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Fuel Additives
Do fuel additives really do anything?
BY CHERISE THREEWITT
There
are a lot of reasons to consider pouring some fuel additive into your car's gas
tank ... at least, that's what the fuel additive bottles and your mechanic
might tell you.
According to the labels, different fuel additives can cure a
lot of problems with your car. But how much of that is true, and how much is
just good old-fashioned marketing magic?
Whether
or not a fuel additive will make any difference to your car depends on a couple
things: the type of additive you're considering, and whether or not your car
actually needs it.
If
your car could benefit by one of the few additives that actually offers a
tangible benefit, then sure, go right ahead.
For
example, if you have a vintage car (like from the 1970’s or before) that was
designed to run on leaded gasoline, you probably already know that there are
additives on the market that are lead-free, but claim that they can make such
cars run better on our modern, unleaded gas. Whether or not these additives
actually do what they claim remains to be seen, but they won't hurt [source: Allen].
Drivers
of diesel vehicles know that when it gets really cold outside, the diesel fuel
can congeal in the tank and in the fuel lines, which can hamper performance
somewhat until it all comes up to running temperature.
In
such cases, there are anti-gelling fuel additives that will help keep the
diesel flowing smoothly, especially through the filter, where cold clumps tend
to stick.
Fuel
stabilizers are a good idea when a car is going into storage for an extended
period of time, to help the car start up smoothly when it's time to hit the
streets again.
And
if your car is old (like, at least a couple years outside the manufacturer's
warranty) it may occasionally benefit from a dose of fuel injector cleaner
added to the gas tank.
When
not to use a fuel additive? If it's something your car obviously doesn't need
at all (like a lead additive on a modern car or a diesel additive on a gas
car).
If
your car is new, or new-ish, everything should still be relatively fresh and
running smoothly, and any kind of additive is probably unnecessary.
Some
people believe that adding automatic transmission fluid to the fuel tank
helps lubricate the metal-on-metal contact inside your engine, when in reality,
it may actually cause corrosion or other damage.
And
avoid anything that claims its main benefit is an improvement to the gas
mileage or a boost in horsepower.
These
fuel additives probably won't do any harm, but they don't live up to the hype,
either.
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