Carb Defender Additive

[Dale M.]

I just happen upon an article on Carb Defender Fuel Additive for older cars with carburetors. This is an expensive product from Joe Gibbs Racing. We all worry about the Ethanol in today's gas and how to protect our cars. Does anyone know any technical details of how this works and if it really does what the company states? You can find it online at: http://www.drivenracingoil.com/dro/c...case-of-6html/

[Patrick H.]

Re: Carb Defender Additive

This is an expensive product from Joe Gibbs Racing.

They all are.

Note that the photos on their website are of cars allegedly running E85. Last time I checked that wasn't a good idea for the majority of the cars on the road, and current pump fuels have only up to 10% ethanol, or E10.
You run E85 in my 2003 truck and it's not going to go that well either.

Personally I think it's more snake oil again trying to feed on the worry that some people have regarding their older cars and fuel, oil, etc.

[Michael W.]

Re: Carb Defender Additive

We all worry about the Ethanol in today's gas

Not if you see past the hucksterism about the sky falling.

As said many times before- a large portion of North America has been using E10 for 20-30 years without ANY issue and without any snake oil additives.

[Dick W.]

Re: Carb Defender Additive

I just happen upon an article on Carb Defender Fuel Additive for older cars with carburetors. This is an expensive product from Joe Gibbs Racing. We all worry about the Ethanol in today's gas and how to protect our cars. Does anyone know any technical details of how this works and if it really does what the company states? You can find it online at: http://www.drivenracingoil.com/dro/c...case-of-6html/

Watch out for snake bite, same with Z Maxx, and many other products. There are some older products that work well and are very cheap compared to some of this new stuff. At the end of the season I use Stabil in my power equipment that sits over the winter. If I think I need top cylinder lubrication I use Marvel Mystery Oil, it has been around a lot longer than I have.

[Duke W.]

Re: Carb Defender Additive

It's interesting that they show damage from using E85.

I've seen vintage Corvette owners ask about using E85 on the Web. It would be a dumb thing to do. For one thing, E85 costs more per BTU than E10, and a vintage car fuel system would have to be completely re-engineered to provide the higher E85 flow rate to achieve the proper A/F ratio range, and a vintage carburetor is absolutely out of the question. It would require a modern EFI system that was designed for E85 in terms of fuel flow and material compatibility.

So you spend thousands for more expensive operating costs and gain nothing. The only reason why anyone would ask about E85 conversion is that they are totally clueless about fuel system engineering.

E10 should not cause corrosion unless enough water gets into the system to cause phase separation - dropout of a water-ethanol mixture from the bulk blend of gasoline and ethanol. You can avoid this by using a reliable fuel supplier and keeping the car out of condensing humidity as much as possible. A garaged car that is driven occasionally should meet this criterion.

Drive the car enough to consume at least one tank of fuel per year, fill the tank prior to winter storage, and leave the expensive snake oil on the shelf. I know a lot of guys use Stabil. I've been storing cars, inside, for 6-18 months for the past 20 years (in Southern California's mild climate) without any additives. I do try to manage the fuel system by running it down near empty and filling the tank with fresh fuel just prior to storage, and I have NEVER had any fuel system problems.

Duke

[Dale M.]

Re: Carb Defender Additive

Thank you all for your input. I had not even noticed that this was related to E85. I hope sometime our government will wake up and see that it makes no sense to add anything at all.

[Michael W.]

Re: Carb Defender Additive

Drive the car enough to consume at least one tank of fuel per year, fill the tank prior to winter storage, and leave the expensive snake oil on the shelf. I know a lot of guys use Stabil. I've been storing cars, inside, for 6-18 months for the past 20 years (in Southern California's mild climate) without any additives. I do try to manage the fuel system by running it down near empty and filling the tank with fresh fuel just prior to storage, and I have NEVER had any fuel system problems.

Duke

This method also works well in the frozen GWN, at least over the last 40ish years in my case.

Where have the years gone..................