Passionate Experts: What is engine gunk?

What is Gunk?

Why Avoid Gunk?

How Do Shell Gasolines Work?

Frequently Asked Questions

An alternate term for deposits is engine gunk. Deposits can build up on critical engine parts as the result of various chemical and thermal processes that occur in the engine during its operation. Since gasoline primarily contains carbon and hydrogen (gasoline is a hydrocarbon liquid), these chemical processes can create a residue or deposit, which consists mainly of carbon, that builds up on intake valves and fuel injectors.

We’ve formulated Shell gasolines with a higher level of deposit control additives or cleaning agents than required by Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) to help prevent the build-up of those deposits (engine gunk).

Without looking into your engine, it is difficult to tell the extent of gunky build-up that may have collected on critical engine parts. However, if you typically use lower-quality gasolines that contain only the minimum amount of cleaning agents required by CGSB, there is a chance that you may be hurting your car’s performance. 

All Shell gasolines contain more than double the minimum amount of detergent or deposit control additive as specified by the CGSB. They also do not just meet but exceed the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standard set by six top car manufacturers Audi, BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen. For more information on TOP TIER, please visit www.shell.ca/toptier.

Gunky build-up on critical engine parts such as intake valves and fuel injectors can result in performance problems for your engine. All Shell gasolines are designed to help prevent the build-up of engine gunk.

It’s simple. Engines “breathe” most efficiently when they have the exact amount of air and the exact amount of gasoline to burn together (just like a recipe works best when the correct quantities of each ingredient are perfectly mixed).

All Shell gasolines work by helping to prevent deposit build-up on critical engine parts such as intake valves and fuel injectors, allowing for this efficiency.

Tests show that Shell gasolines can help stop build-up of deposits (or build-up of engine gunk) more effectively than gasolines containing only the minimum amount of deposit control additives or cleaning agents as required by CGSB. And, Shell V-Power®, our premium gasoline with even more proprietary deposit control additive, can help clean up the gunk that lower-quality gasolines leave behind.

Visit our Frequently Asked Questions

® Trademark of Shell Canada Limited. Used under licence by Shell Canada Products