Has anyone used Ecotek Power Boost?

[kevin316i]

Judging by the carbon fouling on the sparkplugs when I did the last service, I think the engine could do with a bit of a cleaning inside. Would powerboost be a suitable product to use, or are there any other good products available?

[TVRTASMIN]

I used this stuff on a 320 and it did actually do what it said on the tin.
They also sell small air bleed valves which when set up properly do work.
I'm going to try them only trouble is i need 2!

[charlE30]

I have also used the power boost spray and would recommend it but it is quite expensive at Ԛ£27 in the shops, I later found a shop on ebay selling it for about Ԛ£17/18. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... eName=WDVW

TVRTASMIN if you are on about the Ecotek CB-26P valve then I remember threads on the old forum saying they don't work at all on the M20 engine, although judging by the fact you're going to use 2!! I doubt that youre fitting them on an M20 (1 ecotek upto 2600cc). If you do know a way to make them work on the M20 could you let me know because I did buy one but never fitted it due to what I had read on the zone.. Sorry kevin316i for being

[TVRTASMIN]

I have heard people expecting massive power gains by fitting the valve and then being disappointed.
All you can expect is better pick up from low rpm. I've not done a poll on whether it works on the M20 yet but i think i will.
The reason i need 2 is because my engine is 2693cc or there abouts.

[Richy325iTouring]

The ecotec valve is crap.
Well it is on a standard engine and i wouldnt recomend them for a turboed car either.
They lean up the mixture which isnt anygod for any engine really

[hogweed]

- which is probably the only kind I should go on, is that they're a load of crap, although the human brain is amazing at perceiving things it expects to be there. It made my engine (M20) run slightly worse and use slightly more fuel than before. Simple as that.

Let's look at the theory - it bleeds a small amount of highly turbulent air into the intake, which helps to vaporise the fuel better. Bollocks. There is simply no way a tiny, mixed-up airstream is going to remain in a high state of agitation, all the way from the brake servo to the combustion chamber, even if doing so would in some way benefit combustion.

I defy anybody to run a proper controlled test on a rolling road and produce results. In fact, Ecotek were found to have faked the tests they quote in their adverts. It was posted on here last year - somebody may still have the link.

Don't waste your money.

[Jimbob]

Managed to set E30Adam's engine on fire, twice.
Sounds like a worth-while mod to me

[hogweed]

Pleeeeease can somebody look at that line at the bottom of my post and tell me why my image won't display? Thanks

[TVRTASMIN]

Managed to set E30Adam's engine on fire, twice.
Sounds like a worth-while mod to me

I think you mean the FSE valve!

[Guest]

ive used an eco valve ,only in conjuction with a fse boost valve and a green power flow air filter and chip , and it does work on my 320i ,and you can feel and see the difference ,i think just on its own you wouldnt notice the difference that much.

[charlE30]

Pleeeeease can somebody look at that line at the bottom of my post and tell me why my image won't display? Thanks

Try changing [img] for [IMG] I had the same problem and this worked for me

Don't suppose anyone wants to buy an Ecotek valve

[Richy325iTouring]

Managed to set E30Adam's engine on fire, twice.
Sounds like a worth-while mod to me

I think you mean the FSE valve!

Failed o ring
went on mine pissed fuel everywhere.
m8s 325 did catch fire cos of it but that was down to the aa doing a bodge job.

[Guest]

hi all. Gotta say that I totally disagree with people saying that the valve doesn't work. I've used one on 3 cars now, and each time I've had better in gear acceleration, smoother idling, better low throttle pick up and better fuel consumption. They have to be tuned to perfection though and also, as mentioned, they're not miracle devices, they just make the combustion process work better. To be honest, it would be easy to fit it and then if you don't like it, or you can't feel the difference, take it off. It's then your opinion that counts and you can make your own mind up. If you haven't visited their website, that's worth a look. Lots of testimonials from the chav rags as well as practical classics. If anyone wants fitting instructions, give me a shout, but I say make up your own mind!!

[Richy325iTouring]

Ive had them on A scirocco gt2, 316 320 325 and a rover 620 turbo and on all of them the car ran worse.

As far as im concerned they are a waste of money but thats just my opinion
which im allowed to say

[Chaos]

i think theres some confusion here.

ppl seem to be referring to 3 different products.

namely

fse powerboost valve (adjustable fuel pressure regulator with flashy name) worthwhile in some modded cars but get a decent quality one as opposed to an fse for its name

powerboost - presumably from the description some sort of cleaning stuff u spray into the intake - not heard of this particular one but i highly recommend 10k boost - HOWEVER if ur engine is held together by carbon deposits u cud be in trouble.

ecotek valve - waste of money, proven in a court case brought by trading standards to be pretty useless.

