In the wake of recent emission scandals across the world (VW and more recently Mitsubishi) a lot of people have been wandering if their car is performing as it should be. The simple truth is that no matter what car you drive, it’s inevitable that your engine will lose power over time. There’s even a popular myth that engines lose 1 BHP (Break Horse Power) on average per year. Not to worry, using fuel additives can help increase your BHP, MPG and generally improve your engines health & performance.
Fuel Additives – Do they all do the same thing?
There are different types of fuel additive on the market, all of them designed to do slightly different things to your engine. So what should you look for when thinking of buying a fuel additive for your car?
Depending on what car you have and how old it is will depend which fuel additive you should use. Most fuel additives say that they can “clean your system” or “increases octane rating”. What does this really mean, and do you need a higher octane?
Cleaning Your System
Some fuel additives such as Wynn’s Formula Gold Petrol System Treatment, REDEX Petrol Fuel System Cleaner & STP Petrol Treatment are specifically designed to clean your entire fuel system. Over time harmful deposits build up in your petrol tank, fuel injectors, lines and pumps, restricting the flow into and decreasing the power output of your engine.
These ‘system cleaners’ are probably the easiest and cheapest way to regain some BHP & MPG from your aging engine. Simply pour the recommended amount of fuel additive into your petrol tank when you next fill up. It’s not an immediate fix, but by your next fuel stop you will notice an improvement in your engines performance and MPG.
It isn’t necessary to do this every time you fill up, as once your fuel system is clean, it’s clean. It’s important to remember that regular use of fuel additives will prevent deposits building up in the future.
Fuel Injector Cleaners
Fuel additives advertising that they clean your fuel injectors do exactly that, but what does it mean?
Fuel injectors (as the name suggests) inject fuel into your engine by spraying a fine mist directly into the intake manifold. This is an essential part in order to keep your engine running. Over time your fuel injectors can become slightly blocked from particles within the fuel. The image below shows the difference between a blocked fuel injector and one which has been cleaned using a fuel additive.
Some great examples of Injector cleaners are REDEX Petrol Injector, Wynn’s Injector Cleaner for Petrol Engine and STP Petrol Fuel Injector Cleaner. As with their previous products, these fuel additives clean your entire fuel system but have been specifically designed with fuel injectors in mind.
Octane Booster
You’ve probably noticed that most petrol pumps have more than one type of petrol available. They usually have ’95’ or ’98’ written on the pump (98 is more expensive), but what does this mean? For the average motorist it doesn’t mean a lot and they will and should opt for the cheaper of the two fuels. 98 octane petrol is designed for high performance vehicles such as sports, super & hyper cars.
There are a range of fuel additives which are designed to not only clean your fuel system, but also increase the octane of the fuel in your tank. One such fuel additive is REDEX Octane (Petrol) Booster. This product will increase the octane of your fuel resulting in increased performance. Unlike other fuel additives, which can be used infrequently to keep your system clean, REDEX Octane Booster should be used in every tank to maintain a higher octane level of the fuel in your tank.
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