Fitch catalyst?

[RaWarrior]

Just wondering if anybody has tried this stuff....a search didn't really turn up anything. It's a little plastic holder with some "miracle alloy" that supposedly improves the quality of bad gas. It's been around for a while, and I've actually seen positive reviews for it in a couple different places from third-party tests. While I really don't buy the "increases power"claim(and dyno tests show no change in that regard, or an improvement within the margin of error), people seem to have good luck with it on other terms. Namely keeping fuel fresh longer and solving issues from low-quality gas.

Reason being is I've been chasing this minor hesitation on the highway with my bike, mostly a very poor throttle response unless you really get on the gas. If you just creep on the gas, nothing happens and then all of a sudden it comes alive. Does this very intermittently. Sometimes it's fine for a whole tank, I fill up and then it comes back within a minute or two. I've tried 89 and 91 octanes and that really doesn't seem to have a clear effect on the hesitation. Adding sea-foam always clears it up. I've taken samples of gas out of the tank, from the bottom after it has been hesitating to check for water. No water that separates out.

I know fuel quality is definetly suffering, and I think this on-and-off hesitation must be due to just low quality, ethanol-laced fuels. I'm wondering if this Fitch pellet catalyst might be worth a try. Anybody tried this before and have any opinions?

 

[gamorg02]

how much are they?

i'd say it sounds like u keep getting crap gas up there. i know my truck used to run like shit there, but when i got back to utica it'd run fine. must be the Amish.

 

[kaboom]

how much are they?

i'd say it sounds like u keep getting crap gas up there. i know my truck used to run like shit there, but when i got back to utica it'd run fine. must be the Amish.

:rofl_200::clapping::rofl_200:

 

[RaWarrior]

I thought that too...I imagine gas stations up here are relatively low-volume and don't get fuel shipments very often. A loose trend I noticed is the bike seems to run better when filled up at those giant, 24 pump super-stations in populated areas...probably fresher fuel?

They're not cheap at like $45 for the "F5T" pack of two four-pellet packs. However I noticed on ebay you can get one pack of four pellets for about $15, labeled for "outdoor power equipment" and "up to 6 gallon tanks". Realizing their own price discrepancy, they seem to have added in that it's only for up to 25hp engines, and that the double pack for 3x the price is suited for up to 150hp. Meh....BS sales tactics like that make the doubt the product as a whole.

I'm skeptical about these, but I was about sea-foam when I first heard about it too. Just wrote it off as another snake oil, but after reading so much about it, and all the "it worked miracles" stories, I finally gave it a try and was completely amazed. Have yet to hear somebody who was disappointed.

Like I said, I call BS on the "more horespower" and "better mileage" claims. Their only "evidence" is an assload of testimonials of people saying they added the magic pellets and suddenly got 5mpg better- not that they were expecting better mileage and drove more conservatively instead, which is what actually produced the gain. That and a bunch of people saying it "just overall runs better"....which means virtually nothing.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

snake oil.

 

[gamorg02]

i'd prefer to just find better gas, use a bit of seafoam in each tank than try something else.

 

[gamorg02]

also, what grade gas do you use? 87 may be recycled thru more often, if ur running high test i don't see a lot of people springing for 93 in postdam or canton or anywhere else up there

 

[GREEN light BLITZ]

yes my friend runs Fitch fuel catalyst in his 07 CBRand I have one for my V-Max in the mail coming to me as we speak.They will not make your bike an instant dragster but they will make a difference you can feel.They are actually sponsored and supported as a leading product used in 2 series of the American Motorcycle Associations racing series,one of wich is there drag series and I forget the other.They basically draw out and obsorb the chemicals that make your gas into cat piss from the pump,things that mixed during tanking and sitting essentially.I know it works because my friend says it does and he knows his bike better than anyone I know...Oh and hes pulling an extra 25 miles to a tank now that he wasnt previously(riding style unchanged,believe me he rides like an animal).
The product is about $50 for the 2 catalysts,or you can buy the 1 catalyst pack for about $25 but you will need to let your bike sit a few days for it to take effect the way using 2 will.(they give you 2 so it works faster,the longer you let your gas sit with these in there the more potent it gets)
They also keep gas from spoiling during storage and "extend engine life"
They basicallly are the wonder cure for crap gas,They sound WAY too good to be true but I have already seen many of the symptoms they claim their product can make happen in person.I back this product so far and can give you a better answer in a few days when mine arrives. Hope I helped -Ace

 

[ghostntheshell]

 

[4gasem]

Seen them tested and they say they are CRAP! No gains seen.

Use top tier gas and your issues will probably vanish.

Chris

 

[ghostntheshell]

Another shaddy side to the internet is the "third party testing" that takes place.
Unless it's been tested from a source you already know and trust - like a site that you visit regularily - then do not put too much faith in it.

Sometimes entire websites will be created with a few topics on it - and the "third party review" listed ont he site - will of course be fabricated - and filled with glowing reviews -

Kind of along the lines of those posts you see with people "reviewing" a company or product and they have ONE post. Or maybe 3-4 posts.

