EDT Engine Treatment - Anyone Done It?

[Turbo Tony]

I've been speaking to my local-ish EDT franchisee about having the EDT treatment done in my cars.

For anyone who's not heard of it, the process involves draining all the oil in your engine, connecting hoses to your sump and your oil filter housing and then pumping heated soya oil through the engine via a filter that removes all the gunk that's been building up.

More info here: http://www.edtautomotive.com

A very OCD friend at work had it done on his TT and he had great results - he's singing it's praises, so I thought I'd give it a try.

My nearest place is Full Circle Services in High Wycombe. When I mentioned the car, he said they'd done one on the same car recently. Was it anyone on here?

I've asked if they would do a before/after emissions test so I can post the results online and they seemed fine with that. They're an MOT station, so have the emissions equipment in-house.

[Pug]

EDT is amazing. I work in a main dealer for Ford/Fiat/Seat and Kia. We used to offer it for customers during service. The uptake was poor as most people felt they were being pressured into it and we ended up giving up the machine.

However the results are amazing. The crap it catches in the visible filter is unbelievable. My oil was still clear and yellow after a year and 8000miles. The same for each customer too. We used to drain the oil a year later and it would still be clean.

It has various things to consider, especially for older vehicles or vehicles prone to oil leaks, since it removes any build up that could be hiding a leak, or quietening noisy components. Otherwise for visible results it's ace. I'd have it done every year if we still had the machine.

[ainarssems]

Definitely not for me:

1. There should not be any sludge or varnish build-up in the engine if using decent oils, changing regularly and not overheating it. Any modern oil contains detergents and solvents that keep the dirt floating dissolved in oil and does not let it settle out. Bigger particles get trapped in filter of course.

2. Even if there was any varnish or sludge build-up due to poor oils, servicing or overheating it is unlikely that 15 minute procedure will undo years of build-up and there would be risk of it coming off in lumps. I have seen many times in Latvia in 1990's when after coming out of USSR western products started coming in including engine oils, many people used them better oils lifted up varnish that has built up during poor Soviet oil use, it was often coming off in lumps and sometimes blocking oil channels and wrecking engines.

3. I would also be worried about using vegetable oil in the engine as the seals have not been designed for use with it. For example running biodiesel and vegetable oil in older diesel cars can dissolve seals and hoses in the fuel system as they were not designed for it.

I would vote for using that money for more frequent oil changes or you can even do 2 changes at the time if you want. Change the oil, run it for 15 min or go short drive, do another oil change. You can get Quantum Longlife III oil for about £80-90 for 20l which is enough foe 2.5 changes.

[Pug]

The difference with the EDT machine is the level goes above the normal oil level so it clear crap that normal oil changes cannot clear. The results speak for themselves when removing the EDT filter.

Yes a well looked after car may not benefit, but if you're unaware of the service history or previous owners, it's a good thing to have done.

[Turbo Tony]

Thanks very much for the posts - that's two very different opinions.

As my car is a bit an unknown (I've only had it for a few weeks), I think I'll do it so I know where I'm starting from.

I've had my previous cars Terracleaned and I'm considering having that done too to help remove the carbon deposits that may be choking the engine. The guy I use for it is going to look into getting hold of the adaptors that will also clean the backs of the valves that can so easily get gunked up on an FSI engine.

Anyway, my car is booked in for the EDT and the garage has agreed to do an emissions test before and after. I'll post the results!

[Pug]

Make sure you keep the tube oil filter from the machine afterwards. It's a bit like the 'sausage floats' that you take swimming. The results speak for themselves. Whilst I love a terraclean, or fuel additives or using premium fuel, this is the only 'thing' that has physical results. Your emmisions will probably remain unchanged since EDT works on the oil side of the engine. In a years time, I guarantee that oil will still be pretty much clean when you drain it.

[Turbo Tony]

That's a good point about the emissions tests. That's a shame, it would have been great to have had something tangible other than a manky sausage-looking filter thingy!

