BG44K vs. Nissan OEM Fuel Additive

[jbillion]

I just got an e-mail from everythinginfiniti.com with their monthly specials. One of the items on special this mont is the Factory Nissan Fuel System Cleaner.

DIRECTIONS: Empty entire contents into fuel tank and fill tank with gasoline. One 20 ounce container may be used to treat up to 20 gallons of fuel. Do not use on a regular basis, for maximum benefit use once every 3,000 miles.

I've seen many board members rave about BG44K, but no one mentioned the Nissan fuel additive, has anyone used these and how did you notice an increase in power?

I have ~72K miles and have been noticing rough idle on start-up and a slight decrease in power and performance. I follow a 3,750 OCI religiously. I was thinking also thinking of having the dealer replace the spark plugs at my next change.

[szh]

My understanding (without real knowledge) is that the Nissan additive is essentially their version of the BG44K - but it may be the weaker version (as sold by Chevron in parts stores). I have asked the question in the past, but not received enough clarity to be certain.

However, no harm in using it. Just don't pay an arm and a leg for it! If you do anything beyond BG44K, then ask for a powered rail flush using the right equipment that many dealers do have.

Z

[fiveliterbeater]

i thought i read somewhere here to never add fuel additives to our VK motors.

[szh]

i thought i read somewhere here to never add fuel additives to our VK motors.

Correct, normally, it is not recommended to use an additive all the time. Or too often.

However, for the occasional injector cleaning (doing it a couple of tankfuls of gas just before an oil change) is very helpful. The symptoms where I would do it are: stumbling, excessive pinging when accelerating - due to carbon build-up.

Only once (or at most twice - if the first one does not cure the engine improper behavior) a session every oil change interval - which, for me, is 3750 miles.

Separately: using ISOHEET (not regular HEET) occasionally - maybe every third to fourth tank full - to remove water content from the gasoline, is a good thing! This is not an additive per se, just isopropyl alcohol based water remover.

Z

[jbillion]

They are on sale for 12.99 for a 20 oz treatment for 1 tank. I'm gonna order some and I'll report back to the group.

[M45Caliber]

FYI -- check out eBay for BG44K: that's about what I paid per can for a 6-pack of the BG stuff... actually, I just went back and checked and it was about $11./can when I bought 6 cans. With 4 cars, it goes fast! Time to find another seller.