Is the fuel system cleaner worth it, or is it snake oil?

If you enter the local parts store, you will see dozens of fuel systems and accessories. Optional fuel injector cleaner. So which one should you buy and do you even need them? The gasoline company tells us that the detergent in gasoline can make your car run like new. So why does your car feel that it is losing power and fuel mileage after driving thousands of miles?

Carbon buildup in the fuel intake area

Deposits affect power and fuel economy

Use a fuel system cleaner regularly

Buying a high-quality cleaner

Carbon buildup in the fuel intake area

Even the top brands of gasoline cause corrosion from ethanol and water and leave carbon deposits in your fuel system, specifically your fuel injectors and on the back of the intake valves. This can result in combustion problems due to improper fuel mixtures entering the combustion chamber.

Carbon buildup in the fuel intake area needs to be cleaned to keep your car running at peak efficiency. So fuel system cleaners are an important part of regular maintenance on new-generation engines.

Other fuel system parts affected by these deposits are intake ports, tops of the pistons, and cylinder heads. Deposits form on these vital parts and cause various issues such as hesitation, stalling, knocking, pinging, loss of acceleration, and reduced fuel economy. But the main parts that are the most susceptible to deposits are the fuel injectors and intake valves.

Deposits affect power and fuel economy

Fuel injectors have very fine tolerances in the pintles, which allow the fuel to disperse from the injector. They deliver an atomized spray of fuel that detonates in the combustion chamber when mixed with the proper air mixture. These fine tolerances in the pintles get dirty over time. The spray pattern becomes irregular, and the spray turns into droplets that are harder to combust; this affects power and fuel economy.

The intake valves and ports are also very susceptible to deposits, and the carbon buildup acts like a spong

Use a fuel system cleaner regularly

Keeping fuel injectors and intake valves free of deposits is critical to optimal performance. To restore these components to their original specs, they need to be cleaned. This is why fuel additives are important to use regularly. Fuel additives contain detergents that can clean these fuel system parts. Formulations differ in the quality and quantity of cleaning agents.

Many of our readers have sports cars that they only drive occasionally. It’s important to find a fuel additive with a fuel stabilizer to keep the gas from oxidizing in the tank during extended periods of sitting. So which fuel system cleaner should you use?

Buying a high-quality cleaner

Many fuel injector cleaners are strong enough to clean up deposits on a port fuel injector. However, most are no match for what lies in the combustion chamber.

The old saying, “you get what you pay for,” is definitely true with fuel additives. If you buy a cheap fuel injector cleaner, it most likely won’t have the proper detergent package to do the job. If you get a high-quality fuel system cleaner (i.e., higher quality and quantity of detergent), it will clean up these deposits in the entire fuel delivery system.

We were able to test two fuel system cleaners from Gumout, and they did a good job of cleaning up my 2002 Subaru WRX’s 2.0-liter turbo engine. I noticed a difference in both improved performance and an increase in fuel mileage.

These two products, fuel injector/carburetor cleaner and Multi-system tune-up from Gumout, are available at Advance Auto Parts (that’s where the links above take you.)

You Do you often use fuel system cleaners, or do you think they are all the same?