Ecotec PowerBoost

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Tue 19 Aug 2003 19:25
Ecotec PowerBoost - steverod
Hi All,

I read the article in this month's Car Mechanics magazine about the PowerBoost test, and have ordered a can from their website to try. However, I have a query which I hope you can answer. My car is a VW Golf 1996 "N" registration, 1.8 litre ADZ engine with single point fuel injection. EcoTek's site and the article in CM both make it very clear that the product must be used upstream on the airflow meter to avoid damaging it. The Haynes manual does not appear to show an airflow meter on my car's engine, only an inlet air temperature sensor which is an integral part of the fuel injector retaining cap. Can I safely spray the PowerBoost into the convoluted trunking which leads from the air filter box to the fuel injector, as there is a jubilee clip I can loosen to insert the tube from the can of PowerBoost?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Stephen Rodrigues
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Tue 19 Aug 2003 19:52
Ecotec PowerBoost - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)
You are correct there is no airflow sensor as the system has a map sensor so you can disconnect the trunk from the filter box and fire away. The air temp sensor is a sealed device so wont come to any harm. I'd be interested in the results as today I had to deal with a V6 Mondeo which had the most heavily contaminated inlet manifold I have ever seen.
Andrew


Simplicate and add lightness!
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Tue 19 Aug 2003 22:39
Ecotec PowerBoost - Crinkly Dave
I don't wish to get involved in the arguement whether this product is any good, but just wish to point out an error in the article
To avoid contacting the airflow sensor, shouldn't the product be injected downstream of it, not upstream
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Fri 22 Aug 2003 16:45
Ecotec PowerBoost - steverod
Well I applied the treatment today, and it seems to work (marginally), in the same way that the car seems to go better after I've cleaned it! Still, I suppose a 1.8 Golf with single-point injection isn't a flying machine, regardless of what you spray in the throttle! I don't have access to a rolling road, so no idea what might happen to BHP figures, but according to the article in Car Mechanics, the BMW they tested PowerBoost on improved by about ten horses.

A little observation about using it, on my can of stuff, the spray button was quite stiff, and it got quite tiring holding the button down for two minutes while pulling the accelerator cable back to hold revs at 2500rpm, over a hot engine. Also, the product seems to be more of a green liquid than a foam, and I had to keep shaking the can every ten seconds to keep it coming out.

Anyway, it was worth a try, though I could have filled up the tank with the 28 quid it cost me!
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Fri 22 Aug 2003 21:58
Ecotec PowerBoost - DL
Hmmmmmm I think this stuff tricks the owner into thinking something good has been done. Placebo effect? Might be worth a back-to-back comparison?
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Sat 23 Aug 2003 00:05
Ecotec PowerBoost - steverod
A postscript: I think I may have been too hasty in my indifferent evaluation of PowerBoost. I've just driven back from my parents' house, which involves going up a big hill. Normally, I'd have to take it in second gear, the car would manage 20 mph max, and pink like crazy while doing so. Today, I managed to reach 30 mph (the limit for that road) in third gear with no pinking. I'll try that again tomorrow on my way home from work and see if it can repeat the trick.
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Sat 23 Aug 2003 21:31
Ecotec PowerBoost - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)
Car Mechanics magazine did just that; before and after test on a rolling road which showed an improvement.
Andrew


Simplicate and add lightness!
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Sat 23 Aug 2003 21:40
Ecotec PowerBoost - Sooty Tailpipes
Out of interest, does the product smell like that age-old Swarfega hand cleaner? (that green goop in factory/workshop washrooms)
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