Yes. Air in fuel causes incomplete combustion resulting in a range of performance issues and a loss of lubricity and viscosity causing mechanical damage.

Performance issues

Air pockets entering the engine’s combustion chamber do not combust evenly, throwing the timing off, causing inefficient burn or “miss”. Modern fuel injection engines require a predetermined amount of fuel to be available for combustion at the right time and so are particularly sensitive to the presence of air bubbles that throw off the engine’s timing. The symptoms of air contamination include:

• Lower fuel mileage
• More engine noises
• Loss of horsepower
• Inconsistent performance
• Dead spots
• Rough idle
• Laboring while pulling a load
• Increased emissions.
• Carbon deposits in the engine

With all engines, carbon deposits will build up in the combustion chamber due to incomplete combustion. Localized carbon build up can cause overheating as carbon tends to “hold” heat, causing engine knock.

Carbon deposit build-up can be further exacerbated by:

• Using low-quality fuel which often has contaminants
• Air to fuel ratio inconsistencies
• Stop and go driving in heavy traffic or an inconsistent driving manner.

Symptoms of carbon build-up specifically include:

• Failing sensors from fouling
• Black smoke from exhaust system
• Rough idles
• Hard starts
• Engine misfires
• Decreased acceleration and performance

The use of Oxcetane regularly will continuously help clear out such carbon deposits, improving or maintaining near new performance and protecting the engine from further damage.

Mechanical damage

Incomplete combustion due to the presence of air in the fuel causes a build-up of carbon deposits in the combustion chamber and alongside performance issues, it can cause substantial and irreversible engine damage. Damage can include:

• Cylinder indentation and scoring
• Injector fouling
• Build-up on the intake valves
• Engine failure
• Overheating and hot spots in the combustion chamber damaging parts and mechanisms
• Corrosion
• Wear
• Critical component failure

Air flow disruption causes engines to operate outside engine management specifications and problems caused by inconsistent air-fuel ratios affect long term reliability.

Any area of the engine where a consistent fuel flow is required to ensure its smooth functioning can be affected by fuel cavitation damage, as fuel containing air has a reduced lubricity, increasing the chances of metal-on- metal contact. Also, entrained air can cause greater pressure in the combustion chamber.

For vehicles with injector nozzles, air can cause excessive cavitation leading to premature failure. A degree of “implosion” is also created within the injector housing, loosening microscopic metal particles from the tip’s interior.

The gear pump will also experience a degree of galling and scoring due to entrained air. As the fuel goes through the injector tip at high pressure the dissolved air in the fuel implodes and creates a shockwave with great force, eroding the injector tip, resulting over time in breakage.

Using Oxcetane regularly will reduce the air in the fuel and improve and maintain engine performance as well as reducing engine damage, resulting in less maintenance issues.