What are the effects of carbon deposits in a car?
2 Answers
Effects of carbon deposits in a car: 1. Carbon deposits reduce the intake passage and decrease the charging efficiency, leading to increased cylinder pressure, delayed ignition timing, and reduced engine power; 2. When carbon deposits fall into the intake valve seat passage, it can cause insufficient cylinder pressure. Additionally, the fuel injected during startup is absorbed by the carbon deposits, resulting in a lean air-fuel mixture in the cylinder and preventing the engine from starting properly; 3. When carbon deposits adhere to the intake valve and throttle valve, the engine cannot accurately control the amount of gasoline and air sent to the combustion chamber, leading to unstable engine idling; 4. When carbon deposits accumulate in the combustion chamber, it can easily cause knocking, resulting in delayed ignition timing, reduced engine power, and an increase in fuel consumption by 4% to 5%.
Carbon deposits can have a significant impact on vehicles. My decade-old car has suffered greatly from them. The engine struggles to breathe, lacking power when stepping on the gas, and noticeably underperforms when climbing hills. Fuel consumption has also risen sharply—previously, a full tank could cover 500 kilometers, but now it barely exceeds 400. Even more frustrating is the difficulty in cold starts; it takes several turns of the key in the morning to get the engine going. At idle, the steering wheel shakes as if sifting flour, and cabin noise has increased. During the last repair, the mechanic found the valves and piston tops covered in black carbon deposits, warning that these could cause engine knocking and, if left untreated long-term, might lead to cylinder scoring. Now, I add a bottle of fuel additive every 3,000 kilometers and regularly take the car on highway drives to clean out the carbon deposits.