When I had the Terraclean done in my other car, the emissions were a night and day difference. We had arranged to take the car to a local MOT place around the block for testing. Not only did it fail miserably, but it also managed to spectacularly and embarrassingly cover the large garage in smoke and stink

During the Terraclean, the revs kept rising even though the throttle was being held by an inanimate broomstick. He had to stop and back off the gas twice during the procedure. That was my first clue as to the results - the car was producing more revs for the same throttle position.

After the Terraclean, we went back to the MOT testing place and ran the test again. I'll never forget the expression on the MOT tester's face, as he walked out, carrying a test result in in each hand, scanning between them both frantically. He came over and said to us "What the f&*$ did you do?!". It passed the test easily.

The drive home was the best I'd ever felt that car run and improved the fuel economy to levels I've never seen before in the 11 or so years I'd owned it at that point. There was oodles of more torque and the car just felt rev-happy and wanted to go. it didn't feel like I had to force the car down the road.

I did the same treatment on my Volvo and, although I could feel the difference, it was far more subtle. It seems to work best on engines that get caked in carbon.

...You know, I think I've just talked myself into getting the Audi Terracleaned too! My apologies about the ode to Terraclean, but it really did work well in my car.

[Turbo Tony]

Tomorrow's the day! I'm going to get the EDT treatment tomorrow morning... I hope the results are as good as I've heard.

Next week, the car's booked in for a Terraclean and the week after that, the Audi service.

Boy, that engine won't know what hit it!

[Rick]

Let us know how the terraclean goes Tony.
Im interested to know the results mate!

[Turbo Tony]

Hi Rick,

Strangely enough, I was going to post my results but last time I did that (on another forum) the thread was inundated with cries of 'snake oil' and 'blasphemer' and even a couple of 'burn him's thrown in... OK, I exaggerate a little, but it seems to be a more controversial topic than I first imagined, so I tend to play my cards a little close to my chest now.

Still, seeing as you've asked, I'll post some thoughts on the way my car behaved before and after the treatments and leave each of you to decide whether you'd feel it is a benefit to your cars. As always, results vary from car to car - I've experienced different results from the three different cars I've put through, so I appreciate your mileage may (and does) vary.

EDT Treatment
I had the EDT treatment done and it felt a lot like an oil change 20 or so years ago, when you'd drive the car away and it felt instantly smoother. Because I arrived so early, I took the opportunity to watch my fuel computer instantaneous readings during my drive there. Doing a steady 60mph, the fuel computer was showing around 22-24mpg. Mostly, it sat at 22.9mpg.

The treatment ended up taking a little over an hour because, despite the garage telling me they'd done it on an S8 before, they seemed pretty new to my car - even to the point where they called me the night before to tell me the oil filter was going to cost more than they'd expected.

As you may recall, I asked for an emissions test before and after the treatment and, to be honest, I wish I'd filmed them. Partly because that was the only part of the experience I could see and partly because the difference was visible. During the first emissions test, there was the usual smoke emanating form the pipes. Nothing to cause me any concern, but it was there. During the second test, after the treatment, there was none... Absolutely nothing. The car also sounded noticeably quieter and smoother and I found myself itching to drive it.

I can post the emissions test results if anyone's interested. They did show an improvement overall but the engine temperature was also one degree warmer the second time, so I thought they may be considered inconclusive.

From the driver's seat, however, the difference was pretty clear. Pulling away, the car sounded nicer - the high-pitched whine I miss so much (thanks to my Milltek) was audible because the rest of the frequency range had been attenuated enough to make it audible again. The idle was a little smoother and there was a noticeable increase in mid-range torque. Accelerating to motorway speed was easier. Driving back, the fuel computer was reading a steady 33.9 at 60mph, which was a really nice surprise.

I've not checked it quite as fastidiously as I did on those two journeys, but my instinct tells me the mpg fell off a little since that first journey back, although I'm pleased to report that the smoothness and the extra torque remain. Also, I had a tapping/knocking noise from the top of the engine that has diminished significantly.

Terraclean
Terraclean is something I'm far more familiar with, having had two of my previous cars done in the past. The dramatically different results on each car left me really curious as to how the Audi would react to the treatment.

