98 Joes

Well, I've finished my completely, un-scientific study on Marvels Mystery Oil and the affect it has on mileage. I'm pleased to announce that over 5 tank fulls, using the recommended 4 oz per 10 gallons, my mileage is up by 2.5 MPG. I'm now getting around 300 miles per tank with 70% city driving. My average MPG is now up to 17.6 MPG. This is without doing anything else to the engine during the test time.

I'm always suspicious of claims by additive companies and I'm glad this one worked out. It should be interesting to see if the MPG increase holds up over time.

midiwall

Cool!

Can you give us some background on things like Miles on the engine and how long since the last fuel filter change?

98 Joes

Sure. It's a '94 4Runner 3.0 with auto and 188,400 miles on it. I have no idea how long the fuel filter has been in, but from looking at it I would estimate at least 3 years (at an avg of 15K/yr = 45,000 miles?). Tuned up when I bought it in Sept. 2003 with 167,000 on it. Spark plugs, wires, distribuator cap, rotor. Factory wheels and tires, 31/10.5-15 running 35 psi on the street. 4.88 gearing and no lift (no sag either, thank goodness). No other additives where put in the gas durng the 5 tanks and I run Chevron mid-grade.

One thing is, I noticed zero performance increase from the MMO. So, I don't think it would help in that area, if anyone was wondering. What I was looking for was mileage increase (as was claimed on the bottle) and possibly increased wear resistance in the long term. Of course there's no way to measure that. We'll just have to see how long the old 3.slow keeps running.

ROMAD

Is this mileage increase only while you are using MMO or did you realize the effects afterwards as well too?

I can not imagine getting 300 miles to a tank...I am doing good to get 260 and thats with a complete tune up, new filters, clean TB, and synthetics all the way around - and I drive 70% city as well (with a light foot I might add)

98 Joes

The mileage increase is since I started using the MMO. I'm still using it, obviously. I was getting around the same 260 per tank full. My last tank full, I went 242 miles on 13.8 gallons. I didn't change my driving habits at all. I always drive like an old fogey.

I don't use synthetic oil in it. I'm afraid it will start leaking if I switch now. No additives to the oil either. Valvoline 10w-40 All Season. Changed at 3K with a filter.

As I said, I'm suspicious of MPG claims and I was surprised to see any kind of increase. I talked my father into trying it and he says he's seeing about 1.5 MPG better on a '83 BMW 633CSi with 90K on it. And talk about a light foot on the gas?

radrex

Snake Oil..

midiwall

I dun't tink so... The AutoRX, Seafoam and Amsoil products have similar results in their categories.


and.. Thanks for the background Doug!

98 Joes

Really? How do they get the oil out of the snake? Just joking.

I would have thought the same thing. I've had little success with additives. I tried the MMO mainly on the advise of boat engine overhauler. What he said was always use the MMO in the gas to prevent the valves from sticking. This applies to a Universal Atomic 4 boat engine, but I thought why not give it try. I figured it was worth a $1 a fillup to see if it was worth it. I'll be interested to see if the mileage increase stays over the next few months. Especially when winter comes.

radrex

Here is some suggested reading

http://skepdic.com/slick50.html

You'll have to read down the article a little to get to the "Marvel Mystery Oil" section.

Basically, you are dumping Kerosene and other solvents into your gas tank.

But, by all means if it makes you think your getting better gas mileage, by all means continue using it. I hope it doesn't knock any of the rust out of your gas tank - injectors and filters do not like rust particles.

Lefty

MMO ! I have a close friend that swears by the stuff. He used it when racing minicars and said it did wonders for his engines. I trust his advice, so to hear MMO doing a good job on someone else's truck is always good to hear.

BTW, I am not a seller/reseller of MMO, have no ties to the company that makes it, and have never used it in my vehicles. I HAVE used it in other applications where it performed well.

