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Carbon cleaning for engines — hype or real help?
Many car repair shops recommend engine carbon cleaning to restore lost performance. But what exactly is engine carbon cleaning, and does it provide tangible benefits to a car?
Auto Express writes how carbon cleaning may improve your engine’s health.
Should you clean carbon buildup from your engine?
Gasoline and diesel engines generate energy by burning fuel, which produces exhaust gases containing soot. Catalysts and diesel particulate filters reduce emissions, but some soot is deposited inside the engine.
Cars built before modern oil and fuel production technologies were introduced required decarburization every few thousand kilometers. This process involved opening the engine and physically removing carbon deposits. Fortunately, this is no longer necessary, but engines may still require carbon cleaning, particularly those with modern emission control equipment.
Engines, especially those with direct gasoline injection (GDI), are vulnerable to carbon buildup because fuel bypasses the intake valves.
Diesel engines are even more susceptible to deposits due to less clean combustion. An EGR system that recirculates exhaust gases can increase the likelihood of soot buildup, which affects not only the engine but also the diesel particulate filters and catalysts.
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How to clean the engine?
Proper care of the vehicle is key, including regular servicing and using quality oil and filters.
It is also important to periodically run the car using the "Italian tuning" method, in which the engine is run at slightly higher speeds for warming up. This is especially useful for diesel engines, which require regeneration of the particulate filter.
If these measures no longer work, you can add special chemicals to the fuel to dissolve the deposits.
A more sophisticated method requires a technician to inject a special solution or gas into the engine for cleaning.
The most traditional approach is dismantling the components and cleaning them, often with crushed walnut shells, which effectively remove carbon without damaging the parts.
Reviews of different cleaning methods' results are mixed. While the traditional method is the most effective, it is also the most expensive.
Other methods have received mixed reviews. Some owners have not noticed a difference, while others have noted improvements and a rapid disappearance of the effect.
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