I'd arranged to revisit the same garage at which I'd had my previous treatments done, although it's in the process of closing down. The technician (Nicky Finlayson) has, however, arranged to buy the Terraclean equipment from the garage and Terraclean has awarded him the contract for the Milton Keynes area. Although this is quite a trek from where I live in West London, Nicky is a fantastic guy and a really knowledgeable mechanic, so I was happy to drive straight past a couple of other Terraclean places to get to him. I also like that Nicky doesn't bother with the smaller cans of the treatment and always uses the larger one... although he told me that some smaller-engined cars these days are so fuel efficient that he'll have to start stocking the smaller cans because the larger ones take forever to go through!

A colleague from work also wanted to join me, having had good results with Terraclean on his previous car (a Mazda MX-5) and wanted to get his current 2008 Audi TT 2.0T done to. He went first and the machine took around 35mins to complete. As the treatment was being done, the revs rose twice and were readjusted by Nicky. As soon as the treatment was complete, my colleague pulled the car out of the garage and was seen playing with his throttle pedal in the car park. As I went over to him, he had a smile on his face and commented how much smoother the engine was running.

My car was up next and I found myself getting strangely nervous about it. As I've mentioned on this board before, I've only recently bought my car and have spent a small fortune in getting it to the condition I'd be happy with and I hoped that this wouldn't be one of those cars on which Terraclean had little effect.

Nicky, an Audi TT owner himself, was clearly enamoured with my car and kept telling me how beautiful it was and what a good choice I'd made. One thing to note for anyone considering having the treatment done is that Audis have a higher fuel pressure than most other cars, so, if the technician is unfamiliar with them, they may be in for a surprise. Nicky released the pressure slowly when disconnecting the fuel supply and then continued once it had dropped to safer levels.

OK, on to the treatment. I was surprised when, a few minutes into the treatment, Nicky told me it was on to the second can already (Terraclean uses two stages of treatment, each with it's own can). Where the TT had taken around 25-30mins to reach this point, mine had burned through it in around 10 or less! Nicky assured me it would still have an effect, because the same amount of cleaner had passed through the engine, albeit far quicker than in the TT. I couldn't live with that, though, so I asked him to run it through a second time, meaning my car was Terracleaned twice.

While it was working, my colleague kindly agreed to take me to the nearest cashpoint so I could cover the cost of the second treatment (Nicky has only just started up on his own and doesn't yet have card facilities). During the drive, the TT felt punchy, quiet and torquey. My normally stoic colleague had a huge grin on his face and was looking forward to the drive back to London.

When we got back, my car had just begun it's second treatment and I was keen to see the results. On startup, the car was a little quieter but a lot smoother. Even Terraclean's critic say the one benefit they expect is a smoother idle and it didn't disappoint in this case. The idle of my S8 has always been a little burbly but now it was smooth and very controlled.

One of the few things I didn't enjoy about driving the S8 was the transition at slow speed between the engine being on 'manoeuvre creep' and 'pulling away power'. I always thought that, when pulling away, increases in throttle pedal pressure gave me nothing, nothing, nothing then suddenly awoke the God of Thunder and off you went. After the treatment, that transition is so much smoother. There is so much more torque in the low revs, that the throttle response feels a lot more progressive and, as a result, gear changes are that much nicer too.

I had a few more errands to do in Milton Keynes, before driving back to London so any last remnants of the treatment had been burned off before the engine was really tested. I wasn't expecting a dramatic difference, because the EDT treatment had only been done the week before but Terraclean surprised me again.

Having felt the extra torque available, I'm embarrassed to say I was too impatient to stick at 60mph on the return journey but I did really enjoy the newfound punchiness of the engine and also its smoothness, especially at motorway speeds. The car feels more eager to go and happier to cruise and maintaining any speed requires less throttle than it did before.

The biggest (and most unexpected) difference it made, though, has been to the fuel consumption. I drive a mixture between motorway driving and sitting in London traffic and, at one point, I thought the fuel needle was stuck. It barely moved on my drive back to London and has been consistently better even when pottering around London. Since the treatment, I've driven around 130 miles of mixed driving and I've gone though just over a quarter of a full tank. Previously, I would have only managed that if it were all motorway driving.

I'm really pleased with the results on my car and I'll continue to have it done on every car I own and probably every 3-4 years.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them.