Steve

4RUNR

300mi to the tank @ 17.6mpg is 17.05 gallons. Your tank is only 17.2 gallons, either your math is wrong, or you are concentrating more on pouring snake oil into the truck than taking normal care of it by not letting the tank run dry.

midiwall

The article is written with a forked tongue. The section in question reads:So, what it says is that it _will_ strip away sludge and deposits from your engine and that the _overuse_ can damage your engine.

The solvents listed are common - solvents are what's needed to get crap off of the engine.

There are people on the Seafoam thread seemingly tossing gallons of the stuff into their engine, that's beyond the manufacturers guidelines, and for good reason. The MMO guidelines are similar - no one's talking about running a 10:1 ratio of acetone to gasoline.

radrex

You might want to check out

www.turbonator.com and some other cool sites with really worthwhile products that will help gas mileage (hehe).

I think that if you install a turbonator, pour in some Slick 50 in your oil and then dump some marvel mystery oil in you gas - you should be up to about 20-22 mpg in no time at all.....

midiwall

You seem to be side-stepping the "simple science" of "a cleaner engine will run more efficiently". That's kinda' easy to prove, and I'm sticking to that theory for now.


Thanks for your alternate opinion, even though it kinda' sounds like you're trolling...

98 Joes

Wow. I never thought that it would get such a reaction. I'm really sorry I brought it up. Anyway, I'm only going to address one issue that was brought up and it's this one from 4RUNR:

Your tank is only 17.2 gallons, either your math is wrong, or you are concentrating more on pouring snake oil into the truck than taking normal care of it by not letting the tank run dry.

According to my maintenance manual, the fuel tank capacity for a 1994 4Runner, 3.0 litre with optional 31x10.5 tires is 18.8 gallons. [edit - also see the 1994 4Runner Owner's Manual, Part 2, Page 113, Fuel Tank Capacity. Vehicles with 31 x 10.5 R 15 LT tires - 71 L, (18.8 gal., 15.6 Imp gal.)]

The 17.2 gallon capacity you refer to is for STANDARD, P225/75R15 tires. In my previous post, I stated that they were 31x10.5. And why would you say that running the tank down is not taking care of it?

CMD93

Man, I get about 330 miles per tank. '93, 3.0, 5-speed, 4wd, ADD

4RUNR

Your fuel pump is swimming in gasoline to cool itself. If you know that it is indeed 18.8 then all the more power to you, but only backyard alchemists on a quest to get gold out of nothing would buy into the MPG increase

fish

Aw jeez...I just spewed beer all over my monitor.

98 Joes

Well, I don't know for sure, meaning I have never had the inclination to fill the tank, then drain it and measure the exact amount in it. But I assume the Toyota knew what they were doing when they printed the manual with the stated capacities.

No. I have no invested interest in MMO. I personally couldn't care less if anyone trys it or not.

What does the submerged fuel pump staying cool have to do with mileage or MMO? Understandably, if the pump was to overheat and fail, you're mileage would suffer.

All I did was try the stuff out. I totally expected to see very little, if any increase in mileage. As I have said repeatedly, I was very surprised to see this increase. I don't know, maybe it will all go away tomorrow. If it does, so be it. I was merely posting this in case someone was interested. I'm truly sorry if it offends you. Ok not really.

If you don't want to try, don't!! It seems to me that all you are doing is picking an argument. Why?

Jantha

Yea.. I'm with him. He was merely presenting his findings.. no need for flames. I don't know why anyone would get on here and make crap up. Besides, it's not like he was presenting an outrageous claim, such as 30+ mpg gain.

It seems logical to me that altering the chemical makeup of a tank of gas using such an additive may have positive or negative results.. it just depends on how it's altered. If there are any chemists on board, please chime in now, because I'm no expert.

What is really sad is, if the same product were marketed under the Amsoil name, many people here would have no problems believing his claim. We're all here to help eachother out and offer advice, don't flame the guy for sharing his findings.