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Fuel additives: an alternative to remapping?
It is possible to garner better fuel economy, lower emissions and a bit more power without having to modify the vehicle. Deposits from fuel - particularly low-grade, low-cost supermarket stuff and biodiesel - build up and cling to the engine's vitals over time, and can hamper all of the above elements.
ACFO has cottoned on to the issue and is running courses with engine treatment specialist Forte Lubricants entitled 'Introduction to Contamination' on 16 and 17 July in Coventry (see www.acfo.org or email info@acfo.org for more), while fellow treatment firm Techron has launched a pair of additives - one for petrols and one for diesels - that supposedly have real clout for cleaning up engines.
Both are designed to clean up the internal components that, over time, are the most likely to suffer from a build up of deposits.
Mieke Mortier, senior chemist at Techron's parent company Chevron, explains: "It cleans up the deposits, brings the engine back to maximum power, lowers the emissions and optimises the performance. The injectors, the intake valves and the combustion chamber are the crucial areas."
The company acknowledges that there are a lot of fuel additives on the market anyway, describing it as "awash with additives that don't do anything". It also claims that some of them are, in fact, counter productive and can make engines worse.
In an effort to stand out from the crowd, Techron has carried out a lot of independent testing, which, for its diesel additive, showed an average 7.6% increase in fuel economy, a 6.5% drop in CO2 and 3.4% power hike.
Brian Hayes, channel programme specialist at Techron, admits that fleets running brand new vehicles for a short period of time won't see much of an improvement, but those operating vehicles over a slightly longer lease period will get the benefits: "If you're running a brand new fleet with vehicles that are less than one year old on good quality fuel then. I don't think you'll see a big change.
"When you're running vehicles for four or five years then there's a definite benefit to be had. There's quite a dramatic drop-off in mpg after two years. With extended fleet changeover periods, there are a lot of older vehicles that may have a lot of deposits on board.
"It's down to the vehicles, the type of operation, the type of fuel and how long you plan on keeping them."
Less of an off-the-shelf product, Techron is supplying the additives directly to the garage trade. Businesses can specify it with their service provider as part of the service package.
In terms of cost, Hayes surmises: "When it's retailed as a single service product to consumers it costs £15 to £20, but if a consumer pays this much then a fleet operator will pay less. I'd imagine that a fleet operator with a major contract will pay significantly less."
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