Keeping Clean with Emissions Reducing Additives

Modern engines rely on sophisticated controls and sensors to emit startlingly low emissions, but increasingly, a build-up of deposits is compromising those systems.

During the normal operation of the car’s engine, carbon deposits can start to build up on fuel injectors, pistons, valves, and a number of other components. These deposits can cause the oxygen sensors to receive inaccurate readings and alter the air-fuel mixture unnecessarily, resulting in a drop in performance and efficiency as well as an increase in emissions.

While some automakers have struggled to find the cause of excess deposits, advances in additive technology have led to more effective consumer- and professionally-administered additives that can address the problem.

Adding impetus to the market has been the imperative in British Columbia and Ontario to pass emissions tests. As of 2007, however, most emissions testing laws across the country are changing. British Columbia in particular will see far fewer cars tested, as administrators have noted very few failing grades for late-model vehicles. As such, vehicles being tested as of 2007 will be at least seven years old.

For customers who are less concerned about the performance side of the emissions game than about simply passing their legally binding emissions test, there are some simple options that can go a long way.

As opposed to the regular user of fuel additives, who is largely seeking increased or maintained performance, emissions testing has created a separate niche market for drivers who are looking for a fast, easy and reliable way to ensure their car will pass its emissions test, enabling them to renew their licence.

Of course, as Richard Navin of Radiator Specialty Company points out, “Improving efficiency and reducing emissions is kind of two ways of saying the same thing, but different customers will respond to different approaches.”

As with any other automotive product, there is a gradient in terms of quality and efficacy. “Because all the companies use pretty much the same terms, it can be a little confusing, but the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is a pretty good litmus test,” says Navin. There are, he adds, some important distinctions. “There is definitely a hierarchy in quality. To get in and really clean everything, even tougher parts like the backs and the tops of pistons, you need a stronger product. Unfortunately, it’s all called ‘fuel system cleaner’, which makes it a bit confusing for the consumer.”

The various differences in both price and quality can also be reflected in the needs of the consumer. Often, a customer will be looking to enhance the performance of his new vehicle through improvements in efficiency.

However, as Roy Howarth of CRC points out, “Emissions systems coming right off the assembly line are finely tuned systems, and you can’t really get the system running any better than that. What many clients do want to do, though, is keep their car working at that level.” Howarth notes that for such a job, a lower-grade product can be used on a routine basis. However, the higher-grade solutions come into play most often, he says, when a customer gets that ominous government summons in the mail.

“That customer has a very different mindset,” he says. “When [those customers have] to go and have their car tested in order to get a licence renewed, they absolutely need that car to pass. In that case, the higher-end products are going to be the best bet.”

As with any additive though, overuse can become an issue, simply due to the corrosive nature of the product. While Howarth says there are rarely major adverse consequences or long-term damage associated with additive usage, he does say, “Keep a limit on it, because it can be a very aggressive product, and overuse can cause problems.”