PROMOTIONAL POST In association with Shell V-Power
TRANSFORMERS ONE, in cinemas from October 11, takes us back to the beginning of Transformers, revealing the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Once friends with a brother-like bond, their deadly rivalry forever changed the fate of Cybertron. Shell has partnered with Paramount Pictures on the release of this first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie to announce its latest generation of advanced Shell V-Power fuels. As Jo Smith, one of Shell V-Power’s fuels scientists explains, there’s more than meets the eye with both TRANSFORMERS ONE and Shell V-Power sharing aligned themes of rejuvenation, inner strength and integrity.
Back To The Beginning
“We launched Shell V-Power in 2006, just before the first of seven Transformers movie made its debut. Our latest generation of Shell V-Power petrol and diesel fuels are now available in the UK,” says Jo, who has spent the last 35 years with Shell. “They’re the result of an intensive five-year global development programme by our 150-strong team of fuel scientists and engineers.” Working closely with car makers, engine manufacturers and Shell customers, this top technical team worked rigorously to create a family of premium fuels which fully rejuvenate your engine’s performance, keeps your engine running like new and can improve fuel economy[1]
The Strength Inside
A key TRANSFORMERS ONE theme is how its characters draw on their reserves of inner strength. “In a similar way, our latest Shell V-Power fuels have been formulated to clean fuel intake valves and injectors – critical components in petrol and diesel engines of all ages – by up to 100%,” explains Jo. Compared to Shell’s standard petrol, Shell V-Power petrol contains three times the number of powerful cleaning molecules, while Shell V-Power diesel has 60% more cleaning agents compared to Shell’s standard diesel. “These cleaning molecules remove performance-robbing deposits from the inlet valves and fuel injectors” says Jo, “ensuring the engine operates at its best to deliver the optimal combination of responsiveness and performance. In conventional petrol engines, these inlet valve deposits act like a sponge and soak up fuel preventing it from entering the combustion chamber at the right time and in the right amount, whilst deposits on the fuel injector tip can adversely affect fuel flow and how the fuel is sprayed into the combustion chamber in direct injection engines,” explains Jo. Both of these effects result in suboptimal combustion and impact the performance and efficiency of old and new engines alike.
Renewal for All
With its cast of silver-screen stars, TRANSFORMERS ONE reintroduce its characters to fresh and faithful audiences. This focus on both old and new reflects Shell’s approach to rejuvenating engines of all outputs and ages to be cleaner, more efficient and more responsive. “Modern engines, with the help of turbocharging, high-pressure direct fuel injection and significantly smaller fuel injector holes, need to achieve higher levels of performance and efficiency. However, these technologies create a harsher combustion environment so fuels today need to be more highly formulated than ever. Older engines too can suffer from performance robbing deposits”,” explains Jo. “Shell V-Power cleans critical fuel injection components in engines of varying ages, and also provides unbeatable protection against corrosion[2] and our best protection against wear.” [3].
Optimus Prime and Megatron
TRANSFORMERS ONE rewinds time to reveal how sworn enemies Optimus Prime and Megatron, the protagonists of the Autobot domain, were once inseparable blood-brothers. Diesel and petrol-powered engines may operate differently but both suffer from the same deposits that sap performance, blunt responsiveness and reduce efficiency. “The holes in a diesel fuel injector can be less than the width of a human hair and must handle very high-pressure levels of up to 2000 bar in a modern diesel engine and, up to 350 bar in latest direct injection petrol fuel engines,” says Jo. Positioned within the hostile environment of the combustion chamber itself means the injectors often suffer from build-up on their tips. These can, over time, restrict fuel flow through the injector nozzle and impact how the fuel is sprayed into the combustion chamber. Shell’s V-Power works effectively at removing these deposits, so the high-precision injectors can operate at their optimal level.
Heroic Integrity
The Autobots are united by their pursuit of truth, and this chimes with the processes Shell’s global technology centres undertook during Shell V-Power’s five-year development programme. “By understanding what customers want from their fuels, and working with engine manufacturers and academia, we guide the new fuel’s development direction,” describes Jo. “Tests start in the laboratories and then we scale up our testing to bench engines and in real cars.” Carried out under highly controlled conditions both in Shell’s labs and independent research facilities, these tests create an accurate base against which the benefits of Shell V-Power can be measured. “We then move to chassis tests on a rolling road, again carried out in regulated environments, so our scientists can replicate on-road driving conditions while, meeting stringent industry standards.” These tests are carried out on various passenger vehicles as all vehicle types with petrol and diesel engine can benefit from Shell V-Power. “The final step in the development programme involves on-road testing and trials on the road to gain performance insights from real world driving conditions,” says Jo. They cover a wide range of different routes that closely replicate the trips different drivers undertake at different times.
[1] Removes and protects from the build up of performance robbing deposits on key fuel system components such as intake valves and/or fuel injectors. Improved fuel economy using Shell V-Power fuels has been demonstrated in industry standard and Shell proprietary tests. Actual effects and benefits may vary according to vehicle type, vehicle age, vehicle condition and driving style. No guarantees provided.
[2] Measured using industry standard ASTM D665. Actual effects and benefits may vary. No guarantees provided. See shell.co.uk for more information.
[3] Compared to Shell’s regular fuel. Actual effects and benefits may vary according to vehicle type, vehicle condition and driving style. Helps to protect key fuel system components such as intake valves and fuel injectors from the build up of performance robbing deposits. Friction reducing molecules help critical parts of your engine. No guarantees provided. See shell.co.uk.