 |
| Before and after treatment images of fuel injectors and piston crowns. |
Techron is made by the Chevron (Texaco) global fuel company, and can be added to a tank of fuel either annually or twice a year, depending on mileage. A treatment, which can be done as part of a normal car service with Advance Pitstop, costs €20.
At a recent presentation about Techron, an independent emissions measurement company — Emission Analytics — provided details of tests it had undertaken on a range of cars bought at random at auction in the UK, and which were checked before and after a treatment on a closed circuit where many ordinary driving conditions were simulated.
Both petrol and diesel cars were tested, in matched model pairs to take account of individual engine condition circumstances. The cars chosen were between 3-5 years old, with between 30,000-50,000 miles on the clock. In all, 20 vehicles were used in the trial.
The results showed improvements afterwards in both power and emissions. In the petrol cars, power increases averaged 2.6pc while fuel efficiency improved by 8.7pc. In diesels, power was up on average by 3.4 percent while mpg improved by 7.6 percent.
Most problems in a car's fuel system relate to deposits building up on fuel injectors, valves, and pistons. Techron treatment is designed to clear these off during the running of the car, and eliminating them through the exhaust.
The company says it is a 'no-harm' technology and that no warranty issues were raised by any OEM carmakers, many of whom use some of Chevron's technologies themselves.
The diesel version available through Advance Pitstop's 30 outlets is suitable for LCVs up to 3.5 tonnes. One for heavy-duty diesels will be available later.
