Trip Report: Plano, TX/Knoxville, TN/Plano, TX

[chefduane]

Got back earlier in the day from a roundtrip from Plano to Knoxville to visit the in-laws. Was gone a week so mileage and gas purchases include time spent at the destination. I ran a bottle of Marvel Mystery on the outbound trip and 2 bottles of Techron on the return. All gas purchases were from Top Tier suppliers with the exception of one fill-up at a Sams Club. Edge ran great with the exception of a CEL on a hard acceleration to merge into some fast traffic. I checked the CEL and it was a Cylinder 2 misfire although I did not perceive anything to be amiss. I cleared with my OBDII reader at the next stop and it did not appear again. I have 86k on the Edge now and probably need to change the plugs as they have not been changed previously.

 

Particulars are as follows:

 

Total Mileage: 1,791.2

Total Hours: 34.05 (running time)

Total Fuel Cost: $203.68

Total Gallons Used: 86.84

Avg. Price Per Gallon: $2.35 (low was $2.18 and the high was $2.65)

Avg. MPG: 20.63

 

Trip was I30 into Little Rock then I40 through Memphis, Nashville, on to Knoxville. Some in town driving in Knoxville but not that much, mileage was mostly highway. It starts to get mountainous after Nashville with the grade through Cookeville and Crossville into Knoxville in the Tennessee Valley. Ran into a little rain outbound through Little Rock and it snowed from about Cookeville into Nashville on the return. No accumulation and we could maintain speeds to 70mph. The wife and the pooch handled it well and we are all none the worse for wear. All in all a good trip.

 

That is all. The smoking lamp is lit - feel free to mill about smartly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Which Techron did you use, the Concentrate Plus or the lower tier version? In any case, I would ease up on using FI cleaners for a couple of thousand miles at least.

 

Also, change the oil as soon as you can, FI cleaners can end up dumping carbon into the oil if the engine condition is bad enough. I try to schedule use shortly prior to an oil change.

 

Hopefully plug change is all that is required!

[chefduane]

I used the 'Complete Fuel System Cleaner.' That is all Autozone had when I went there and I didn't want to run all over town looking for regular Techron, I did do an oil change before I left so I was going to wait until the regular interval came up. Would not changing the oil now really be that bad? Thanks for the feedback.

[enigma-2]

I did do an oil change before I left so I was going to wait until the regular interval came up. Would not changing the oil now really be that bad? Thanks for the feedback.

From the Techron website FAQ:

Q: How often should I add Techron to my tank?

A: Techron is recommended for use every 3,000 miles or right before an oil change. You should limit your use of Techron to no more than five bottles or treatments between oil changes.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

I think you will be fine with a normal oil change, it's just that one cannot easily quantify if the material it breaks free is in sufficient quantity to cause a concern. I personally don't think it is a concern like an engine flush would be or even seafoam. I just like to be careful LOL.

[chefduane]

Aha. Well this I did not know about Techron. I usually go 5k between oil changes and the trip put on about 2k so I think I will just go the other 3k and do a regular interval oil change. However, I will limit my use of Techron to the suggested interval. I also used Marvel Mystery Oil only because my dad swore by it and I used it in my Explorer and got 213k out of it and it was still running when I sold it. I really don't know much good MMO does it's just primarily out of habit. It could be snake oil like most of the other gas additives are. I use NO oil additives. Thanks for the feedback!