We are living in unprecedented times, especially when it comes to the cost of living. Prices are increasing every month, and many of these increases are a direct result of the price of the fuel we put in our cars and delivery vehicles.
Increased transport costs are like any business expense; they will be passed on to the consumer, not absorbed by a benevolent business owner. For the wheels of industry to keep turning, profit has to be made and so, when fuel costs rise, so does the price of not only making the product but also transporting it to the retail outlets, so prices go up.
Every vehicle on the road, whether private or commercial, is already paying through the nose for the privilege of being there, and the vast bulk of that cost is fuel. Never mind the government taxes that are slapped on every litre; the relative shortage of oil coming out of the Middle East at the moment has caused basic petrol prices to skyrocket, which is passed on to the consumer, and there’s no sign of that abating any time soon.
We all indeed drive vehicles that are far too large for our daily needs, leading us to pay more for getting around, but the answer to spiralling motoring costs is not necessarily as simple as getting rid of our hulking great SUVs and bakkies. Doing that isn’t possible for many people without taking a big financial hit. So, we need to find ways of using less fuel without compromising our lifestyles. Are there any alternatives?
Well, actually, yes, there are, and while they don’t claim to halve your fuel costs, they can make your vehicle more efficient and solve other significant problems as well.
Making Every Drop Count
Obviously, the primary means of keeping your vehicle efficient is to keep it properly maintained and serviced. But, thanks to the good people at Liqui Moly, there is something a lot simpler that you can do, and it comes in the form of fuel additives.
These additives, for both petrol and diesel engines, have many beneficial properties. For example, Liqui Moly has two diesel engine additives; the Bakkie Series is suitable for large, heavy bakkies, SUVs and 4x4s, while the Super Diesel works best for smaller diesel-engined cars. Both additives optimise engine performance by cleaning the fuel system as it passes through the various pipes, filters and injectors, making sure it is always working at peak efficiency, lubricating along the way. It also boosts the Cetane number – the higher the number, the more energy is unlocked from each drop of fuel – and has been proven to provide a minimum 3% fuel saving. Couple all those benefits with increased engine life and the financial savings can be significant.
One obvious observation is that what you save on fuel, you spend on the additives themselves! But the beauty of these additives is that they don’t need to be used at every fill-up; once every 2-3,000km is enough to give you all the advantages.
Another very important product is the oil additive or, as Liqui Moly likes to call them, friction modifiers. Liqui Moly’s is called Ceratec. Of course, modern oils are extremely effective, but the conditions that engines in bakkies, SUVs and 4x4s work in can be brutal: long hours of running, idling, extreme temperatures, high loading – everything, in fact, that is bad for an engine. Adding a friction modifier just adds that extra layer of lubrication, protection and cleaning properties so that, even if your vehicle is filthy on the outside, you know that everything is perfect inside the engine.
When Fuel Quality Becomes a Problem
What are the ‘other problems’ we spoke about? Well, a recent episode of Carte Blanche reported on a worrying and alarmingly widespread trend for diesel suppliers to dilute the fuel with lighting paraffin to increase volume and, therefore, profits. This can have huge consequences for your engine, which has been finely tuned to run on a particular grade of fuel. Reducing the quality of that fuel can cause all sorts of havoc in your engine, from poor running and reduced efficiency to actual physical damage to the internals.
There’s no way you can test the fuel every time you put some in your car, but you can cancel out the majority of the negative effects of the dilution with additives from Liqui Moly. As we have mentioned, the fuel additives increase fuel efficiency but, most importantly, replace the lubrication properties that will have been lost through dilution with paraffin.
It is not only diesel fuel that can pose problems; petrol supplies in this country are also subject to contamination and poor quality, and this can lead to blocked injectors, which is particularly relevant today, when nearly all cars are fuel-injected, as opposed to running on carburettors. Liqui Moly’s DI-Jectron fuel additive works in exactly the same way as the diesel fuel additives: cleaning, preventing blockage of injectors and adding an extra lubricating layer where needed.
All the Liqui Moly additives come in various pack sizes, so they are suitable for both the private user who is running one or two cars, as well as the commercial user, who is running fleets of vehicles. In both cases, the savings are not simply in terms of the amount of fuel used per journey, but also in reduced maintenance and repair costs because every component is working to its maximum efficiency.
To view and shop the full range of Liqui Moly Additives, visit the Liqui Moly South Africa Online Store.
