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Best Garage Guide blog : latest posts


What is engine carbon cleaning?

(Carbon) Deposits are a by-product of combustion. These deposits attach themselves to many parts of the engine, including those critically important to the performance and economy of the engine - Fuel Injectors, Piston Rings and various sensors.

Decarbonisation or engine carbon cleaning usually refers to the process of removing carbon deposits. BG Products develop and manufacture their own high quality chemistry and delivery systems to do this, safely and effectively. Read more >>

Why GDI needs BG

The GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) engine is seen as a leap forward in the quest for greater economy and lower emissions, and it has actually been delivering results.  OEMs are moving over to GDI en Masse. The success of GDI engines means that they are being seen as potential replacements for diesel engines in the small car market as they have high MPG and lower emissions. So, is the GDI engine too good to be true?

How much oil has your engine lost?

Advances in oil technology, filtration, PCV and engine management systems seem to have convinced everyone that frequent oil level inspection and services are unnecessary. But David Tenpenny of BG Technical Service is keen to communicate the message that it doesn’t mean your oil doesn’t need checking and that oil consumption doesn’t happen. Once excessive oil consumption has been determined, he says, little can be done to effectively reverse the problem. The only way to reduce oil consumption is through routine maintenance with the BG Performance Oil Change.

Technology changes may have reduced the need for motorists to carry out more frequent checks on their engine oil levels, says David Tenpenny of BG Technical Service, but it doesn’t mean that oil consumption problems have been eliminated. In fact, he maintains it is one of the leading problems related to driveability concerns in automotive service centres today.

GM says consumption of approx. 1 litre every 1,000 miles/1,600 km is acceptable. Porsche says approx. 1 litre every 750 miles/1,200 km is OK and VW and Audi recently declared that oil consumption of approx. 1 litre every 650 miles/1,000 km is normal on their cars. David agrees that some oil loss is inevitable and even acceptable, but never at these levels, he says and never on low mileage vehicles.

What causes oil consumption?

Perhaps not surprisingly, today’s recommended extended oil change intervals top the list for causing oil consumption. Extending service far beyond its ability to protect, rapidly allows for sludge, varnish and carbon deposits to form. Early tell-tale signs of oil consumption used to be a blue smoke haze leaving the exhaust. But today’s catalytic systems remove the evidence that was once apparent years ago.

Today’s low viscosity oils naturally lead to greater oil volume loss than previous generation oils. The current API category standards today allow up to 15 percent oil volume loss. Lower viscosity oils allow emissions to enter into the PCV system causing sticky deposits to form in the intake and on the valve stems and obstruct the incoming air.

Another new engine design innovation used today is Low Tension Piston Rings – lower elasticity in the piston rings. Reduction in piston drag allows for easier engine rotation, but is also prone to allow a large volume of cylinder compression to escape. This contributes to higher than normal crankcase pressure carrying oil droplets (again via the PCV) to the intake and on toward the combustion chamber to burn.

The process of combustion carbonises oil deposits on piston tops and combustion chamber surfaces. The hard deposits can lead to misfire, poor fuel economy and a noticeable drop in performance.

A consequence of oil burning is that it will pass through the exhaust and deposit onto the catalytic converter. This also affects the ECM’s ability to control driveability and operational function.

What can be done?

Once excessive oil consumption has been determined, David says little can be done to effectively reverse the problem. The only way to reduce oil consumption is through routine maintenance with the BG Performance Oil Change. This service includes:

     
  • BG EPR™ Engine Performance Restoration, PN 109, softens and dissolves hard-to-remove deposits from piston rings
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  • BG MOA,® PN 110, Engine oil supplement, prevents engine oil thickening under even the most severe driving conditions
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  • BG 44K,® PN 208, Fuel system cleaner, quickly and effectively cleans the entire fuel system

Used together, these three products have been proven to keep engines clean and prevent potential complications like “inevitable oil loss.”

Best Garage Guide gets new features and fresh new look

The Best Garage Guide, the online search tool for recommended garages across the country, has had a 21st Century revamp ensuring the website still provides the quickest and most efficient way for car owners to find the good car servicing premises in their area whilst still making use of good old ‘word of mouth’ as a check on each garage’s claims.

Those who have been avid users of the Best Garage Guide for a while will notice improved mapping and much speedier searching as the website gets a total refresh. New garage data (along with the existing archive of garage review information as well), new search tools, new layout and a whole new look!

Redesign of the website started in October 2013 with a critical look at existing functionality.  The website developers then worked with existing users and member garages to design the new site, ensuring it retained its easy-to-use functionality but took advantage of new developments in mapping and postcode searching. With over 25,000 garages included too there was a lot of information to transfer!