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Terraclean diesel

L

luckypedro79

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Location
Shildon, Near Darligton
Car
Accord i-ctdi EX
Car has been getting a bit smokey recently and was starting to develop a slight misfire. I stay pretty on top of self servicing and cleaned out as much of the intake system as I could a few months back including the swirl valves and egr. My car also has stage 2 remap with egr delete courtesy of Fahad.
Saw the terraclean system on wheeler dealers a few weeks back so I did a bit of searching an found the diesel version which a few guys with jags have been raving about so thought I would give it a try. Nearest garage to me is bout 20 miles away so headed up after work. Job took about an hour all told which included disconnecting the fuel system before the pump and having the car run from the terraclean machine. Car smelled a bit 'fuity' during the process but no visible ***** so I was a bit dubious. However.....what a difference! My car is quieter, smoother, faster and doesn't obscure the whole village when you floor it. Well impressed. Loads of research into this online but I can highly recommend. My cr has 144000 on the clock but feels like much of that has been removed now. Brilliant!
 
Hi Pete - that's really interesting, got any more info on it mate?
 
Hi Pete,

Sounds interesting. How much did it cost? Also what fuel do you usually top up with? Finally (last question honest :)) it would be interesting to know if you see any change in MPG.

Cheers,
Jeff
 
Terraclean have also got a Facebook page which keeps you updated on all the new places (normally garages) where you can get this done. Still waiting for somewhere in south Wales, closest to me at the moment is Bristol.

People are raving about this system though, i think this time we should believe the hype so to speak. :)
 
The cost was 95 quid which isn't bad I suppose when you factor in that some fuel treatments can cost a fir bit an this treatment lasted over an hour with the car running at about 2000rpm. Early indications are n improvement in mpg of bout 6-7 but this is by the computer and a bit erly to tell. I usually use shell vpower but have experimented with others to see any difference. Will post further experiences in next few days or weeks.
 
luckypedro79 said:
The cost was 95 quid which isn't bad I suppose when you factor in that some fuel treatments can cost a fir bit an this treatment lasted over an hour with the car running at about 2000rpm. Early indications are n improvement in mpg of bout 6-7 but this is by the computer and a bit erly to tell. I usually use shell vpower but have experimented with others to see any difference. Will post further experiences in next few days or weeks.
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Excuse typos please as I am fast typing on an iPad!
 
^^ and you're a flippin teacher :D
 
That is very interesting indeed and I will be more than happy to go for it :) Just sent them a message asking about the nearest centre, eager to test them out, oh yeah! Will let you know after the treatment for sure. If it works wonders they deserve a good feedback. Dan
 
Interesting stuff guys and its for petrols as well :rolleyes:
 
Showing my ignorance here but what happens to all the crud thats dislodged. Does it pass into the engine, will it harm the cat or dpf where fitted, even if it is disolved. Just wondering
 
F6HAD said:
^^ and you're a flippin teacher :D
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I know shocking huh? If Gove has his way I will be till about 90 as well!

The crud fom the engine is burnt off. I was expecting plumes of black but didn't see much really just a strong whif of diesel ness every now and again!
 
TIPEX9 said:
Terraclean have also got a Facebook page which keeps you updated on all the new places (normally garages) where you can get this done. Still waiting for somewhere in south Wales, closest to me at the moment is Bristol.

People are raving about this system though, i think this time we should believe the hype so to speak. :)
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...and there is a good deal of hype, but no mention of scientifically controlled trials. Testimonies are all very well, but people who have paid money for something are often overly receptive to signs of apparent benefit (and suppliers tend not to put the negative testimonies on the website!). There may be subtle reasons for apparent improvements gained, unconnected with the obvious treatment - for example, my car's performance and MPG after using BG244 always seems improved, but I know that some of this is due to the added volume in the tank plus the added cetane booster.

I personally wouldn't use this treatment without knowing what the stuff was, and whether it might harm 'delicate' components such as the high pressure pump or injectors. Snake oil might be an ingredient.
 
Jon_G said:
...and there is a good deal of hype, but no mention of scientifically controlled trials. Testimonies are all very well, but people who have paid money for something are often overly receptive to signs of apparent benefit (and suppliers tend not to put the negative testimonies on the website!). There may be subtle reasons for apparent improvements gained, unconnected with the obvious treatment - for example, my car's performance and MPG after using BG244 always seems improved, but I know that some of this is due to the added volume in the tank plus the added cetane booster.

I personally wouldn't use this treatment without knowing what the stuff was, and whether it might harm 'delicate' components such as the high pressure pump or injectors. Snake oil might be an ingredient.
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Agreed that we need to be a touch sceptical but there are also a number of vids on YouTube which explain the science. I know that my car feels a ton better and it wasn't bad before! I will keep reporting back.
 
luckypedro79 said:
Agreed that we need to be a touch sceptical but there are also a number of vids on YouTube which explain the science. I know that my car feels a ton better and it wasn't bad before! I will keep reporting back.
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Car still seems much better and got 40 miles more from last tank. Watch this space.
 
