It’s been more than three decades now since fuel injection systems hit the automotive scene in force, becoming the standard method of fuel delivery on just about every car and truck in the U.S.
Carburetors, which held the job for nearly a century, were retired from the mainstream and relegated to custom and classic applications. The change took place thanks to stricter exhaust emission regulations that forced automakers to find ways to more precisely control fuel/air mixtures.
Anyone old enough to remember the transition might recall a lot of hype around the change, when fuel injection callouts were widespread in vehicle advertising and trim badges referencing the technology were on cars and trucks everywhere you went. Fuel injection systems have grown up a lot since then, evolving from simple throttle bodies with single injectors to multi-port fuel injection with electronically controlled injectors for each cylinder. Today, the average vehicle owner probably doesn’t think twice about it—fuel injection is as standard on modern vehicles as cup holders.
But unlike cup holders, fuel injectors play a vital role in vehicle performance, and neglecting them can lead to problems and costly repairs. Today’s vehicles generally utilize either multi-port fuel injection, in which injectors deliver fuel to each cylinder through the intake, or gasoline direct injection, in which injectors spray directly into the combustion chambers.
Regardless of the type you have, a modern injector’s job is the same: to deliver a measured amount of fuel to the cylinders in a precise spray pattern, at specific intervals. An array of sensors control those functions, and injectors themselves are made up of many moving parts.
After heavy use, those parts can wear and lose their function, and seals around injectors can begin to leak. More commonly, clogs can form from deposits left behind by evaporated fuel, or from carbon buildup in direct-injection applications. A fouled injector might not deliver the proper amount of fuel, or its spray pattern might be off. Those issues can lead to rough idling, hesitations, lost power, and poor fuel economy. Left unchecked, fouled injectors can even prevent a vehicle from running.
The good news is that keeping your fuel injectors from failing is simple with routine maintenance. It’s as easy as adding a bottle of Sea Foam IC5 Fuel Injector Cleaner to your gas tank at every fill up. Sea Foam IC5 Fuel Injector Cleaner is specially formulated to clean fuel injectors and restore spray patterns. It also adds lubricity to upper cylinders, will help recover any lost fuel economy, and reduce exhaust emissions.
It’s safe for all gasoline fuel injection engines and will help keep your vehicle on the road—until the next technological change sweeps the automotive industry.