[Guest]

hi all. Did a bit more digging and found this. This link is a professional engineers point of view about the cb26p and is not related to Ecotek. The point made is that later engines (post 93') are already tuned optimally, but earlier engines, in particular carburetted may get something. As I say, make up your own mind, but sweeping statements criticising (or praising) can only ever be subjective.
Richy, you've used it in a lot of cars, but still criticise it. Why use it more than once, if it's rubbish?
I believe that 'our' cars will get benefit, because the engine technology is not as advanced. Mind you, for the new price you could buy a chip from Ant!!
http://www.fuelsaving.info/ecotek.htm

I also discovered this about Optimax. Some more food for thought!
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications ... n_id=37402

Finally, I'll finish off with this.
If anything, it's made me realise the 'placebo' effect and how much we all 'want' these things to work. This is an edit and having read through it, I'm sad to say that I'm going to contradict my earlier statement and remove my cb-26p valve. My opinion has changed and I want others to have the option of informed opinion rather than gossip....
http://www.fuelsaving.info/debunk.htm[url]

[hogweed]

You simply cannot underestimate the psychological effect - what the brain expects, it finds. I can tell you for an absolute fact that my 325 puts out around 30bhp more when I play thank Christ for the Bomb at full belt o my new stereo...







OK, a joke - but if I didn't know it was nonsense, I'd bet money on it being true. the whole car feels faster, tauter, lighter, and certainly encourages more reckless driving - and for a man of my age - when I'm giving the sounds some welly.

[TVRTASMIN]

hi all. Did a bit more digging and found this. This link is a professional engineers point of view about the cb26p and is not related to Ecotek. The point made is that later engines (post 93') are already tuned optimally, but earlier engines, in particular carburetted may get something. As I say, make up your own mind, but sweeping statements criticising (or praising) can only ever be subjective.
Richy, you've used it in a lot of cars, but still criticise it. Why use it more than once, if it's rubbish?
I believe that 'our' cars will get benefit, because the engine technology is not as advanced. Mind you, for the new price you could buy a chip from Ant!!
http://www.fuelsaving.info/ecotek.htm

I also discovered this about Optimax. Some more food for thought!
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications ... n_id=37402

Finally, I'll finish off with this.
If anything, it's made me realise the 'placebo' effect and how much we all 'want' these things to work. This is an edit and having read through it, I'm sad to say that I'm going to contradict my earlier statement and remove my cb-26p valve. My opinion has changed and I want others to have the option of informed opinion rather than gossip....
http://www.fuelsaving.info/debunk.htm[url]

Shell Optimax is 98 RON as opposed to normal unleaded at 95 RON. It is therefore a higher octane.
Anybody experiencing pinking or pre-ignition on 95 RON will probably find the problem solved.
Shell Optimax will not automatically release more power from the average engine, but some cars built with an engine having a high compression ratio will find they cannot use anything else.
My 2.7 has to run on Optimax or other super unleaded because of the compression ratio. Running on 95 RON causes pinking.

[Chaos]

[
Shell Optimax is 98 RON as opposed to normal unleaded at 95 RON. It is therefore a higher octane.
Anybody experiencing pinking or pre-ignition on 95 RON will probably find the problem solved.
Shell Optimax will not automatically release more power from the average engine, but some cars built with an engine having a high compression ratio will find they cannot use anything else.
My 2.7 has to run on Optimax or other super unleaded because of the compression ratio. Running on 95 RON causes pinking.

actually its not.

Opticrap is actually officially classed the same as normal regular 95 RON unleaded. There is an interesting reason for this.
Optimax is actually normal 95 RON with additives added bringing it up to a higher grade. Fresh optimax will be around 98.6 RON however it degrades quite quickly back down towards its 95 RON base.
Now we come to the reason its officially rated the same as 95 RON, all petrols sold in the uk have to have a shelf life of 2 yrs, if rated at higher than 95 RON optimax would not pass this criteria.

SUL's however are officially rated at 97 RON (used to be 98 )
this will not degrade like optimax and will have a shelf life of 2 yrs.


Due to this i tend to only ever use optimax from busy garages, where it has a quick turnaround.


My advice to anyone would be

i. never get your car setup on Optimax, if you cannot then find a fresh source ur car cud well pink and cause damage

ii. if u have a rarely used car, then dont fill it up with optimax and then leave it for a period. This petrol WILL degrade.

[mrLEE30]

Had to laugh the other day when reading a backissue of PBMW on the throne, someone had written in asking the same questions about the boost valves, they replied (now i am at work and magazine at home so will check quotes myself later!!!) that it simply increases the fuel pressure at the injection rail and threfore may give a slight increase for older (and i assume looser) engines but other then that they didnt recommend.

Then at the back of the magazine in the powerboost advert one of the comments was something like 'excellent!! we highly recommend!!! this product works.. etc..' from PBMW.

enough said.

mr lee

As said i will check the exact wording (and issue) later for the pedantic out there!

[kidsinister]

To go back to the original question, if you're getting a lot of carbon fouling on your spark plugs, you have a bigger problem than a dirty engine - causes could be an over-rich mixture, or knackered valve stem oil seals.

[kevin316i]

Thanks guys. I'm getting the front brake discs and pads replaced this week, so when its in the garage I'll get the engine checked and tuned. I think the carbon fouling problem could be down the my driving - short trips to and from work and slow moving traffic along the way. Don't get the chance to give it a good blast. There is a BMWCC trackday coming up Easter Weekend, so maybe this might be a better way to clean out the cobwebs