If you looked for scientific evidence on everything, we'd never move forwards. The whole purpose of a forum is to share experience and firsthand knowledge. Anyone can read stuff for themselves online, and you can bet your life if something has a negatve effect, there will be tons of people talking about it.

I would rather people try stuff for themselves and make up their own minds before shooting new ideas down so quickly.

Besides Jon, I'm sure I remember reading of your fuel problem woes and you tried allsorts to recitfy the problem. In the end it was the BG244 that apparantley fixed it... and I don't believe you ever ascertained a 'scientific' explanation for it?
 
Yeah, it does sound logical to me! Engines can accumulate crud inside over the years and miles, and the more this builds up in your engine then the less efficient it will run. Cleaning it is a good thing :)

I would however love to see an old engine taken apart, showing all the crud inside. Then have it rebuilt, run through this process, then stripped again to see the results and directly compare to the previous photos. I'll be doing a low tech equivalent of this on my Golf, ie. stripping the engine at some point and comparing it to old photos of it stripped in order to see if Shell V-Power really does clean out your engine. Feels like it has!

At any rate, the terraclean system looks great. I've only got 55K on my Prelude but I'm very tempted to see if I can book it in anywhere local!!
 
F6HAD said:
If you looked for scientific evidence on everything, we'd never move forwards. The whole purpose of a forum is to share experience and firsthand knowledge. Anyone can read stuff for themselves online, and you can bet your life if something has a negatve effect, there will be tons of people talking about it.

I would rather people try stuff for themselves and make up their own minds before shooting new ideas down so quickly.

Besides Jon, I'm sure I remember reading of your fuel problem woes and you tried allsorts to recitfy the problem. In the end it was the BG244 that apparantley fixed it... and I don't believe you ever ascertained a 'scientific' explanation for it?
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Please don't focus too much on my use of the work 'scientific', I could just have readily used 'engineering'... it was the 'controlled trial' part of my previous post that I thought was more important. When a manufacturer truly believes in their product and wants to demonstrate the benefit, then the best way to do this is to engage the services of an independant tester to use the product in a controlled environment using a series of, ideally, double-blind, parametric trials (the magazine 'Which' is a good example of an independent tester) and then publish these results. Without this scrutiny, results are at the mercy of personal testimony, which is unreliable for many, many reasons. It is disappointing that those selling Terraclean haven't done this. But, if enough members try it and report back honestly regarding their experiences then I accept that this could be interesting. I don't really expect this treatment to have a negative effect, but maybe any positive effect will be temporary?

You are correct, Fahad, about my use of BG244 which I refer to just a few posts up this thread (and express some doubts about actual performance benefits) and - going back to my original fuel pump problem - I'm not happy that I had to use it as a last resort. I certainly couldn't market it as a cure as I still worry that the problem will come back!

I ***ure you all that I'm not here simply to pour scorn upon your hopes, it's just that I can't put over 30 years of engineering trials and testing experience to one side and get caught up in all the excitement, but I will keep watching. I will now shut up, as it appears I may be causing upset.
 
Jon - sorry, that's not the case at all. Everyone's opinion is valid, and I do agree with you that the more information and experience people share over their use of these products, the wider and more defined our view becomes.

Keep the opinions coming - I was just sharing mine, they are no more valid than yours or anyone elses.

Cheers
 
This whole area of additives and treatments is a minefield. I can't comment on the Terraclean system as I have no knowledge of it. Some things do work, for example BG244 when used properly. If you want to see a demonstration of this go to the Autoinform website - http://www.autoinform.co.uk/magazine-issues/ai-issue-archive-features-list/ - and have a look at the first article. Unfortunately much of what is sold as improving your engine's running is snake oil.

Scientific evidence would be the ideal but, unfortunately, it is incredibly expensive and time-consuming to produce. Having been involved with some testing for one of the major oil companies I know the cost can easily run into several £millions. Even then you cannot be sure you've found all the problems, for example some issues will only show up after many thousands of miles usage.

At the end of the day it's your choice whether to use such products. Just don't expect miracles.

Alan
 
This is the problem with additives - there are no independent long term test results available and the people using them are the guinea pigs. At best you can hope for a tiny little bit of improvement, a good result is just that no damage is done, but if your engine is knackered then that's tough luck.

I still remember when Slick 50 was the thing everyone should use - it turned out to be expensive snake oil with a hint of Teflon that can build up and restrict oilways.
 
I think that's the ratio - maybe someone who uses it can confirm for sure
 
Its a 1:200 mix so if you're putting 50 litres in your aiming for 250 ml of 2 stroke.
 
Thanks for that Matt
 
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