Are Gasoline Additives Useful?
1 Answers
Fuel additives are useful and can be categorized into cleaning type, maintenance type, and power-boosting type. Both cleaning and maintenance types contain cleaning agents in their chemical composition, which can effectively clean or inhibit carbon deposits in the engine, addressing issues such as insufficient power and fault codes caused by fuel quality. The specific functions of fuel additives include: removing carbon deposits and cleaning the fuel system; enhancing power; improving fuel efficiency; preventing corrosion, rust, lubrication, and reducing noise; cleaning carbon deposits and gum in the engine intake and fuel injectors; and using corrosion inhibitors, anti-knock agents, and combustion enhancers to prevent corrosion, reduce knocking, and improve combustion effects. In the era of multi-point fuel injection, the main component of fuel additives was mostly PIBA (polyisobutylene amine), a polymer with a polyether main chain and an amine end group, which could remove some gum-like substances. However, in the direct injection era, due to the high-temperature and high-pressure environment (combustion chamber) in direct injection engines, volatility is poor, leading to rapid deposit formation. Therefore, adding traditional fuel additives to direct injection engines not only fails to clean combustion chamber carbon deposits but also significantly increases carbon buildup. Nowadays, most fuel additives contain PEA (polyether amine), which can continue to clean under high temperatures, making it suitable for direct injection engines and more effective in removing carbon deposits. Additionally, most modern fuel additives include gasoline cleaning components, effectively cleaning gasoline, preventing oxidation, and improving energy efficiency. The Chinese government has long established standards for fuel additives, specifically GB19592-2004. Only products that meet this standard are considered legitimate fuel additives, so consumers should pay attention when purchasing.
