Object under test: KIA Cee'd 2.0 litre

A KIA Cee’d was chosen as the suitable test object. The vehicle with the registration number WL – RC 199 was brought into service on 1.11.2010. Installation of the gas system was executed directly at the Lovato exclusive importer's facilities, ecoengines. In addition, the technicians installed a corresponding additivation system switching off the gas system as soon as the additive in the storage container has been consumed. 

The procedure of additive testing

Tests for liquefied petroleum gas additives run up to now had little in common with reality. They were either test runs on the engine test bench or too little a distance was covered in real road traffic to achieve really reliable results about the mode of operation of additives in liquefied petroleum gas operation in vehicles whose engines are known for being equipped with so-called "soft" valves. This, in no way, is to be considered as a deficiency but just as the simple fact that the manufacturer has designed the property of the valves and the valve seats in such a way that they resist the strain during operation with additive-loaded gasoline, with not additive-loaded liquefied petroleum gas, though, as experience teaches, might suffer damages after a distance of about 50,000 kilometres. The reason is that these engines have been designed exclusively for gasoline operation but, in no way for liquefied petroleum gas operation. Now, to blame the vehicle manufacturer would be profoundly wrong, instead, the liquefied petroleum gas driver should take provisions to feed his vehicle the fuel being apt for the respective engine. Therefore, ERC as the leading German manufacturer of high-performance additives for gas-powered vehicles decided to trial their product Gaslube Premium with the P 1000 formula in an endurance test in order to be able to communicate reliable, comprehensible results. A KIA Cee’d with a 2 litre engine was chosen as test vehicle as it showed the tendency during gas-fuelled operation according to experience made to date, that the valves are wearing more rapidly than during gasoline-fuelled operation. When starting the test, KIA had reduced the respective inspection intervals for valves and valve seats for gas vehicles from 90,000 kilometres to 15,000 kilometres as a precaution, a fact causing considerable extra costs for the car owner. Furthermore, a gas system from the Italian manufacturer Lovato was employed, as well as a corresponding additive kit feeding the additive according to cylinder sequence behind the gas injectors to the engine, dependant on load and rotation speed. During the entire test distance the additive kit was exclusively equipped with the additive Gaslube Premium Spezial with the P 1000 formula. The TÜV Nord was acting as the testing organisation preparing the KIA Cee’d adequately for the test in their own testing facilities: The TÜV sealed the gas control unit, the entire engine control and the valve cover with leads in order to exclude possible manipulations during the trial. After an initial measuring before starting the test, the vehicle was presented at the TÜV every 15,000 kilometres. Then the inspectors selected the operating times for liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline from the control unit and, in addition, checked the valve clearance. Prior to sending the vehicle back to the road for the next turn, all data was documented by the TÜV. The testing results were published accordingly at another point on this homepage.