up to an injector cleaner. That is the only way to keep your injectors nice and clean. The additives in gas nowadays contains ethanol and methanol, which is some of the main ingredients in injector cleaners. So I'd say save your money on little injector wonder cleaners and have it professionally done every 50-75,000 miles or so if you feel the need.

 

Since we're using high premium fuel anyway (or at least we're supposed to!), almost all major gas companies have additives and cleaners already in their premium gas. Therefore, I wouldn't think it's necessary to put it in our MINI's but a bottle every 5-15k miles probably wouldn't hurt.

 

Teampajn,

Thanks for the input. What is an injector cleaning machine? Is it necessary to remove the injectors from the cylinder head for them to be cleaned or what?

The recommendation that I received was straight from the BMW corporation party line, the Service Manager. The additive is not a "cleaner" as such, but rather an additive to the gas that is supposed to reduce build up throughout the combustion chamber. I am familiar with similar products because they are also recommended by outboard engine manufacturers for the same reason. He told me either to commit to using the additive over the long term or not bother, because you wouldn't expect to see any particular short term "cleaning" effect from using a bottle here or there. BMW specifies using the additive with every tank. He said that the BMW product is the "same" as Chevron "Technoron" (sp) that is added to their pump gas. He recommended using Chevron gas if it is available. That's the information I have regarding the BMW product from the Service Manager. Interesting, isn't it.

I'm committed and am going to give it a try. We'll see.

Regards,
John Petrich in Seattle

 

I read the same article in Roundel, the BMWCCA club magazine. When I had my Porsche, it was recommended to use one bottle of the Chevron Techron injector cleaner every other tankfull. Porsche injectors were pretty sensitive. Costco even sells Techron. I would recommend using brand name gas, and rotate between them, and use an additive perhaps on a monthly basis. Every tankfull is excessive IMHO. I rotate 91 premium unleaded between Chevron and 76. I would never use less than 91 octane in a supercharged vehicle. The knock sensors aren't fast enough to protect your engine if you use low octane on a regular basis (I can't speak to higher altitude). There have been many posts on this subject.

 

I have been using Red Line SI-1 Fuel Injection additive for 5+ years in all my vehicles. I ad enough to treat 10 gallons (indicator marks on side of bottle) with every fill up regardless of amount of gas it takes to fill up. Sometimes its 12-13 gal. sometimes only 7-8 gal. I figure it balances out. Never had a problem with dirty or plugged injectors. Cost isn't that much as one bottle treats 100 gallons.

 

Apexer,

Thanks for the information. I tend to follow the manufacturer's recommendations, so I too, will go with regular usage. Hope others can share their experience.

Gosharks,

Appreciate the info on Costco. Always had shunned this type of stuff until I read that Roundel article. Well, we'll see.

Regards,

John Petrich in Seattle

 

Back about 25 years ago, BMW was having a problem with drivability with the 320i’s of the day. The fuel injection system was Bosch K-Jetronic. It was a mechanical fuel injection system, the precursor to today’s computer controlled fully electronic fuel injection systems (we have come a long way!). BMW sold Techron through the dealer network and advised its use on a regular basis or to run Chevron gasoline which already had the additive. It did cure the drivability problem. I don’t know what the Bosch K-Jetronic problem was but the additive solved the problem. Just a side note, my MCS never had the stumble, yo-yo or bog (except at extremely low rpm) and I always ran Chevron, only because it is the closest (and cheapest) major gas station to me (24.6 miles away). This is not a endorsement of Chevron, only my experience.

Jerry

 

jerrygee,

Appreciate your experience. You responded exactly to the question that I put to the group. I haven't had any of the driveablility problems that others have complained about and I was using Shell gas with no additives. I will use our local Chevron station for the gas and add the BMW additive.

The BMW site: http://www.bimmerforums.com has some postings on this subject. To find it, will need to search under "fuel additives".

Seems that there is no down side beyond the extra expense.

Regards,
John Petrich in Seattle