The Garage 289

33 FOCUS Exhausts
manifold to the rear of the
car, today’s set-ups are way
more complicated, involving
a multitude of sensors
working together to enable
both reduced emissions but
performance as well. Problems
can begin, though when
a fault is mis-diagnosed because
fault codes might not
be putting a sensor in the
frame but it is changed anyway,
or technicians replace
the sensor because that is
required, but without discovering
what caused the sensor
to play up.
“Sensors in general are a
growing feature of the modern
vehicle, as a multitude
of these electronic devices
are now called on to work
together to ensure the engine
is functioning to its optimum
efficiency and nowhere is this
more evident than in the area
of its exhaust control and
emission levels,” says Elta
marketing mananger Tim
Brotherton.
“In-depth analysis conducted
by our Techassist
support service indicates
that two issues regularly
arise: the first is misdiagnosis
– where fault codes do not
point directly to the sensor itself,
but it is changed anyway
– and the second, the correct
decision to replace the sensor,
but without addressing
the underlying issue that
might have caused it to fail
in the first place.
“To make things more difficult,
there are generally six
or more EGTS in the typical
exhaust system, so there
are several opportunities
for technicians to fall foul of
these potential problems.”
In the more traditional
sphere of replacement exhaust
systems, Klarius has
recently announced a list
of new products launched
in the last year. The list includes
not only exhaust systems,
but catalytic convertors
and diesel particulate
filters which, the company
says, are available with nextday
delivery.
German cars have created
a noticeable demand spike,
with exhaust mountings for
2014 VW Passats and Golf
Mk7 1.6TDis calling for replacement
systems.
When it comes to French
cars Klarius has announced
centre pipes for the Renault
Kadjar, systems for Clios of
all generations and Citroen
C3 and DS3, along with catalytic
convertors for the Peugeot
206.
Exhaust systems for Volvo
XC60 and XC90 models have
been introduced, along with
silencer boxes for the Saab
9-3.
“Klarius can help distributors
and stockists to dynamically
profile components for
models new and old, providing
equal availability for
popular and niche components
to ensure speedy deliveries
and vehicle repairs,”
the company says.
50% MONTHLY INCREASE IN MOT TESTING ANTICIPATED
THE UNITED KINGDOM sold
in excess of 2.6 million new
cars in 2016 and the aftermarket
sector is bracing
itself for an anticipated 50
per cent monthly increase in MoT
testing over the next few months
as those vehicles are due their first
MoTs.
In addition to record numbers
of new vehicles needing their first
MoT imminently; in December last
year the DVSA revealed that 32 per
cent of vehicles - nearly 1.2 million
- failed the new MoT testing standards
because of dangerous defects.
Additionally, the number of diesel
vehicles failing the new emissions
standards quadrupled from 58,004
between May 20 to 19 November
2017 to 238,871 for May to November
2018.
Diesel cars fitted with a particulate
filter (DPF) that emit visible smoke
of any colour now automatically fail
their MoT, while petrol cars that
emit blue or visible black smoke for
more than five seconds when idling
also fail. Granted, petrol vehicles
didn’t perform as badly as diesel,
but the numbers failing due to emissions
are still staggering - 292,468
in 2017 against 505,721 in 2018.
How can garage owners and
consumers address the growing
emissions problem?
There are of course a number
of solutions on the market to help
reduce the carbon build up in key
engine components that are responsible
for an increase in pollutants
being emitted.
One increasingly popular solution
to the carbon build up is hydrogen
engine cleaning. FlexFuel Energy Development,
a French headquartered
company, which entered the UK
market last year is seeing rapid take
up of its hydrogen cleaning solution
- Hy-Carbon.
Hy-Carbon reduces engine emissions
and fuel consumption and
increases engine performance. By
injecting hydrogen into the intake
manifold, carbon deposits are eliminated
from key engine components
responsible for performance and
emissions - the admission valves,
the EGR valve, the turbo and the
particle filter. Independent engine
tests post cleansing show up to 50%
less emissions; the return of engine
power and reduced fuel consumption.
Is hydrogen cleaning just for
older vehicles?
Hy-Carbon will also have a large
impact on relatively new, low mileage
vehicles. An independent report
conducted by UTAC, the official automotive
testing lab for the French
Government, and certified by the
European Union, a 2018 Volkswagen
MkVII Golf with 10,000 km on
the clock saw a significant reduction
in harmful emissions.
FlexFuel now has around 50 outlets
offering hydrogen engine cleaning
across the UK, and demand is
increasing.
What do the garages say?
One recent customer, Offmore
Road Garage, has treated in excess
of 30 of its regular customers vehicles
with Hy-Carbon and increased
its turnover over previous months
by at least 10 per cent. Customers
are publicly acknowledging the
difference the treatment has made
in terms of engine responsiveness,
quieter engines and significantly improved
fuel economy.
One customer, David Hill comments:
“I drive my Audi A5 diesel
on a regular round trip to Liverpool
– about 212 miles. My economy was
around 53-54 mpg. Offmore Road
Garage suggested a HY-Carbon treatment
given the age of my vehicle and
it having done 140,000 miles. Following
the HY-Carbon treatment, on
the same round journey to Liverpool
I returned with figures of 63mpg –
an 8.5% improvement. Genuinely, I
was surprised at the improvement
not only to my fuel economy, but the
engine feels more responsive and is
less noisy.”
Golf VII 2018 6cv euro 6
Before treatment After treatment Reduction
HC 35.84 28.195 21%
CO 197.843 168.813 15%
CO2 141.049 139.859 1%
NOX 18.418 18.023 2%
NMHC 30.097 22.926 24%
CH4 6.358 5.832 8%
PN 2.32E+12 3.30E+11 86%
32, 33 Exhausts.indd 2 06/02/2019 15:20