Vehicle servicing with Forte

[Gazzer]

It was time to get my car serviced and an MOT. My usual garage had no bookings in time for the MOT so I found another local garage who who MOT and service the car.
This garage I found out on arrival use FORTE. This is additives added to the oil which flushes out old reaming dirty oil, most engines leave about 12% of the old oil in so adding clean oil is not sensible.
Anyway they do the same to the coolants etc and whatever else is needed.

Before the car went in to the garage it was feeling tired, tickover was lumpy and I had an engine management light at regular intervals showing on the dash. This I already knew was the EGR valve...a common problem caused by carbon build up causing the valve to stick.

Anyway it passed the MOT easy and it was even free with the service. But what amazed me more and I am very sceptical is when I drove it away it felt so much better, it seemed to respond to the throttle better, there was no lumpy tick-over, no management light and generally it felt so much more responsive.....Yes I know that it could be my imagination but on the way to work this morning it still felt the same...even starting was more instant ....

I have always had decent MPG from this car but I am now checking to see if that has improved too.
Anyone else used FORTE garages before ? I have googled them and as usual you get the mixed replies from good to bad, some calling it hocum and waste of money but time will tell for me, at the moment I am impressed and the car feels so much better to drive.

 

[Dan]

I'm a firm believer in this sort of stuff. You need to look after your engines to get good life out of them, and they'll look after you.

The additives are common though, my garage uses all sorts of stuff like that and wont change your oil filter without doing it as he says it's not worth it. Very fussy but keeps the engines running sweet.

Bought an old van that couldn't get up a hill by me unless in first gear, did the same sort of thing with that and it flew up in second and changed to third at the top. That was fully laden with tiles and all tools. So it even works on older engines if they've not been well looked after.

 

[Gazzer]

Well some call it snake oil but I am impressed so far !

 

[Deleted member 9966]

The Megane has gone in for a service and general look at due to various warning lights. I'll have a look at the receipt when I get home to see what has been used.

 

[Dan]

Most decent brand oils have additives in them. But the extra stuff they put in mainly to clean out older engines that haven't been done for a while. it perhaps wouldn't make much difference in a brand new car that's had regular oil changes and manufacturer graded oil used every time.

VAG insist on certain oils for all their vehicles and get fussy with warranty's if it's not used. As a result taxis get 300,000 miles on diesels and you couldn't tell it from a well ran-in new one.

 

[Deleted member 9966]

no idea what oils, lubricants and additives were used on the megane today, but in Mr GRR's lay-mans terms - it's driving like a dream, so much smoother. it does however need 4 new tyres :mad2: and they can't turn the airbag warning light off until they've dismantled the steering wheel and re-connected the electrics to the airbag. apparently, the wiring connecting the airbag is wrapped 17 times around the steering column :mad2:

 

[White Room]

I thought engine flushing was part of the service anyway....

 

[Fliselege]

Got my Avensis MOT'd today, bad news 500 quids worth brakes, good news got it back at 3pm all done and ticket good for 2 years

 

[Dan]

I thought engine flushing was part of the service anyway....

Not always mate. Even an oil change isn't always a requirement depending on the manufacturers instructions. Sometimes it's just filters, pollen filter, oil filter etc etc. Sometimes it's the full works that's required. Some VAG vehicles need to be serviced every 30k but oil changed every 15 or something like that. And with an oil change you'd expect a decent flush out from a decent garage but not all do it.

Most of the time they suck the il out with a pump from the filler cap, and not actually take the sump plug out. So the tube if they suck it out the top perhaps wouldn't catch the dirty bits of oil at the bottom of the engine. It's always advised to do it via the sump so that you get any nasty bits of metal that's built up over the miles that will sit at the bottom. A lot of garages don't like doing it via the sump though as it can leak afterwards and it's always hard to tell if it will leak until it's done a few miles.

 

[White Room]

Got my Avensis MOT'd today, bad news 500 quids worth brakes, good news got it back at 3pm all done and ticket good for 2 years

Two years:yikes:

 

[Fliselege]

Two years:yikes:

Yep, UK's in a minority that only gives a year's M.O.T, dunno exactly who does what but I know Sweden, Denmark and Spain do 2 years and I say UK's in a minority cos I remember reading years ago about EU rules and UK was thinking about falling into line and doing 2 as well

 

[Fliselege]

Road tax is annual though so something are same old same old but if you use studded tyres in the winter there's another tax to pay as they (allegedly) damage the tarmac and kick up particles irritating people with breathing difficulties (no I haven't been drinking thats the reason for the tax) but I use stud free winter tyres in the winter cos I'm a tight git.