Understanding the Lifetime of Fuel Injectors
Posted by Nikki Dominguez on
Fuel injectors are one of the major components of the vehicle, as they spray an appropriate amount of pressurized fuel to fire up the engine. Leading models such as Bosch fuel injectors can last for 1 billion cycles. Theoretically, it means that the fuel injectors should last the lifetime of your car. Practically, it is not the case. The driving conditions, fuel composition and other real world issues cause the fuel injectors to fail, even before their lifetime.
Fuel injectors are thoroughly tested in the laboratory working conditions and the lifetime is usually determined after applying the real-road factors. However, actual conditions on the road can be entirely different from the laboratory conditions. Everything including your driving style, road conditions, weather, fuel quality, maintenance cycle and others influence the lifetime of the fuel injectors. Typically, the fuel injectors will work properly up to 50,000 – 100,000 miles, after which a replacement becomes necessary.
When you have installed state-of-the-art ford racing injectors, you can prolong their life by following some simple maintenance practices. The first thing you should do to extend the lifetime of fuel injectors is using high-quality fuel. While it is expensive, it will help you to maintain engine performance and prevent degradation, extending the life of your car itself. Cheap gasoline lacks the amount of additives required to prevent a buildup of carbon and debris.
You should choose your vehicle depending on your driving habits. Frequent stops and short trips result in accumulation of more debris in the fuel injectors. By choosing the right model, you can postpone the necessity of replacing the injectors. The fuel filter is responsible for keeping most of the debris from entering the fuel injectors. It requires regular replacement, so that the dirt doesn’t circulate inside the high-performance injectors. You should always replace fuel filters according to the manufacturer requirements.
Running a fuel injector cleaner from time to time will help you to reduce accumulation of debris. The DIY cleaning kits can be used, without removing the fuel injectors from the car. You can use these kits to clean the fuel injectors at home for every 10,000 miles. You should be extremely careful while using the cleaner kit and follow the steps properly to prevent damage to the car engine. It is better to take your car for a thorough and professional fuel injector cleaning, every 30,000 miles to ensure that you don’t have to replace it sooner.
If you have problems in engine performance, power or mileage, your mechanic may suggest replacing fuel injectors. It is an expensive task and you may not be ready for it. If you don’t listen to the advice of the experts, you will end up damaging your car’s engine beyond repair. Bad fuel injectors must be replaced quickly, to ensure that your car’s engine is maintained properly. When you replace the worn out fuel injector in your vehicle, you will immediately notice an improvement in performance. The money you spend for top class Accel fuel injectors will be worth it.