A 10 MEG PDF file of Powerboost tests, reviews and surveys is downloadable here.

THE SUNDAY TIMES
 

In the Car clinic section a reader asked the following question: My Rover 45 1.8 automatic is years 5 years old and has done 42,000 miles. It has recently began to misfire and the ride is jerky. My dealer suggests the cause is incomplete closure of the exhaust valves and proposes a decoke costing £750. Though this remedy died out in the 1960s, the dealer says it is becoming more common again because of the cheaper petrol sold at supermarkets. Is this true? - PH from Grantham

"Although all petrol for sale in the UK must meet a minimum British standard, it has long been mooted that the more expensive brands (BP, Esso, Shell etc) are of better quality and include more detergents, among other chemicals. But regardless of where you buy it, fuel is far more refined than in the 1960s and engines are manufactured to much higher standards. So whereas it used to be necessary to remove the cylinder head regularly to clean out carbonised deposits, this is now a much rarer practice. And there are several options you should try before coughing up £750 for a professional decoke.

If "gumming up" is indeed the problem, in a modern car it's more likely to be that the engine has been treated too gently. Your first step is to get it to full operating temperature and then make it rev hard over half an hour or so; an open stretch of dual carriageway is ideal.

The point here is not outright speed. Rather, select a lower gear than usual and make the engine rev to, say, three-quarters of maximum rpm. This will push the exhaust fumes out with more force, effectively blowing out the deposits.

Alternatively, Ecotek Powerboost is a DIY product designed to clean out engine gunge. The aerosol foam (£27.99) is sprayed into the air intake while the engine is running and works rather like Mr Muscle on a blocked drain."  (click on the article for an enlarged version)

The Sunday Times - In Gear - 3rd June 2007

Motoring & Leisure Magazine is the club magazine subscribed to by the 400,000 members of the very influential CSMA (Civil Service Motoring Association). They take the claims of any advertiser very seriously and arranged a test of PowerBoost for their members in September 2004 - here are their findings:

"Ecotek Technologies has been selling their new PowerBoost product to csma members for some time now. It promises 'de-coke in a can' for £27.50 to improve performance, emissions, power, acceleration and response.

As Powerboost sounds too good to be true, Ecotek agreed to run a day's testing for members to see what the results would be. The rolling road at Regal Autosport in Southampton was booked and five local candidates were selected at random from our request in M&L for volunteers. Each of their cars would be tested unaltered for bhp (brake horse power) and torque (Ibft throttle reaction) and petrol cars would be tested for emissions. Then the PowerBoost de-coke treatment would be applied and the tests repeated.

The bhp and torque tests would be compared graphically and the emission data compared so we would know soon enough if this so called 'Engine Energiser' actually makes any difference!

Citroen Xantia Turbodiesel
The first thing to note was that there really is no such thing as a 'normal' car - first to arrive for the April test was Mr Keyser and his son in an immaculate 1997 2.1 Citroen Xantia Turbodiesel. Mr Keyser is a mature gentleman and uses his car only occasionally and drives it gently - the car had only done 46,000 miles and was in perfect condition - except for a recent reluctance to start in the mornings. It also became apparent on the rolling road (dynamometer or dyno to the experts!) that the engine could not be persuaded to reach maximum revs/output - power dropped off sharply at 4500rpm when it should have kept going for another 1000rpm. Now this isn't of any real interest to Mr Keyser who has probably never revved the car beyond 3000rpm but it does mean that the engine - a diesel - wasn't working as it should.

After the PowerBoost was applied at one end and rather a lot of gunge came out at the other, the test was repeated and sure enough the engine revved freely to its maximum output and, as even the test driver commented, ran noticeably smoother - Mr Keyser reports,

'The engine is now turbine smooth and starts happily in the mornings - I don't exactly thrash the engine and I think this caused a build-up of deposits which the PowerBoost has cleared - I'm delighted.'

Rover 220 GSi
The next candidate wasn't so simple - fresh from a new head gasket and skimmed cylinder head, the last thing Chris Rock's Rover 220 GSi needed was a de-coke. He'd just spent £700 having exactly the same work done as would be required for a cylinder head de-coke and sure enough the very creditable 165bhp could not be improved upon. Not all was lost however, as the before and after emission readings were: CO%vol: 0.05 down to 0.04 (20% reduction) and HC ppm vol (hydrocarbons - unburned petrol): 324 down to 238 (27% reduction), so the PowerBoost treatment did its work there. Chris also reported 'a noticeable improvement in smoothness and throttle response.'