The internet is the perfect place for a scam.


I'm not saying w/ 100% certainty that this product is bogus - but if the big, well known names aren't testing it and approving it - then let the buyer beware!

 

[4gasem]

http://www.nlcpr.com/Deceptions3.php

Read down...

 

[GREEN light BLITZ]

Is this big enough and well known enough?I trust the guys that get paid to know what they use in their bikes and I cant argue with in-person testimony of its working.:confused2:

The Fitch Fuel Catalyst named the official fuel treatment for the AMA Prostar Drag Racing Series.

The Fitch Fuel Catalyst is approved for use by competitors in all AMA sanctioned events.

 

[4gasem]

They PAY to get this! I don't use Valvoline because I see it on a race car...

 

[GREEN light BLITZ]

ok,and what about the people Ive spoke to in person that say it definitively increases RPM response and gas milage? Suppose they ALL dont know there bikes well enough to realise if a difference is made or not?:ummm:
Its easiest to knock a product you havent used.Ive seen FIRST hand the comparable difference between MANY fuel "additives",including higher octane gas(Sunoco 110 octane) and the usual staple, SEA FOAM. Im just saying, if your lookin for a pay for it once and dont worry about it after that solution, that works...this is it.Prove me wrong,TRY THE PRODUCT.:biglaugh:
If Im wrong...ILL POST A BIG FAT THREAD ADMITTING IT.Just try not to be too closed minded.

 

[RaWarrior]

Gotta agree there, I know too that companies pay BIG $$$$$ to be named the "official _______ of _______". I guess they figure that if a big name organization "approves" of the product it will sell better. Sunoco ads around here say "put a little NASCAR in your car", since Sunoco is apparently the official fuel for nascar. Big deal, it won't make my truck go 180mph.

I think it is just overall stale fuel, so as soon as I get my bike back on the road(Sean's parts should be in tomorrow:eusa_dance I'll try always filling up with 87 in hopes for fresher gas.

I'd like to hear your results with the Fitch.

 

[RaWarrior]

Intresting note about the Fitch stuff. I was at the Big East powersports show today, and there was a booth there for some horrendously overpriced synthetic oil(to the tune of $20/quart, and that was supposedly a 25% off sale price), and they also had the Fitch pellets there. I asked the price, and they were about $5 less than Dennis Kirk's price for the "F5T" pack of two. I asked the guy which size I would need for a 4 gallon bike tank, and he said the "F4T" would be fine since it is for up to 6 gallons. He then admitted that the "25hp max" marked on the package was "kinda crap", and that to go by tank size. The "F4T" was only $20, less than half the price of the dual pack labeled as "for motorcycles and powersports up to 150hp". He said it's the exact same material in the pellets in the "outdoor power equipment" pack for $20, and the "powersports" pack for $45.

I picked up a single pack that he recommended for the size tank...figured I'd give it a try and $20 will only buy two cans of sea-foam around here anyway. While it could be a good act, the salesman seemed kinda honest about the stuff. I was going to buy the $45 pack, he asked what it was for and said that it was overkill and to just get the $20 single. He explained that the pellets are not an additive and ONLY restore fuel to it's optimal "freshness" by retarding bacteria growth and breaking up hydrocarbons back into optimal length chains....short ones burn too quick, long ones burn too slow and leave carbon. The claims for "more HP, better mileage" he said may be true if you are running really shit gas and losing performance from it, but the big benefit is that gas stays fresh virtually indefinetly, or so they say. So baisically what the point is, is that if you ran fresh from the refinery fuel with no ethanol, this stuff would have no benefit at all. But unfortuantely (more ambigious numbers), fuel can often be in storage and holding tanks for "over a year" between refining and the time it gets into your tank, so the gas we think is fresh from the pump has already had a year's worth of degradation. I dunno-I would have immeidately written it off as BS but it's been around a while, and some big-name publications have done favorable write ups on it.

Except my Max is now 220 miles away in Albany so I can't try it. I'll post results once I give it a try. Supposedly "within minutes" of adding the pellets a difference will be noticed as the "fuel is freshened to it's original state".

We'll see. My Max runs pretty good, except for this annoying hesitation at highway speeds. Like you roll on the gas...nothing, little more, nothing, little more and all of a sudden it comes alive and takes off. It's an intermittent issue, kinda comes and goes....but comes and goes shortly after filling up, so the only guess I have is the ethanol they put in the gas up here. Octane grades seems to have no effect on the issue, though it does seem to do it less often after filling up at a big-name, high volume station. Always does it filling up at small, rural town stations, which is what led me to think it's stale/low quality gas.

