Does Techron Concentrate Plus really work?

I know we can't go back, but I wonder if the Techron would have been effective at the soft carbon that hadn't baked on back at the beginning of the first video in this series? To be honest I don't think it's something ChrisFix or I will ever test.

To catch everyone up, ChrisFix is doing multiple fuel injector cleaner tests on a engine with some carbon build up. He has a bore camera so he can show evidence, rather than just listening to the engine or having a feel for his truck that can't be proven or shown on camera.

Think about it. Techron Concentrate Plus really doesn't look effective on the hard build up. For the price the Gumout did pretty similar work with a lot less cost on his earlier video. Plus, I see Gumout on sale at AutoZone...I don't know how often, but when on sale you can get almost 4 bottles of Gumout to the Techron at full price. Sure the Techron goes on sale too, but usually by not nearly as much.

On impulse before a 2,200 mile trip I did in my truck I ran Gumout Regane and the old Techron together. From other subscribers of ChrisFix's YouTube channel, I believe I actually got the PEA that techron used to show on the MSDS. The current MSDS for Techron doesn't show PEA anymore. That seems to be the cleaner of choice that actually has scientists finding data and publishing journals on it.

The results I could really feel came in about 1/2 through the trip. I filled up on gas pretty often and didn't get my tank low so math says that since I had double concentration between the two cleaners that it probably took half the trip for the solution to get pretty diluted.

I really wish I had a bore camera to see the before and after. I will say this though. It normally takes several thousand miles for my trucks oil to get some black in it. My oil was fresh before the trip and after it was as dirty as if I had driven more like 4000 miles. It's my only indicator that cleaning happened that's visual other than the experience of the engine really opening up, getting smoother, and sounding quiter.

To be fair, ChrisFix did a much better test than I did. I could show the results. When I ran Gumout Regane in my 1999 Chevy Prizm right after the water decarbonization article I wrote, I really didn't feel any difference. Since I had bought it as a buy one get one free, I figured why not put it in the truck? My MPG did improve throughout my journey. And the biggest changes were during the time that I still had a significant concentration left of the Gumout Regane and Techron Concentrate Plus.

Now remember, I felt quite the difference that I used to hear from friends all the time back in the day when I bought this Techron bottle. That was when it still had PEA. It's what convinced me to even put it in my truck. All my friends that thought it worked before have stopped buying it, and having seen the current MSDS myself, it doesn't have PEA. It makes me wonder if PEA has gotten more expensive. Seeing as Techron Concentrate Plus is one of the most expensive products on the shelf at my local store, I think they're just trying to make money on a reputation for PEA that used to be in the product. Well, even without bore scopes, all my friends have stopped buying it.

These videos get me to say a lot and I hope my personal experience may be of benefit to another. It's really too bad that I can only speak from how the engine sounded. I should have taken some screen shots at least from my Torque App before and after I did see a HP/torque bump, but I was also at lower elevation later in the trip, so having thicker atmosphere may have been the cause. Maybe that would have turned up some more evidence. I did see significant changes on my OBD II data during my trip. I haven't yet gone through many, many fuel receipts that I did MPG in a thorough way, but I'll be sure to report back with more detail.

Just for reference:
I was hauling a full load in a full sized truck bed on a 2004 Nissan Frontier XE with the V6 3.3 option with no supercharger. Also, when it was very cold out my engine seemed to ping some. My knock sensor went bad and it's on back order. I'm doing a knock sensor location mod once my parts from Bosch are no longer on back order so I'll be sure to report any MPG changes! Nissan put the knock sensor deep under the intakes so the proper job is a full days work, while the mod only takes 15-45 minutes. More to come. :)

Get more tips on how to improve your truck's or car's miles per gallon on my main website. Or watch my own video and reactions to a fuel additive. Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant:

by AutoBravado