(Last Updated On: December 15, 2017)
There are a lot of reasons that you vehicle might not be performing as well as you want it to but there are few reasons that will actually matter In the end, one of them being taking care of your engine. The fuel injector is a very important mechanical component of your vehicle’s engine and not taking care of it as you should, will lead to your vehicle’s performance decline.
The EPA (Environment Protection Agency) has made it mandatory for the fuels sold in the US to have some kind of fuel additives added to it so that the vehicles running on these fuel will leave carbon footprint no more than they should. That is if you don’t maintain your vehicle and fuel injector or the engine has carbon deposits it will burn fuel inefficiently and will release more carbon footprint.
Drivers due to the gas price hike tend to choose fuels which are cheapest of the lot which leads to less fuel additives getting into the vehicle. This leads to a need for fuel additives being added into the vehicle by the driver. So for that to happen there are some things that a driver must keep in check in selecting a fuel additive for his or her car so he or she doesn’t end up wasting money or making inefficient choice. Also check out Best Fuel Injector-System Cleaners.
Learn About Your Engine
The first and the most important thing in choosing a fuel additive requires the driver to know what kind of vehicle is he or she dealing with. There are two types of common engine types when it comes to fuel injection. The first one is the port fuel injection, the port fuel injection uses a very small opening over the intake port to spray atomic level droplets into it and then mixed with air and then to the combustion chamber. In the intake port a lot of polymerization takes place due to left over fuel and that leads to carbon production. That polymerized fuel is harder to combust and can lead to performance decline in the engine as it gets harder and harder for mixture to pass smoothly.
The Direct Fuel Injection is somewhat different than port fuel injection there is only one key difference between the two and the carbon build up is also in the different place as compared to port fuel injector system. The DFI engines have the fuel sprayed directly into the combustion chamber and the unburned fuel particles form carbon build up within the chamber, the fuel additive required to cleanse that part in the DFI engine, has to be the one with strong concentration formula.
Learn About Fuel Additive Formulas
No matter what kind of fuel additive you choose for your vehicle there will be different detergents being used in them as the main ingredient and they are combined with different chemicals to produce a formula. This formula will cleanse the intake valves, fuel injectors, carburetors and other vital components of the fuel system. For selecting a fuel additive you have to see the label first, the label will state the recommended usage instructions if those instructions say that you have to fill that fuel additive in your vehicle at every fuel top up, then that fuel additive has a weak detergent in it compared to the one which you need to use keeping longer intervals in between, such as every 5000 miles or so.
The fuel additives can also have different kinds of formulas, not all of them will be cleaning your engine, they can be used as friction modifier or lubricants depending on the formula of fuel additive you are going for. So before choosing a fuel additive be sure to thoroughly check the formula and it’s functionality to avoid any confusion.
Types of Fuel Additives
There are different types of fuel additives in the market, all serving a different purpose for your vehicle. What kind of fuel additive will you be needing we have discussed that above and what kind of fuel additives you will see in the market along with their usage we are going to discuss below. Let’s get into it.
- Gas Treatments
The cheapest kind of fuel additives in the market that you will encounter will be gas treatment additives. They are added in the fuel tank prior to filling it up and they serve purpose only to the fuel itself. These additives get rid of any harmful fuel substances such as carbon and don’t allow them to mix in the fuel itself while also keeping the fuel lines from freezing in cold weather. The main ingredient in these additives is PIB (Polyisobutene).
- Fuel Injector Cleaner
The next type of fuel additives you will find in the market will be fuel injector cleaners. These fuel additives will have PIBA (Polyisobutylene Amine) as their main ingredient and will have the stronger detergent quality than gas treatment additives. Fuel injector cleaners basically cleanse your fuel injector removing any carbon deposits or clogs that may be disrupting the performance of fuel injector thus improving the overall efficiency of the vehicle. These additives last longer in your vehicle than gas treatment additives and have to be used mostly at every oil change.
- Fuel System Cleaner
The next type of fuel additives that you will find will be the Fuel System Cleaners which are PEA (Polyetheramine) based. This kind of fuel additives are the best you will get in terms of fuel additive cleansing. The PEA is the strongest detergent of all the main ingredients in the fuel additives which allows it to clean the entire fuel system, the stubborn carbon buildups in the fuel system or major clogs can be removed with PEA based Fuel System Cleaners. This type of fuel additives last longer in your vehicle than any of the fuel additives and mostly need to be added in the vehicle’s gas tank at every oil change.
- Fuel Stabilizer
This type of fuel additives is more used to maintain the quality of fuel rather than to clean any component of the engine, this is more close to a preventive measure. The Fuel Stabilizer stops the fuel degradation and corrosion to occur in the fuel lines or the fuel tank. Particles of which can transfer into main fuel system and the engine leading to inefficient performance.
- Octane Booster
Octane booster itself offers nothing more than a performance enhancement when it comes to fuel. This fuel additive increases the octane in the fuel for better performing fuel for your vehicle. It can be used before every fuel fill up, add it in your vehicle’s gas tank.
These are the main points that you have to look out for when it comes to choosing any kind of fuel additive, we hope you find this publication useful.