1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

TC-W3 as a fuel treatment

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by richbrvd1987, Jan 23, 2011.

Page 2 of 2
  1. richbrvd1987

    richbrvd1987 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2010
    26
    0
    0
    Location:
    West Hollywood
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes, but not in the sump. I promise upon the life of my warranty there will still be an ample supply of M1 5w-30 in the engine (3.5 quart to be precise). I'm simply adding the TCW-3 to the gas at a 500:1 ratio to act as a fuel system and Upper cylinder lubricant. With all the ethanol and the coming increase to 15%, which I'm sure California will be quick to adopt, I can't help but agree that some sort of lubrication for the fuel delivery system would be beneficial. The reason for TCW-3 is that it is inexpensive, a little less than MMO, and far less than Lucas. Because it meets the TCW-3 water cooled 2 stroke rating, it is ashless and should cause no harm to the exaust system, especially at 1:500. Finally, it also contains detergents that apparently survive the combustion process as the bottle states it's designed to keep exaust ports clean. Most users also report that the black coating inside their tail pipes clear up as they use the 2 stroke. People that have used it in emissions testing states have never failed a test while using it and some have reported lower emissions when/after using the TCW-3 in their gas. Supposedly it has a high BTU rating and would produce hotter exaust gasses. That would be beneficial in not only warming our priis faster and getting to stage 4 but if it did results in hotter exaust gas then it would get the cat hotter and faster making it work more efficiently.

    That's why I wanted to try it. The reason for the post was to see if anyone else had fiddled with it and found the magic ratio number. Different manufacturers engines seems to benefit most at different mixes somewhere between 1:400 and 1:600, and I'm sure our cars are no different. Instead of having to spend a year trying to pin it down (I only use 3/4 of a tank of gas a month on average), I was hoping that someone else had.
     
    #21 richbrvd1987, Jan 29, 2011
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    So we are back to "Could it have other mystical powers undreamed of by modern science?"

    Upper cylinder lubricant is meaningless there are no moving parts in the upper cylinder. In fact your piston has an 'oil control ring' to prevent oil getting into the upper cylinder. 2 strokes don't as they never have excess lubricant in the lower cylinder.

    THE OIL CONTROL RING « RET-Monitor

    There are no moving parts in your gas lines either.

    I really have no problem with you selling this snake oil, so long as you don't do it here.
     
    #22 JimboPalmer, Jan 29, 2011
  3. richbrvd1987

    richbrvd1987 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2010
    26
    0
    0
    Location:
    West Hollywood
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm hardly searching for "mystical powers". I'm not selling snake oil. I'm not selling a thing. I posted a question and You've done nothing to answer it.

    Thank You, but leave the posting for those trying to help answer the OP not insult people or their experiments.
     
    #23 richbrvd1987, Jan 29, 2011
  4. viclavigne

    viclavigne New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2010
    76
    21
    0
    Location:
    Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    In general terms as far as I understnd the principles involved, the lubrication is to reduce the friction of the piston as it moves in the cylinder / to help create a better seal for the rings to decrease piston blow-by and also slightly increase compression / and to add lubricity to the fuel pump itself.

    The other properties are cleaning - to help prevent carbon build-up or reduce it if its already present, and finally to help stabilize the fuel in some manner, especially with our current offerings of ethanol-enriched fuel products.

    TCW3 has not been developed or marketed for any of these uses, but experience and trial and error seems to have played a role in using it for this in automotive engines....... no snake oil marketing campaign exists for this use.

    It has as competition such additives as MMO, seafoam, and FP60 which also provide lubricity and cleaning properties. If you would like to believe these products are snake oil, then you should stop here and ignore the rest of this thread. These products work in similar manner, but generally cost a bit more than TCW3. Of course their manufacturers do make claims that their products can improve engine performace and efficiency, so if that is the criteria for labeling something snake oil, there's your victims. My personal experiene using them (MMO and seafoam, haven't tried FP60) is that they do provide a benefit to the fuel and the engine smoothness.
     
    #24 viclavigne, Jan 29, 2011
  5. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2004
    14,816
    2,497
    66
    Location:
    Far-North Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Jimbo,
    The OP has never attempted to sell anything. If he and others wish to personally endorse something that is later proven to be a complete hoax, let them.

    As has been stated numerous times on PriusChat, adults drive cars and adults should take complete responsibility for what they do to their cars. If an adult chooses to add something to their Prius or modify their Prius, it is their right to do so as the owner and ultimately responsible entity.

    Should anything detrimental happen you reserve the right to say "I told you so". Leave it at that.
     
    #25 TonyPSchaefer, Jan 29, 2011
  6. richbrvd1987

    richbrvd1987 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2010
    26
    0
    0
    Location:
    West Hollywood
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thank You Tony. As an update, it's been 274 miles and half a tank of fuel. My driving times suck, when I leave for work it's noon and the traffic around lunch time down Sunset isn't the best when it comes to getting good mileage, stop and go from one light to the next. On the other side of the coin, I leave work 12 to 16 hours later and it's dark and cold (40s tonight) so I'm more than half way home before I ever get warmed up and stopped long enough for stage 4.

    At this point I would usually be in the lower 47's but when I parked the car in the driveway at 2:23am, it was at 48.3

    Some of You will of course tell me I've changed my driving habits even though I haven't noticed and maybe your right. However I don't feel I have and it's been colder this last week than any other time of the winter so my numbers shouldn't be going up AND honestly if adding a little 2 stroke is enough to add 8mpg to my driving then sooo be it. It more than pays for the oil plus some
     
    #26 richbrvd1987, Feb 4, 2011
  7. JOU

    JOU Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2021
    3
    1
    0
    Location:
    Tennessee
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Hi this threat is old but maybe some one has new data about the good or bad for the carbon built or oil consumption I used this in other engines but in 50 to 1 or 100 to 1 never in 500 to 1.
     
    #27 JOU, Jun 1, 2021
  8. koco

    koco Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2021
    113
    38
    0
    Location:
    Las Vegas
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I would buy that an additive could improve the spray pattern of the fuel injectors by cleaning them, and that it could lubricate the upper cylinder area and flow downwards onto the piston rings and maybe clean some of the deposits that make them lose contact with cylinder walls. Some users have shown with an endoscope that the piston tops have been cleaned somewhat by additives.

    After using a few ounces of automatic transmission fluid in a full tank of gas on a long trip once, I noticed my V6 (not in a Prius) ran much better overall. Transmission fluid is high in detergents and also makes a very good rust penetrant. It Is very good for restoring plastic trim pieces that are faded on the exterior.

    With Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant, and ATF I noticed a slight decrease in fuel economy.
     
    #28 koco, Oct 21, 2021
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 2 of 2