Landrover 109
Now John Utteridge - webmaster for Shire Landrover Club - should be reported to the authorities for describing his Landrover 109 as normal. It has a non standard Rover V8 3.9-litre engine (of uncertain mileage) with bespoke ECU mapping controlled from a lap-top computer in the cabin. The Town & Country tyres were also unsuitable for power runs on the dyno - so they did a before and after emission test and called it a day - CO was 2.15 before and 1.85 after (14% improvement) HCs 140 before and 120 after (also a 14% improvement). John has since confirmed that the Land Rover is also 'now much more responsive.'

Mazda 626
George Kirkby and his Mazda 626 2.0 with 69,000 miles was an excellent test subject. The 1989 car had been scrupulously maintained -pictured here on the rollers (note the two fans to provide cooling in the absence of motion generated wind).

Sure enough all round improvements were evident - the power curve was noticeably smoother and more sustained at higher revs - with an extra 2bhp at 5650rpm. Torque was improved by 5lb ft at peak revs. Emissions were CO: from 2.50 to 1.05 (a 58% improvement) and HCs were down from 120 to 77 (a 36% improvement). George - who bought the car when it had done 7000 miles - was delighted. He said, 'This treatment made a big difference to the car - emissions and bhp are not a big issue for me but I really notice a dramatic improvement in driveability; the car's response and smoothness has improved considerably - it's a delight to drive - it feels at least as good as it did when I first bought it.'

Vauxhall Astra 1.8
Last but not least was Richard Ford and his immaculate Astra. He had just driven back from Grimsby so it had already had a good clear-out. The 2000 model 1.8 had done 93,782 miles, so Richard works it hard but he makes sure it is maintained to the highest standards. Ecotek weren't sure that there would be jaw dropping improvements on such a new and well maintained car that had done a lot of Motorway work and when it went on the dyno, pre treatment, with 122bhp (factory spec is 115) they were a bit crestfallen. Emissions weren't fantastic (though well within MoT parameters), so some room for improvement there perhaps.

After the treatment emissions were tested first: CO before was 0.50 and after: an amazing 0.00 and HCs were down from 160 to 9, an equally extraordinary 94%. The Ecotek team were smiling a little more now after a full day slaving over a hot dyno, but the best was yet to come.

The car was allowed to cool down and then the post treatment power run took place - remember the car was already 7bhp over standard output of 115, so even the smallest increase would be significant. In fact the power run showed a full 5bhp improvement at peak power giving 127bhp and a full 8bhp improvement at 3500rpm where Richard said he had something of a flat spot.

The torque figures told the same story with a full 10 lb ft improvement at 3700rpm (10%). An overlay of the power and torque curves is reproduced here with the post treatment run represented by the unbroken lines.

For a 20-minute treatment costing £27.50, that virtually any motorist can do themselves, these are extraordinary improvements - as Richard Ford himself said, 'It was an excellent car before the Ecotek test but now it's even smoother. It responds better, drives quicker and now has no flat spots.' The members involved in this test will tell you that PowerBoost really does what it says on the can."

Click on the pictures for expanded views

Motoring & Leisure Magazine - Sept 2004

PowerBoost was designed primarily for cars but when Fast Bike offered to include it in a test of bike 'power-ups' it would have been churlish to refuse - here are some excerpts from their May 2004 article...

"Is there any such thing as cheap power. We cut through the bullshit and put claims to the test to tell you how to get the most go from your dough

There is only one commonality between every single motorcycle ever made: They are never Fast enough. Whether it's your first DT50 or the latest ZX-1 OR, it feels fast at first, but you always end up craving an even bigger hit of horsepower.

If your catalogue cruising is backed up by offshore bank accounts and invitation-only credit cards, then the world is your factory spec oyster.

However, if the only thing lining your wallet is a three year old condom, power prospecting can be a prohibitively pricey proposition. Even the first stages of tuning don't come cheap. End cans can cost over £400, yet rarely deliver more than 4bhp, and a full system with the necessary fuelling adjustments and set-up can easily break £1000 - for no more than 10bhp. There's a vague pattern here; one horsepower for every £100 spent. There are plenty of products on the market offering cheaper power increases, but most are clouded by hype. We gathered together a wide range of products for a controlled, scientific dyno and road test to find some conclusive answers.

The products varied from the controversial Suzuki TRE de-restrictor, to Rock Oil's latest race oil, to a never-before-tested-on-bikes engine cleaning treatment. The products were fitted by a trained mechanic at Powerhouse Motorcycles in Ashford, road tested by Jamie and Moby, then dyno tested on Powerhouse's latest spec Dynojet 250 rolling road under controlled temperature conditions.

