A Fuel Additive That Actually Works

Our gasoline supply with 10% ethanol is great for corn growers, and the politicians who get campaign contributions from the large agra-businesses who push it. But it’s bad for the engines we put it into, from our cars and motorcycles, to our ATV’s, snowmobiles, watercraft, and even our lawnmowers, snow blowers and weed whackers.

There are a lot of gas treatments on the market that make all kinds of claims, so I’m always skeptical about them. I’ve seen and tested a lot of snake oil on the market making ridiculous claims over the years. But I had cause to spend some time at a trade show with the folks from Star Tron, learned about their product, and saw the testing data that they had about its effectiveness.

It all looked good, but I was still skeptical.

What really opened my eyes and mind was the number of motorcycle dealers who came up to the booth to rave about their product to the Star Tron crew. From dealership owners to parts managers and technicians, I heard all kinds of praise for the additive. Many said that they saw improved gas mileage in their bikes and cars. I heard some techs rave about how clean their bikes’ carbs or fuel injectors were after using the product regularly, and others talked about improved power and throttle response. So when you hear end-users, who are a bit more sophisticated than most, and are really familiar with similar products, have so many positive comments about this product, then I wanted to see for myself. So here’s what I learned after using the product.

Star Tron Fuel Treatment is an enzyme based additive that cures ethanol fuel problems, and cleans the entire fuel delivery system. Keep in mind that before ethanol was added to gasoline, fuel still had some of the problems that I’ll discuss here, but by adding that 10% ethanol to the gas, it just exacerbated the problems. Star Tron was developed long before ethanol was used in gas, and now it’s more important than ever to use it.

Some of their products I now use.

First, our gas now has a shorter window of stability than it used to. After about 30 days the fuel begins to break down. Star Tron will keep it fresh for up to two years, so it’s also perfect for seasonal machines like snowblowers, lawnmowers, etc., and I use it for all my small engine tools.

Next, debris in the fuel in the form of gum and varnish lowers octane, and is another problem of ethanol fuel. Star Tron’s enzyme formula prevents that breakdown, dissolves the gums and varnishes to re-stabilize the stale fuel, and it works better than chemical based products.

Star Tron is a live enzyme based product.

Phase separation is when more water forms in your gas tank than ethanol can handle and that water separates and falls to the bottom of the tank taking the ethanol with it, and leaving the upper level of fuel without enough octane to burn properly. Star Tron breaks apart the water and allows it to be vaporized effectively during engine operations.

Poor combustion and power loss is also a trait of ethanol, which has 1/3 less stored energy than regular gasoline. And when it gets stale, it just doesn’t burn as efficiently, so power is lost and carbon can build up inside the engine. Star Tron breaks up the carbon and promotes a more efficient burn.

My Ninja 650R runs good and clean with Star Tron.

I first used Star Tron in my car. I’ve been making the same 120 mile trip once a week for years. It’s about evenly divided between highway and rural two-lane roads. I drive between 70 to 75 on the highway, and 55 to 60 on the two-laners. And I usually get 33 to 34 MPG on that trip according to the car’s trip computer. In the second tankful that I treated with Star Tron, I got 36 MPG on the same trip at same speeds.

Doing the math- let’s say I got 2 more miles per gallon, so with my 13 gallon tank, I got 26 more miles. I put 2 ounces of Star Tron in the tank, at $1.00 per ounce. So $2.00 bought me 26 extra miles, which would have cost me $3.00 in gas at $4.01 per gallon that I paid at the time. So not only didn’t the Star Tron cost anything to use, it saved me a buck per tankful.

Impressive.

Since also I write automobile reviews and get press cars for a week at a time, it is not unusual that I don’t even start my own car for 4 or 5 weeks at a stretch. Knowing that Star Tron is always working to stabilize my gas means it’s a great deal for me.

I then used it in my motorcycle. I didn’t see any improvement in the gas mileage of my Triumph Bonneville America, which usually gets around 50 mpg during easy cruising duty. But it was also impossible for me to gauge the mileage, since riding a motorcycle is more difficult to replicate the way one uses the throttle, and I don’t have a specific route I always take on the bike as a “control” trip like I do with the car. But again, I like knowing that the fuel will always be fresh since I have more than one bike, and again, the fuel can get stale from tankful to tankful.

I run it in my Bonneville America.

Another benefit from using the Star Tron product is supposed to be better performance and power. Since it allegedly cleans the fuel injectors and rejuvenates the fuel that runs through them, it would stand to reason, but I can’t honestly say that I felt any more power or throttle response through my “butt dyno”. But again, I feel it’s worth it to keep the fuel fresh, and have a cleaner fuel delivery system on my bikes.

So there you have it. You can buy an 8-ounce bottle for a retail price of $8.23 on Amazon. I believe it is worth using in my vehicles, since I know that it won’t cost me anything to use it in my car, based upon my tests. And it may cost a few pennies per tankful in my bike, but that’s OK. It’s a lot less costly than to have carbs or fuel injectors cleaned. This is the only product I’ve ever tested that I will continue to use.

You can learn more about Star Tron by visiting their web site at www.startron.com Since they are distributed by Parts Unlimited, Cycle Gear, and others, virtually any dealer can order it for you if they don’t stock it. But you can also find it at almost any auto parts store.

Ken “Hawkeye” Glassman

*You can order some here: