ERC DI-LPG GasLube - direct protection

© gazeo.comERC has a broad range of valve saver fluids for LPG- and CNG-powered engines, but clearly the DI-LPG GasLube (for direct-injected units) is now at the forefront

ERC, a fuel additive specialist from Buchholz, Germany, has been developing and marketing valve saver solutions for petrol engines converted to run on LPG or CNG for years. The company keeps up with technological progress and offers a special variant of its GasLube valve saver for engines with direct fuel injection. Such engines have been growing popular over the past few years and some car manufacturers now only use such units, having given up on port fuel injection altogether.

From the point of view of valve and valve seat protection, the major difference between port and direct fuel injection is the place where valve saver is applied. Since the only thing that gets into the combustion chambers of a DI engine via the intake valves is air (except engines converted to run on LPG with vapour state autogas injection system, using separate injectors placed in the channels of the intake manifold), applying valve saver fluid into the intake manifold is pointless. Especially when you consider that it's the exhaust valves that are most exposed to heat anyway.

© gazeo.com150 thousand km on LPG with ERC's valve saver kit and no excessive wear observed

In light of the above, ERC developed a valve saver kit for DI engines that applies the fluid directly throught the petrol injector, right into combustion chambers. More of the fluid is contained in the air-fuel mixture (it does not deposit on intake valves), which means more protection for exhaust valves and their seats. However, feeding LPG autogas into the engine through petrol injectors poses new challenges, which can be addressed by modifying composition of the valve saver fluid. First and foremost, the fluid can be used to clean injectors of contaminants contained within LPG, which are absent from petrol. Secondly, it lubricates low- and high-pressure fuel pumps, which require extra lubrication when running on autogas.

© gazeo.comDI-LPG GasLube is stored in a reservoir resembling the one for coolant or windshield washer fluid and applied directly into combustion chambers with an electronically-operated dosing system

Efficiency of the newly developed DI-LPG GasLube valve saver fluid and its application system (directly into LPG flowing through petrol injectors into the engine's combustion chambers) was showcased during GasShow 2016 on a converted Hyundai i40 CW with a 2-litre GDI unit that has covered 150 thousand km on LPG since 2013. The engine shows no excessive valve seat wear or injector efficiency drop.

ERC conducts research and development going way into the future to make sure present customers receive solutions well suited to the ever changing and evolving cars and engines, without having to wait for valve saver technology to catch up with what is going on. Financial savings from switching from petrol to autogas in a direct-injected engine don't have to wait anymore!