In a test, looking into the truth behind fuel additives, (commissioned by the Fifth-Gear TV motoring magazine show), found that most of the top branded fuel additives, do very little to improve engine performance. The results show that of the four major brands in the test, none of them improved performance and worse than that, ("He's dead Jim!"), they all lowered engine performance by at least 2%.
My experience with fuel additives in the past, (over 35 years of motoring), and conclusion drawn from this Fifth-Gear Fuel Additives test,is that fuel additives could help keep the internal chambers of your engine clean, if used regularly and from when the engine is new!
In my own experience, all of the products I've ever used have ruined my engines. But then, they were all old engines, that I was seeking to give a little more life and power to. The thought I have on it, is this; Due to the cleaning processes of the additives, they have removed carbon build up, (which is what they are supposed to do), and that has led to power loss.
I think, that if you do not use fuel additives regularly, the amount of carbon builds up inside the engine.This carbon build-up, wears the engine over long period's. Then, when the fuel additive removes this carbon build up, the engine looses power overall.
Fifth Gear - Fuel Additives Test.
The Negatives of Fuel Additives!
Carbon build-up, actually fills in all the little scratches and pits in your combustion chambers. Over-time, carbon build-up increases wear and pitting, because it causes hot-spots, both on and around deposits. The hot-spot can melt and pit the surfaces inside the combustion chamber, whilch is then filled in with more carbon deposits!
It gets worse! The bits of debris, from the initial hot spot, then interfere with the other moving parts and can cause damage like scoring and scouring of the combustion chamber. These scratches then in turn, become traps for yet more carbon deposits and the cycle continues until your engine is running terribly. That is the point where you usually decide to try and gain lost power and introduce fuel additives!
The Fuel Additive Cure!
I also think that regular use of a fuel additive, mainly for its carbon cleaning properties, can in-turn yield better and improved performance, than would be had without ever using a fuel additive.
Only use fuel additives with the engine from new, or you may just kill an old engine, as has been my past experience three times!
However, there is another point they failed to mention in the Fifth-Gear - Fuel-Additive Test!
Modern fuels bought at the fuel pumps, already has improved cleaning properties and such additives. I think that a lot of the fuel additives still around these days are hangers on, from the days of old, when we used to run on leaded fuel!
This is a Pole-Position Article, for Formula1Race.co.uk
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