Engine Med RX from Yamaha Motor Corporation

Here is an all-new product that falls under the “fuel additive” category from Yamaha Motor Corporation. It is not a re-packaged product that was already on the market – instead, Yamaha engineered and built this product so it is a proprietary synthetic formula.

Normally when we think of ethanol in our fuel we think of how ethanol absorbs water and falls to the bottom of the tank, but there are far more issues with the ever-increasing amounts of ethanol in our fuel supply. Yamaha technicians and engineers have to deal with this on a daily basis and wanted to do something about it. The Engine Med RX is different from a fuel stabilizer; rather, it is an engine cleaner and corrosion protection formula with outstanding de-carboning properties. Yep, gets rid of the carbon, so this is an excellent treatment to keep your power valves clean on two-strokes. On four-strokes this will clean up the carbon deposits on the pistons, cylinder heads and valves, just like it does on two-strokes. If you are familiar with the “Ring Free” product used by Yamaha dealers to de-carbon engines, Engine Med RX uses the same stuff but with far more corrosion inhibitors to combat the ethanol residue.

Ethanol residue? Have you ever noticed a white film on the inside of your gas cap when you take it off to add fuel? We always thought this was some sort of residue from the ethanol, and we were right – it is a contaminant from the manufacturing of ethanol and it is VERY corrosive. They’re called sulfate salts, specifically sulphuric acid, and it is very aggressive at corroding the metals found in fuel systems. With all of the electronic fuel injection systems in use these days, fuel pumps are now inside the gas tanks so they are constantly exposed to the ethanol and the corrosive effects of the by-products. The corrosion inhibitors found in Engine Med RX are specifically aimed at protecting steel, aluminum, yellow metals and silver solder all the way to E-20 blends.

We’ve examined test data provided by Yamaha engineers on the benefits of Engine Med RX and it scared the crap out of us to see what ethanol fuels are doing (corrosion) to the metals in the fuel system. We are already familiar with the benefits of using Yamaha’s Ring Free, so when we learned the new Engine Med RX was basically a consumer version of Ring Free with corrosion protection, we wanted a case of it right then and there. It comes in smaller 3.2 ounce bottles that can be used with 5 gallons of fuel, or in larger 16 ounce bottles. It should be used CONTINUOUSLY with every fill for the best results and highest level of protection. It is safe to use with Yamaha’s new Fuel Med RX product (fuel stabilizer). Ask for Engine Med RX at any Yamaha dealer, it just became available in June. After seeing the test data and being educated by the Yamaha engineers we will now be using it in ALL of our engines from this point forward.

Originally published in SnowTech Magazine’s print version. SnowTech is published 5 times a year and is available as a subscription here, or available on your local newsstand.