The Inevitable Terraclean Thread

[yorkshire480]

The title says it all really.

http://www.terraclean.co.uk/

I've been looking into this for months as I think for most of our beloved 480's it could be really worthwhile. My approach has been to google for 'terraclean problems' and the like on the assumption that if it can/does causes problems someone would have been vocal about it on the internet somewhere. Last I looked (2 weeks ago as I've been on holiday) I could'nt find anything negative about it.
The majority of people seem to say, 'yes, noticeable improvement' with rest saying, 'didn't notice any difference'. Often people have posted before and after emission results and the like and have reported improved MPG and engine response.

There's lots on other car forums about this so I'm suprised we haven't had at it yet!

There's now a franchise local to me and I'm on the verge of ringing and making an appointment. If I do I will of course report back with data, photos etc.
Maybe my local 480 cohort StrongTom would like to get involved so we can see what happens with a turbo (Hey! Maybe it'll cure that idle problem! Haha )

I'm sure there will be opinions on this so let's here 'em!

[strongtom]

Sounds good if no one has any horror stories about it I'm game, I don't see any prices on the website but as long as its not silly I'll give it a go.

[yorkshire480]

I believe it's £80 for 2L or less engine although if we go in mob handed mentioning the forum etc. we may be able to get a discount.

As I say I've looked hard for horror stories without result.

These are the guys nearest us I believe...
http://www.newfamilyautos-leeds.co.uk/

[jamesy12345]

Can't find horror stories about it although I tried...I'm a sceptic and would rather spend the money on decent fuel and the occasional trash to clean it out. Have used Redex before although on a different Renault engine.

Same crap, different bottle, subjective testimonials in non-repeatable conditions, 80 quid!? Meh.

[jamesy12345]

thrash*

apologies my spelling competence has an inverse relationship to mild irritation

[jamesy12345]

An alternative cleaning method....

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/EngineM ... sitRemoval

http://www.files.thinksitout.com/Alt_Fu ... engine.pdf

I can't say that I'd have the 'bottle' to do this!

[yorkshire480]

Well that's about the level of skeptisim I was expecting! It's my default stance after all.

Here are a couple of the threads I've looked at - many showing before and after test results.

http://www.jaguarforum.co.uk/f19/terrac ... 45958.html
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... ?p=3505491

I think people are also understandably wary of Ed China's 'celebrity' endorsement of the system but if the whole thing does turn out to be a: a scam b: potentially damaging to engines somewhere down the line , then his name is attached to it and the consequent bad publicity. I suspect he's to savy to allow that possibility.

Personally I feel more comfortable hearing it from someone with a northern accent! Haha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... FUAp8iPM#!

Some science based observations would be good here.

[jamesy12345]

lol glad u took that how it was intended. Celebrity endorsement doesn't impress me....although I have watched his show before he does seem handy even with that haircut. More of my opinion: I don't think stuff will do any harm in small quantities (apparently even water is OK!?), but not sure how much benefit it actually is for yr cash. My 1993 car was 600 quid so 80 is quite a big spend relatively

This is going off the topic just a little bit, but here is some further reading about putting water into petrol engines.....ever noticed that your car runs better on a wet day...? Well Audi and Lancia thought so too...

http://racecarhistory.blogspot.co.uk/p/ ... -cars.html

The Lancia 037 had a water injection system, and so did at least one of the versions of the Audi Quattro group B rally cars.

I guess the benefit is due to the cooling effect of the water? Rather than the water actually being an oxidizing agent?? A gas would be better for that...........which brings us nicely to.......

http://www.nitrous.info/

There you go - save that 80 quid and invest it in a nitrous kit! The guy who makes his own nitrous kits is my new hero

Tenuous I know sorry, no offence meant u did ask for opinions…..

[jamesy12345]

just watched the vid with Frank Massey putting Terraclean through what looks like some kind of K-series engine (?) - much more believable than Ed!!

[yorkshire480]

At the risk of totally derailing this discussion my tech, who's a Vdub nut, told me about this thread when Terraclean came up in conversation.

http://www.audiforums.com/forum/off-top ... ong-80267/

I'm not sure I'll be Nitrous Oxiding my car though and I defintely won't be using the technique from the link above!

[jamesy12345]

Ouch, poor little car .........yep, must have been one of those 'seemed like a good idea at the time' moments

Nitrous is just a daft idea I've had for a while now so thought I'd drop it in....anyway sorry, I derailed u, good luck with the Terraclean if u go for it....I am off the soap box now

[yorkshire480]

Ok so today I bit the bullet and went and got my '94 ES Terracleaned here - http://www.newfamilyautos-leeds.co.uk/

My arrival was accompanied by many compliments on the 480 from all the mechanics. Much love for the 480 here and a couple of them had owned them too. Good start I thought.

The youngest of the guys was set to work disconnecting the fuel lines and hooking up the machine. I was a bit worried about how young he was (younger than the car possibly but not quite!) but I needn't have worried as he obviously knew what he was doing. Each car is different so with each new model they may have to work out where things are.
Anyhoo the car was duly hooked up and run off the machine. Here are some crap and fairly pointless pictures!



After 20 mins it was done and everything was hooked back up to normal. The first thing I noticed on starting it up again was a change on engine tone and also the idle went straight to 800revs. Previously on start up it would hover around 1,100 for a minute or so before settling down.

Young mechanic then took it out for test drive to check everything was OK. His comment on returning was, 'Wow, it drives like a modern car!'
Cost was £70 and it took about an hour in all.

I then went for a spin of about 10 miles - a mix of urban and motorway.

My (subjective) impressions:
Engine seems quieter and more 'tuned' to my musical ear.

More power - quicker response and everything feels tighter and more like a new car.

1st and 2nd gears are noticeably smoother and power seems more evenly distributed through the range of them.
3rd and 4th - more power and acceleration
5th has possibly changed most. Big improvement in acceleration. Previously I'd put it into 5th on the motorway and the speed would creep up slowly. Not anymore.

Emissions: Should really have done a before and after. They were very low already on the last MOT. The next MOT is due at the end of the month so I shall have some idea of before and after then I guess. We'll see...
MPG: Far too early to tell obviously.

The main guy at the garage said that he's seen big improvements in most of the cars MPG's so I'm fairly confident that I'll see some gains. Given that it's a £12,000 outlay for the kit (he told me) I'm guessing you'd need to have some faith in it working!

Is it worth £70? Well just for the improved driving experience it is for me. I'm chuffed to be honest. YMMV!

[Van]

You claim more power, did you take figures before and after, like clocking a 0-60?

[yorkshire480]

Sadly no I didn't. I'm not sure that would be practical even if time would allow. I can't think of anywhere round here I could get away with doing a 0 to 60 run. My nearest main road is reputed to have the most speed cameras per mile of any road in the country and Leeds is a near constant traffic jam nowadays!

As stated these are purely my subjective observations but they're of a really quite noticeable magnitude. Enough that one doesn't wonder, 'Am I imagining this?'
When I've finished for the evening I shall probably go for another drive whilst the motorway is quieter and I can give it another caning.

[jamesy12345]

even though I am sceptical it has to be said: you know when your own car runs better/worse

good on yer!