Must-Have Fuel Additives For Your Vehicle

Like many others owning a vehicle for the first time, the topic of fuel additives is probably new to you. This is not shocking considering that a large number of seasoned vehicle owners may not know a lot about these additives themselves.

Additives are chemicals added into fuels so as to improve the desirable qualities of the fuel by suppressing its undesirable qualities. Here are three types of additives you should consider investing in.

Deposit Control Additives

Deposit control additives are made up of either oxygen or nitrogen atoms combined with a hydrocarbon. The hydrocarbon ensures that the additive is fully soluble in gasoline.

These additives help to prevent/control formation of deposits within your engine fuel system, thereby keeping the system clean and free of debris. Deposits referred to in this case are those that originate from the chemical components of gasoline.

Deposit control additives are able to serve their function through the formation of protective films that prevent the chemical components referred to from accumulating and forming deposits.

The accumulation of deposits within the fuel system is known to have a negative impact on the performance of a vehicle and is closely associated with problems such as hard/poor engine starts.

Friction Modifier Additives

Also known as friction modifiers, these additives are commonly used in the crankshaft of the vehicle where friction between different components is common. Excess friction between vehicle components results in significant energy losses, and it can have a profound impact on your fuel efficiency.

As the name might suggest, friction modifier additives help to reduce the amount of friction between vehicle components. Molecules of the modifiers attach themselves to metal surfaces within the fuel system (e.g. piston rings and cylinder walls) that are constantly in contact with each other. The effect of this is that the metal surfaces are able to slide past each other with greater ease, thereby reducing the amount of friction generated by their interaction. Reduced friction within your vehicle's fuel system could easily translate to better fuel economy and improved engine power.

Corrosion Inhibitors

Corrosion is a common problem that affects metallic components of all vehicles (e.g. fuel storage tanks). This problem is often responsible for leakages within the fuel system and for an accelerated rate of wear and tear on components of the fuel system.

Corrosion inhibitors work to prevent this occurrence by adhering to the metal surfaces and forming an anti-corrosion film around these surfaces.

Common examples of corrosion inhibitors include carboxylic acid and anhydrides.