Billyhuf

I've always adding a bottle of Techron concentrate to my gas tank every 2500 miles. I've recently purchased a new Cayman GTS with direct injection. Is the use of Techron still a good idea or is it even necessary?

Thx, Billy

Spokayman

Officially, Porsche does not recommend usage of any fuel additives.
That said, Techron is an additive that comes in every gallon of Chevron fuel, so I don't know what harm it could cause with occasional use. Its really just an injector cleaner.
I doubt that it is necessary if you are running a good quality tier 1 fuel the rest of the time.

Perhaps someone with more knowledge about direct injection can weigh in on the subject...?

LexVan

Billy, do the Techron shuffle BEFORE every oil change. Use high quality 93 from a busy station. Done.

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Macster

There is no need to use Techron that often. The stuff in the bottle is supposed to be pretty strong stuff and there is some concern it can erode fuel injector tips/nozzles. The spray pattern for DFI engines is particularly critical so any errosion of the tips/nozzle holes is to be avoided.

In fact there is really no need to use Techron out of the bottle at all if you buy a top tier premium gasoline (with a good detergent additive package) from a busy station -- to ensure the gasoline is very fresh -- and drive the car enough. The engine will keep itself clean if you give it half a chance.

Every so often take the car out on a nice 40 to 50 mile drive. Even at highway speeds this will be long enough to clean the engine some you probably will notice the difference in how the engine feels afterwards.

Marine Blue

My local dealer is suggesting that the DI Porsches need an injector cleaner every 3-4 years to clean out the coking build up in the engine. But I tend to agree with Macster that a long drive and really winding out the engine is enough to clear it of any buildup.

westwest888

Just fire some 100 octane in there once a while.

fhp911

I've read someplace (don't know where) that Techron should NOT be used with the DFI engines.

Any comments about this?

LexVan

Two of the smartest Porsche DFI 9A1 engine people I know say to use Techron before an oil change. Jake Raby and Charles Navarro. And a 3rd supporter for Porsche engines in general is our own Steve Weinner.

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Macster

Why? The off the shelf premium gasoline has all the detergents necessary to keep the engine free of any deposits, if the gasoline is given half a chance to work.

The engine can't clean itself if it isn't run.

And if some extra cleaning required I think a bottle of Techron is way cheaper than even a half tank of 100 octane gasoline and a heck of a lot easier to come by.

Macster

My only comment is to consult the owners manual and if there is a caution about using Techron or any injector cleaner then reconsider using Techron.

However, I note at least one major brand of gasoline comes with Techron (though at a strength less than that obtained by dumping a bottle of the stuff to 10 gallons of gasoline) and Porsche doesn't advise this gasoline be avoided. In fact, the gasoline, Chevron, is the gasoline I understand Porsche uses when it certifies its engines for fuel and emissions here in the USA.

For DFI engines there is as I touched upon in an earlier post a concern about erosion of the injector fuel tips. Fuel spray pattern for a DFI engine is super critical and one wants to avoid any possibility of affecting this. I don't think Techron by itself will harm the injector tips. The real risk of damage comes from if the tips build up deposits and then a cleaner is used, as the deposits are removed this can take with it small particles of injector material. Over time this will lead to erosion of the tips and the holes and affect the spray patterns.

The real secret is to use the car/engine in such a way to avoid this build up at all, not to let it build up then remove it.

The simplest way is to use a top tier fuel, premium grade, and buy from a busy station to get the freshest gasoline, then drive the car more than a few miles once in a while. I mean it is not like one is being forced to shove burning splinters of bamboo under his fingernails to avoid engine deposit build up.

If one can't or won't drive his car beyond a couple of miles once in a while then using a bottle of Techron before an oil/filter change -- at least once a year for cars driven low miles -- would be the 2nd best course of action.

I guess I'm old school in that I like to keep the engine free of deposits and the engine free of (possible) sludge build up organically.

By this I mean using the engine and servicing the engine in ways that keep the engine free of deposits and the sludge away rather than letting deposits build up and letting sludge accumulate and then trying to remove these after the fact. It comes down to I would rather drive my cars a bit rather than have to go to the trouble of buying a bottle of Techron and adding it to the tank and driving the car some -- the engine still has to be run for Techron to work -- and remembering to do this before an oil/filter service is due.

Billyhuf

Thanks for the advice and comments. It's not a daily driver but I usually put at least 3,000 miles a year on my weekend cars and always use Chevron. Just curious, why is the Techron best used right before an oil change? Billy

Marine Blue

The thought is that when adding Techron into the gas you will remove deposits and these deposits interact with the oil. So now the oil has contaminants in it that will run through your engine until the next oil change.

On a separate note, Stabil advertises that it also has a cleaning action if used in higher concentrations. So for those of us that store their cars over the winter and use stabil are we cleaning the engine to some degree?

j patterson

I don't think Techron in proper concentrations will hurt our or any direct injection engine but it will be of lesser value compared to it's use in a port injected engine. Detergents such as Techron help to keep deposits from building up on intake valves due to the oil vapor from positive crankcase ventilation. (PCVs or our AOS) In a direct injected engine the injected fuel is downstream of the intake valves and thus has no ability to clean them. Some DFI engines like Audi's 4.2 V* in the RS4 have had problems with carbon buildup in the intake manifolds and on the intake valves that cause rough running and misfires and require disassembly and manual cleaning. I have not heard of these issues with Porsche DFI engines so perhaps our AOS systems are more effective in trapping oil vapor prior to the intake. (At least when they are working)

I have also heard of Techron additive being effective in restoring function of fuel faulty fuel level senders when the contacts have become fouled and start sending false levels to the fuel gauge.

Regardless my 2010 CS with 9A1 engine has 62000 miles on it now and runs perfectly. Iran my previous Audi 140000 miles with never any fuel related issues. I use top tier fuel (usually Shell but sometimes Chevron) and I do believe that Techron helps to keep injectors clean and prevents their fouling)

Flat6 Innovations

We have been seeing intake system and cylinder head coking since the DI cars first came out. It doesn't matter what fuel is used.
The real issue is linked to engine oils not being specifically developed for DI engines. I've learned this with Lake Speed at Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oils as we have worked to develop several specific DI compatible engine oils.

Remember, with DI we no longer need secondary air systems, and thats also a contributing factor.

sjfehr

Is that why Porsche changed their oil change recommendation to much shorter intervals with the DI engines than before? Are there any "better" oils or additive packages out for DI yet?