RESULTS. We're very impressed with PowerBoost. Both bikes get thrashed so deposit build up will be minimal compared to a steadily ridden commuter. Nevertheless, the R1 found 1 bhp at  peak and 1.5bhp in the mid-range. The GSX-R750 yielded 1.6bhp at peak power and an impressive 2bhp at 8,500rpm. Both bikes run smoother and the GSX-R starts much better from cold.

VERDICT. PowerBoost is highly recommended. It delivered some of the best power and running gains of the day for just £27.50 per bike. A winner. £15 per bhp!

CONCLUSION ..... Our other favourite was Ecotek PowerBoost. If it works this well on thrashed engines, just imagine what it can do if you commute on your bike."

FAST BIKES May 2004 - click here for the full article.

Peter Simpson - the Editor of Car Mechanics Magazine - did a test of Powerboost on a BMW 320SE, with a full BMW service history, in the September 2003 issue - here are some excerpts - click on the pictures of the article for a full version:

"We're often invited to test a product for ourselves. This we can and will do, provided it is feasible for us to run a proper and trustworthy test with the limited facilities available to a specialist magazine like Car Mechanics.

That's not as easy as it sounds though, because effectively we are testing the product on behalf of you, the reader, and we therefore have to be absolutely certain that if we do get a positive result, the improvement is without doubt due to the product rather than some external factor. And make no mistake about it, any testing that involves a modern motor car can be influenced by all manner of things - even weather conditions!

Thus, when we are invited to test a product we take two things into account. Firstly, does the product have a tangible benefit for the average reader? And secondly, is it feasible for Car Mechanics to carry out a meaningful test to verify those claims?

We were recently invited by Ecotek Technologies to try their new Powerboost product - and on reading the claims I decided they were ones that were beneficial and, more importantly, which we could test objectively. So here goes...

WHAT IS POWERBOOST?

The first thing I liked about Powerboost is that it's clear what it does and how it does it. Essentially Powerboost is an aerosol-packed foam spray which, when sprayed into an engine, removes carbon and varnish deposits from the entire combustion side of the engine, head, valve faces, piston head, exhaust manifold and even, it's claimed, the exhaust system....

DID IT WORK?

In a word, yes! Prior to the test, the rolling road recorded engine power at the flywheel as 108.3kW and 94.9kW at the wheels. Din Power was 111.7kW. In the same test a week later, flywheel power was up to 116.8kW, wheel power 104.2kW and Din power up to 120.5kW. That's a definite and significant improvement to engine efficiency which is bound to improve overall fuel economy - though we were unable to test that.

I am satisfied by these results. On the basis of our test Powerboost does what it is claimed to, and I feel sure that most cars with more than 40- 50,000 miles on the clock will benefit from its use."

Peter Simpson - Car Mechanics

Land Rover World said: "When a tin of Ecotek's new product 'PowerBoost, the Engine Energizer' dropped on the doormat at LRW, you can appreciate why nobody was in a big rush to try it out. 'One of the most effective maintenance operations you can undertake on your engine' it said on the tin. 'Yeah right' we thought".

But they soon changed their tune when they saw the rolling road results!.....

"Our pre-Power Boost runs showed a maximum power figure of 108bhp at 3573rpm. The after figure came in at 112bhp with the engine having to work a little less hard to achieve its optimum power output at 3500 rpm. More significantly, peak power came in earlier than before and continued to hold its own long after our 'before' power readings had taken a nose dive.

Interestingly, on paper, the engine torque figure appears to have suffered post-Power Boost treatment with the torque curve readings showing a consistent 10lb/ft deficit. On closer inspection the Defender's torque curve now peaked at 190lb/ft at 2200 rpm, 500 rpm lower down the revs than before and again had a broader spread of torque right through the rev range.

Emissions readings were down too, with the smoke opacity giving a 5.2 per cent reading before and 3.6 per cent after (a 30% reduction!).

Driving back home from Well Lane, the first thing I noticed was how much smoother the engine seemed to run. Only driving my dad's Defender on the odd occasion, it was impossible to tell whether there was any significant improvement in power.

However, a week later my dad reported back that on one local killer hill, a bend that without fail requires a downshift from fourth to third could now be taken in fourth.

Okay, it's not exactly scientific, but this was borne out by the rolling road evidence that told us the engine torque was peaking further down the revs, allowing the engine to lug for longer.

Photographer Wayne Mitchelson reluctantly 'Power Boosted' his Camel 110, but even he came away saying that there was an improvement in power and response from his 300Tdi".

Kevin Bladwin - Land Rover World - thanks guys - good to know it works well on diesel as well as petrol! You can click on the articles to read the full original text.

 

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