Amirul
Resident Journalist
Over time and tens of thousands of KMs later, car engines lose power and operational efficiency. This is due to ageing and wearing down of the parts of the engine as well as restrictions from sludge and carbon build up in other areas.
It wouldn't be much of an inconvenience if power is the only aspect here, but whether you like it or not, fuel consumption will largely be affected too, where you then burn more resources for less output.
And don't get me started on the environmental factor..
However, there are plenty of off-the-shelf products promising to restore that lost power and get the engine to re-perform at its peak. Products that range from fuel system cleaners, "de-carbonizers", aftermarket plug cables or plugs and air filters are among the offerings leading to the same goal.
Jason Plato of Fifth Gear proceeds to put these products to the test in hopes of restoring lost power. The donor car is a 1995 Volkswagen Corrado VR6, measured at 177hp in its dated condition. The car was rated at 190hp when new.
Jason states that a car could lose as much as 1hp per year, but that is not really the case with the Corrado at hand as the car is said to be well-maintained. So expect greater loss in a car that is poorly-maintained.
In the experiment, Jason made several changes and replacements to the car in stages. Watch as the car's output increase on the dyno in between each replacements.
After just 3 stages in replacements, the car is rated at 188.7hp, which amazingly is not far from when it was new, considering the car is about two decades old now.
Have you ever tried similar products and felt a difference? Tell us!
It wouldn't be much of an inconvenience if power is the only aspect here, but whether you like it or not, fuel consumption will largely be affected too, where you then burn more resources for less output.
And don't get me started on the environmental factor..
However, there are plenty of off-the-shelf products promising to restore that lost power and get the engine to re-perform at its peak. Products that range from fuel system cleaners, "de-carbonizers", aftermarket plug cables or plugs and air filters are among the offerings leading to the same goal.
Jason Plato of Fifth Gear proceeds to put these products to the test in hopes of restoring lost power. The donor car is a 1995 Volkswagen Corrado VR6, measured at 177hp in its dated condition. The car was rated at 190hp when new.
Jason states that a car could lose as much as 1hp per year, but that is not really the case with the Corrado at hand as the car is said to be well-maintained. So expect greater loss in a car that is poorly-maintained.
In the experiment, Jason made several changes and replacements to the car in stages. Watch as the car's output increase on the dyno in between each replacements.
After just 3 stages in replacements, the car is rated at 188.7hp, which amazingly is not far from when it was new, considering the car is about two decades old now.
Have you ever tried similar products and felt a difference? Tell us!
