Fuel Additives and How to Use Them

Go into any automotive store, or any store that has a small automotive section.  You’ll find bottles of fuel additives.  They make bold claims of increasing fuel economy, a better running engine, lower exhaust emissions, and even more power.  It makes you wonder if any of them can really keep to their claims for any vehicle.  Or, do they only work under the right conditions?  Some do and some don’t.  So you’ll have to understand the finer details to know why fuel additives may not work for everyone.

The Internet Says Fuel Additives Don’t Work

Type in the phrase ‘do fuel additives work’ into your favorite internet search browser.  You’ll quickly find dozens of blog posts and articles that tell you fuel additives don’t work. Why would companies keep making them if they don’t work? Is it all a big scam?  Most users believe a fuel additive works immediately after adding it to the fuel tank.  That’s untrue.  It’s like starting a new diet trend and weighing yourself the next day.  You probably won’t see an immediate change and think it’s a fad that doesn’t work.

Most fuel additives that are added to the fuel tank see results over time.  Unless you take a trip consuming one complete fuel tank, your results will vary over time.  Usually, one tank isn’t enough to register a huge change too.  It normally takes multiple tanks of fuel to really see a large benefit and performance gain.

Why Does Vehicle Maintenance Matter for Fuel Additive Results?

If you’re a bit lax with your vehicle maintenance, and you allow engine sludge to build up, any performance gain from a fuel additive may be negated through other performance losses.  The same can be said for deposits forming in your fuel system.  Your fuel injectors, cylinder head valves, and combustion chambers have very tight tolerances in newer vehicles.  Any type of deposit may disrupt the optimum spray pattern of your injectors.  This robs gas mileage and decreases power output of your engine.  Older vehicles may not immediately show symptoms.  However, newer direct injection and high-pressure common-rail (HPCR) diesel engines likely will.  They use injectors exposed to the combustion chamber for maximum power.  They may see a larger decrease in power and mileage.  That’s the last thing you want when you have a full trailer load and you’re headed out for a weekend of fun.

Can I Just Pour a Bottle in and Go?

On your way out to the lake isn’t the best time to pick up a bottle of fuel additive at a random gas station along the way.  It may say it “increases fuel economy”, but is it really worth your time and money?  Most likely you added a bottle of cheaper fuel additive, and it didn’t have a lot of cleaning agents in the mixture.  Over time the cheaper fuel additive will eventually clean your fuel system. It may take several tanks of fuel to clean enough deposits to actually increase your gas mileage and return a small amount of power and torque.  And it may take several bottles of the cheaper fuel additive to restore the fuel system completely.  Are you really willing to wait weeks or months to have that “new vehicle” feeling again?

Concentrate Doesn’t Mean Stare at the Bottle

If you’re in the additive aisle at your local auto parts store, you’ll find fuel additives with different concentrations of cleaners.  Most won’t contain a lot, and most won’t offer big claims of cleaning either.  They’ll be vague with “more” and “better”, but no numbers to really back up their claims.

Fuel cleaner concentration does matter, and having the right amount makes a difference between results in time and results immediately.  AMSOIL’s P.i. Performance Improver is a deep cleaning fuel additive that is meant to clean your gasoline fuel system in just one bottle.  It reduces emissions and increases fuel economy up to 5.7 percent.  That can save you some serious money over the course of a year, and you just need to add one bottle every 4,000 miles to maintain optimum fuel system performance.  Easy and simple, just the way every maintenance item should be.

Can P.i. Performance Cleaner Work in Anything?

AMSOIL’s P.i. Performance Improver works in any carburetor or fuel injected gasoline engine.  This cleaner cleans and protects gasoline fuel systems from back to front.  Most would second guess a fuel additive that claims to work in all gasoline fuel systems, especially since gasoline direct-injection (GDI) engines locate injectors inside the combustion chamber.  They face powerful heat and pressure that would destroy older fuel injectors.

Any type of incomplete combustion can leave deposits and soot on the injectors and significantly impact their ability to function at maximum performance. Gasoline direct injection creates 30 to 40 times more soot than port fuel injectors (PFI). AMSOIL P.i. Performance Improver removes stubborn deposits and soot.  It restores your engine and keeps it functioning as designed.  Testing has proven that deposits left on injectors has been completely removed and efficiency restored after one bottle added to a fuel tank. One bottle! That’s the performance you need.

What if I Have a Diesel Engine?  

You won’t feel left out if you have a powerful diesel that you use to run a business or tow on the weekends.   AMSOIL has diesel specific products that will clean your complete fuel system and restore any robbed performance.  Accordingly, these additives are specifically tailored for your diesel:

• The AMSOIL Diesel Injector Clean product provides the cleaning and performance chemistry needed to clean and protect your complete diesel fuel system.
• AMSOIL Diesel Cold Flow enhances fuel flow in colder temperatures to prevent fuel gelling and fuel-filter clogging.

• The AMSOIL Diesel Cetane Boost product increases the cetane number of diesel fuel up to eight points for maximum horsepower, increased fuel economy and easier starts.

• AMSOIL Diesel Injector Clean + Cetane Boost combines the optimum detergents for cleaning your fuel system and increases cetane for better performance. Like a one-two punch in a bottle!

• Finally, AMSOIL Diesel All-in-One combines the benefits of all three diesel additives in one bottle.

The next time you’re at the store thinking about fuel mileage and fuel economy, pick up a competitor’s bottle and read the ingredients and claims. We’ll bet you put it back and head to BuyGreatOil.com instead. We offer AMSOIL products exclusively in our online store.  Accordingly, we use AMSOIL exclusively in our fleet of vehicles and equipment because their fuel additives and oils include 50% more detergents than some competitors. That cleaning helps to keep vehicles running longer for less money. If you need help with determining a complete maintenance plan for your vehicle, your local AMSOIL dealer at Buy Great Oil is here to help with a complete package of products and hints to make the job easier.