Since you’re here, you may have seen our company car - 2010 3.5L Ford Taurus SHO with an EcoBoost™ twin-turbocharged direct injection V6 engine - cruising around the country. BG was one of the first in the nation to receive AEI's Best Engineered Vehicle of 2010!
In an effort to monitor the BG Fuel Test Car’s “out-of-the-box” performance, we have not yet used any BG products or services. Every 5,000 miles, our trained professionals will perform an oil change, collect fuel system data using a scan tool, intake photos and perform a fluid system analysis. Learn more at About the Test. Or check out the Photo Gallery for the latest photos of BG's Fuel Test Car on the road!
California, South Dakota, Texas, Florida and every where in between, the BG Fuel Test Car has racked up some windshield time. When she’s not traveling the country, the Fuel Test Car is running errands around Wichita to experience a little more stop-n-go city driving.
Our BG professional technicians changed the oil and performed the fifth checkup this year. The results are below.
Performance
Performance has not changed in the past 5,000 miles. The fuel economy is also holding at about 18-20 mpg.
Borescope Analysis
You can see in the videos below that the deposits continue to get thicker on port walls and valve stems and are forming to point of sticking out away from the port walls (Note the first photo of the Cylinder 1 valve seat area at bottom of the port).
Oil Analysis
Our tests are still showing fuel dilution in engine oil but not quite as much as the last couple of check ups. This might have been due to a shorter drain interval.
In just nine months, the BG Fuel Test Car has put on about 21,000 miles. Aside from routine oil changes, we have not yet performed any preventive maintenance services on this gasoline direct injected vehicle. In a port fuel-injected system, BG recommends the Fuel/Air Induction Service at 15,000 miles. Let’s see how this gasoline direct injected vehicle is doing without it.
Performance
One test driver’s comment on the car’s throttle response was “sluggish” as compared to its first miles on the road. “Sluggish” for a car with a twin turbo could only be noticed as a momentary hesitation to the average driver.
The on-board fuel economy calculator shows a greater mpg loss, motoring away at only 18 mpg. That’s a total loss of six miles per gallon in the first year on the road!
Borescope Analysis
See how the deposits continue to grow on the intake valves and ports in the photos and videos below.
Oil Analysis
Fuel dilution is still present at the same level as the last checkup.
The BG Fuel Test Car is still running without BG products… but how well?
Performance
Several BG test drivers noticed a slight lag in immediate acceleration response. With two turbochargers, overall acceleration decrease is difficult to detect.
The on-board fuel economy calculator shows a recent, dramatic decrease in mpg from 24 to 20.5 mpg. With the mpg drop, we’re now refueling 66.5 miles sooner (a loss of almost 3 gallons per tank)!
Borescope analysis
In the progression of photos and videos from the first checkup to the third, deposits continue to thicken on intake valves and ports. The borescope video below shows deposits caked heaviest further down the intake port near the intake valve. This is especially detrimental to overall driveability because of the decrease in air movement efficiency through the intake port and in to the combustion chamber.
Oil analysis
In addition to growing deposits, our data indicated that fuel dilution is still present, but not as significant as the 10,000-mile checkup.
Still running without BG products, in the second checkup, we discovered an increase in deposits on the intake valves and ports as well as significant fuel dilution of the engine oil. This can result in a decrease in oil viscosity, which challenges lubrication capabilities of the oil. The presence of fuel in the crankcase also promotes oil breakdown resulting in oil oxidation and acid formation.
Watch the video below and notice the caked deposits as the borescope works its way down the cylinder toward the combustion chamber.
In the photo of an open intake valve in Cylinder #2, notice the deposit formation on the exposed valve stem compared to the part that pulled back into the valve guide when the intake valve is closed.
Without BG products in its system, borescope photos and videos show an early formation of deposits on the intake valves and ports. Early, heavy deposit buildup on intake valves and ports are one of the most common disadvantages in gasoline direct injection engines.