 

[jedi-]

Fitch Fuel Catalyst

= Bollocks :jerk it:

 

[tugla]

Intresting note about the Fitch stuff. I was at the Big East powersports show today, and there was a booth there for some horrendously overpriced synthetic oil(to the tune of $20/quart, and that was supposedly a 25% off sale price), and they also had the Fitch pellets there. I asked the price, and they were about $5 less than Dennis Kirk's price for the "F5T" pack of two. I asked the guy which size I would need for a 4 gallon bike tank, and he said the "F4T" would be fine since it is for up to 6 gallons. He then admitted that the "25hp max" marked on the package was "kinda crap", and that to go by tank size. The "F4T" was only $20, less than half the price of the dual pack labeled as "for motorcycles and powersports up to 150hp". He said it's the exact same material in the pellets in the "outdoor power equipment" pack for $20, and the "powersports" pack for $45.

I picked up a single pack that he recommended for the size tank...figured I'd give it a try and $20 will only buy two cans of sea-foam around here anyway. While it could be a good act, the salesman seemed kinda honest about the stuff. I was going to buy the $45 pack, he asked what it was for and said that it was overkill and to just get the $20 single. He explained that the pellets are not an additive and ONLY restore fuel to it's optimal "freshness" by retarding bacteria growth and breaking up hydrocarbons back into optimal length chains....short ones burn too quick, long ones burn too slow and leave carbon. The claims for "more HP, better mileage" he said may be true if you are running really shit gas and losing performance from it, but the big benefit is that gas stays fresh virtually indefinetly, or so they say. So baisically what the point is, is that if you ran fresh from the refinery fuel with no ethanol, this stuff would have no benefit at all. But unfortuantely (more ambigious numbers), fuel can often be in storage and holding tanks for "over a year" between refining and the time it gets into your tank, so the gas we think is fresh from the pump has already had a year's worth of degradation. I dunno-I would have immeidately written it off as BS but it's been around a while, and some big-name publications have done favorable write ups on it.

Except my Max is now 220 miles away in Albany so I can't try it. I'll post results once I give it a try. Supposedly "within minutes" of adding the pellets a difference will be noticed as the "fuel is freshened to it's original state".

We'll see. My Max runs pretty good, except for this annoying hesitation at highway speeds. Like you roll on the gas...nothing, little more, nothing, little more and all of a sudden it comes alive and takes off. It's an intermittent issue, kinda comes and goes....but comes and goes shortly after filling up, so the only guess I have is the ethanol they put in the gas up here. Octane grades seems to have no effect on the issue, though it does seem to do it less often after filling up at a big-name, high volume station. Always does it filling up at small, rural town stations, which is what led me to think it's stale/low quality gas.

I think you've explained the claims pretty good. it will not give you HP or any magic stuff like that. but is claimed to help slow down and reverse the deterioration of the fuel. ive been running it in my truck for a while and with the crappy gas way up north it for sure seems to have at least helped the fuel in my tank. me and my buddies looked hard into this stuff and they use it in jerry cans for their sleds and moto-x. the best fuel up here is if your lucky like 87 down south. so if it at least helps stabilizing the fuel then it works itself out. Guys say it seems to help their sleds and bikes.
I do have a firend with a fuel octane test kit, so my next step is to get fuel from the pumps couple of cans and test them one with fitch in it, and then let it sit 2 weeks then 4 and 6 and see if there is a difference, only way to tell. So when i get the answer i'll let you all know once and for all if its snakeish or not.

 

[RaWarrior]

Well, last weekend I added the little pellet capsule to the Max's full fuel tank. The bike had been sitting for about a month with regular 87 in it. I went for a ride, and came to my first stop about 10 miles later. The bike's idle was noticeably smoother. While it has always idled fine right at about 1000 RPM, it was never very "smooth" sounding. Now it was very regular and very smooth, at a slightly higher RPM, like 1150 or so. I turned down the idle screw a bit and continued. Next stop, it was still super smooth at the same 1000 I had turned it down to.

Now for the biggie....the nagging hesitation above 55. Gone. Roll on the gas at any throttle position and it smoothly started to pull away. I only did 60 miles or so, but by damn did the bike seem to just run...better. I didn't really notice any seat-of-pants performance change aside from the improved(now normal) highway throttle response. I didn't do enough miles to make any sort of comment on the "increased fuel economy" claim.


I don't want to sound like a parrot of the "testimonials", but this stuff did seem to help. The bike runs smoother, and at least tentatively cleared up this annoying hesitation at highway speeds, that from several tanks of testing I could only attribute to low-quality fuel.

When you drop the pellets into gas, within probably a minute there is a stream of very, very small bubbles coming off them- so it's doing something.


Again, supposedly this stuff does not give benefits on it's own, it only "freshens" the fuel there back to it's optimal state and prevents bacterial growth that causes fuel to go stale and turn into varnish.

So far, this stuff gets a thumbs-up from me. I haven't done enough riding with it(highs in the 40's make long rides rather unpleasant) to make a definite call, but the initial impression in good.

You only need the "outdoor power equipment" pack, that treats up to a 6 gallon tank....I've since seen it on ebay stores for as little as $18. That won't even buy two cans of sea-foam around here.