We all have come across filling station employees who pester us to use petrol additives promising a good fuel economy. Now the question is whether these petrol additives really work and enhances the performance or mileage of vehicles? The answer is mostly no.
Petrol additives, also known as fuel supplements, are generally chemicals that are mixed in fuel as they claim to enhance the performance of your motorcycle for a certain period of time. There are different types of fuel additives available in the market, which can be used with gasoline like complete engine cleaner, octane booster and injector cleaner. Almost all of these products can be found at a lubricant store, some of the fuel stations or a performance parts/accessories shop.
Types Of Additives
Most of the petrol additives offered in India are either engine cleaner type or injector cleaner type, which are actually used for cleaning purpose. The engine cleaner type of additives help reduce the deposits on engine’s internal parts and cleans the fuel supply system of the vehicle. On the other hand, the injector cleaner type is formulated for cleaning the clogged injectors to get them in proper working again. It results in a better response, lower long-term maintenance bills and reduced engine emissions. However, they don’t put a significant effect on the performance of your vehicle.
People mostly get tricked at filling stations through injector cleaner-type fuel additives. The technicians on duty tell the same benefits to everyone for both types of additives and sell that injector cleaner type additive to the convinced customers. While it may or may not be beneficial for vehicles with Fuel Injection (FI) system, it won't make any difference for carburetor-type engines, which in India use a majority of people.
Octane booster type additives are actually meant to enhance the performance by increasing the octane value of your gas. However, they are generally made to be used with the high-performance vehicles. So, generally they are not offered in India at normal service stations, and you have to buy them especially from a performance store or specialized service stations for performance vehicles.
Remember, it is not wise to use octane boosters in your vehicle if the manufacturer has not specifically asked to use high octane fuel as it is normally used in performance vehicles which are designed to take higher temperature during higher speeds. A high octane fuel or an octane booster in regular commuter vehicle would certainly wear the engine out sooner.
So, the conclusion is you can use an engine cleaner type or a complete fuel system cleaner type petrol additives in your normal two-wheelers or injector cleaner type for FI systems to achieve better throttle response and smooth running. However, it still doesn’t improve the performance in terms of power and mileage of your vehicle as claimed by the sellers of these products.