Variable valve timing improves engine efficiency.

Quality oil is vital for keeping sensitive components clean and functioning properly.

Matt Erickson | TECHNICAL PRODUCT MANAGER, PASSENGER CAR

Variable valve timing (VVT) is one of the big-three engine technologies (along with turbocharging and direct fuel injection) automakers have turned to in the last several years to meet increasingly strict fuel-economy and emissions requirements without sacrificing vehicle performance.

Although it sounds complicated, VVT is based on the simple principle that engine efficiency can be increased by adjusting when the engine’s valves open and close. Say you’re cruising down the highway and approach a logging truck. As you depress the accelerator to pass, an engine with VVT can quickly adjust when the valves open, allowing the combustion chamber to fill with air and fuel more efficiently. This results in better torque, helping you easily pass the truck and be on your way. When you let off the accelerator, the VVT system adjusts the timing again relative to your driving conditions so the valves open and close in a way that returns optimum efficiency at lower engine speeds. Overall, the vehicle delivers increased torque and fuel economy while cutting emissions.

The keys to the system working are the components responsible for advancing or retarding valve timing in response to driving conditions. Although each system is slightly different, they all use motor oil as a hydraulic fluid to move the necessary components. Many accomplish this with cam phasers that provide extra rotation to the camshaft, thereby adjusting when the valves open and close. VVT components typically contain tiny openings through which the oil must flow in order to function properly, as you can see in the images. The solenoid pictured, from a 3.5L Ford* EcoBoost* engine, contains openings .007 of an inch across, which is about the thickness of two sheets of paper.

The solenoid directs oil flow based on a signal from the computer. Pressurized oil enters the middle ring (where most of the deposits are on the solenoid pictured). Then it sends oil out the top or bottom ring to advance or retard timing. In the case of this engine, deposits prevented oil from flowing properly. The computer detected incorrect valve timing, illuminating the check-engine light.

Even the slightest amount of deposits can lodge in these tiny openings and negatively affect the system. In some cases, dealerships view these problems as non-serviceable and recommend engine replacement instead of repairs.

The good news is, many VVT issues can be avoided simply with a combination of proper maintenance and high-quality oil and filtration. AMSOIL synthetic motor oil resists deposits and sludge better than conventional oils, helping keep sensitive VVT components clean and functioning properly. It also resists viscosity loss, meaning it consistently performs the duties of a hydraulic fluid, which is vital to proper operation of VVT components.

As an AMSOIL Dealer, having your customers’ best interests in mind is central to your business. The vast majority have VVT engines, so stress the importance of following the appropriate oilchange guidelines. Many engines with VVT are also turbocharged, including the EcoBoost from which this solenoid originated. Turbocharged engines automatically fall under our severe-service category, meaning customers who use Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil can extend their drain intervals up to 15,000 miles, 700 hours or one year if they choose. Even if a customer is not interested in extended drain intervals, Signature Series is an excellent choice for maximum engine and turbocharger protection.

They should also be using AMSOIL Ea® Oil Filters. They offer a filtering efficiency of 98.7 percent at 20 microns. Twenty microns is roughly 10 times smaller than the openings in the solenoids pictured. Compared to conventional filters, Ea Oil Filters do a better job trapping and holding the deposits that could otherwise end up negatively affecting VVT components.

VVT systems aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The challenges they present to motor oil are really opportunities in disguise. Selling a high-quality synthetic motor oil and advanced filters becomes easier when your customers realize the importance of superior protection to the life and performance of their vehicles.

VVT solenoids often contain tiny oil-flow passages that can easily clog with deposits if maintenance is neglected or low-quality oil or filters are used.

Gasoline is the source of your vehicle’s power – and many of its problems.

Gasoline quality is vital, yet often overlooked.

Dan Peterson - AMSOIL Technical Development

AMSOIL’s Dan Peterson.

Dan Peterson | VICE PRESIDENT, TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

Gasoline’s influence on our lives can’t be overstated. Remember how the gas lines of the 1970s disrupted daily life? People waited hours to fill up – if there was any gas available once they finally pulled up to the pump. Odd-even rationing dictated that motorists could only fill up on even-numbered days if the last digit on their license plate was even. The fallout of the gas shortages of the 1970s was a driving force behind the government mandates to increase fuel efficiency that continue to influence the industry today.

A few years ago, when gas hit $5 a gallon in some places, stories populated the Internet and airwaves about people willfully losing money to sell their giant SUVs in favor of small, fuel-efficient cars. Some people even took a loss on their houses in the suburbs to move closer to work.

In many ways, gasoline makes the world go ‘round, yet many of your customers likely know almost nothing about it, including the negative effects it can have on their vehicles.

Gasoline is distilled from petroleum crude oil. Typically, a 42-gallon barrel of crude will yield about 19 U.S. gallons of gas. The final blend can contain hundreds of different ingredients, among which are detergency additives designed to prevent harmful deposits from forming inside your engine.

In 1995, the EPA introduced its minimum gasoline detergent standard, known as lowest additive concentration (LAC). The intent was to ensure that all gasoline available in the country contained sufficient detergent additives to combat formation of deposits that reduce fuel efficiency and performance.

The widespread use of electronic fuel injection in the 1980s was a driving force behind the introduction of the LAC mandate. It quickly became evident that fuel injectors were especially sensitive to deposits, and the gasoline of the time didn’t contain sufficient detergents.

Deposit formation on the injector tips disrupts the spray pattern, which reduces fuel economy and results in less-efficient combustion. This contributes to increased tailpipe emissions since unburned gasoline can escape the combustion chamber on the engine’s exhaust stroke.

Deposits can also form on the intake valve, piston crown and in the ring grooves. They can prevent the intake valve from closing completely, reducing engine compression and horsepower. Deposits in the ring grooves can lead to ring sticking, which also reduces engine compression since a stuck ring won’t seal the combustion chamber completely. Piston crown deposits act like a sponge that soaks up gasoline. This can result in preignition, where the fuel/air mixture ignites sporadically, reducing performance and potentially damaging the engine.

Many automakers today don’t think the LAC mandate goes far enough. In fact, many gasoline marketers have reduced detergent levels by up to 50 percent, according to www.toptiergas. com. TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is a performance specification designed by several of today’s top automakers.

Today’s vehicles run even hotter than they did in 1995. Since then the number of engines that use turbochargers, which increase heat, has grown substantially. So, too, has the number of vehicles that use direct fuel injection, which locates the injectors directly in the combustion chamber, exposed to intense heat. Plus, injectors today are more highly engineered with tighter tolerances, meaning even minute deposits can interfere with performance.

Gasoline is the source of your vehicle’s power – and many of its problems if you don’t perform proper maintenance. We formulate AMSOIL P.i.® to be one of the most potent additives on the market. It contains a very high dose of fuel detergents proven to combat the problems associated with gasoline, keeping injectors clean and functioning properly. In fact, testing showed dirty injectors returned to >95 percent flow after only one tank of gas treated with P.i. Just take a look at the dramatic before/ after images above.

As vehicles become more sophisticated and sensitive to gas quality, make sure you understand the importance of maintaining them with a quality fuel additive. AMSOIL provides solutions to problems you may not even be aware of.

Let AMSOIL Sioux Falls be your gasoline fuel additive source! Depend on us for the best products which will always be the state of the art for all Nebraskans! Thank you for your business. We love being here in Sioux Falls!

Category: Tech Articles