Although necessary, emissions regulations are pushing engine management systems to a new level of sophistication. In times gone by, cars were purely mechanical, but now, without the help of electronics, vehicles would simply not be able to operate. Marathon Warehouse Distribution has a proposition to help with this engine management problem, and it arrives in the form of its Fuel Parts brand. PMF finds out more.
As legislation and environmental awareness continues to pressure vehicle manufacturers to develop ever more fuel efficient and cleaner cars the complexity of engine management systems has increased. The performance and emissions that today’s engines are required to deliver would be impossible without the engine management systems that manage everything from ignition and fuel delivery to every aspect of emission control.
The level of electronic control of not only the engine but also other functions of the vehicle such as braking, steering, suspension, electronic stability control and other driver assistance systems is growing at an exponential rate. These advances are driven not only by tightening emissions legislation and safety regulations but also by driver expectations and market forces. All of the individual systems are then networked to provide an integrated electronics system that improves engine efficiency, driver/passenger safety and an improved driver experience.
Marathon Warehouse Distribution, with manufacturer partner Fuel Parts, is ideally placed to offer customers a proposition that is high in quality, broad in range and which represents excellent value for money.
Fuel Parts brand
Fuel Parts is a Standard Motor Products Europe (SMPE) registered brand and with more than 7,000 part numbers, covering over 500,000 applications, it offers the largest engine management range in Europe, so it is claimed.
Marathon has 12 strategically located regional distribution centres, all of which carry range and depth of Fuel Parts stocks and can offer frequent, same day deliveries to motor factors up to eight times a day, as well as a next day parcel service to all customers outside of the same day areas.
All Fuel Parts engine management products are tested and validated at the company’s headquarters in Nottingham, using OE tolerances and parameters to ensure the highest quality available in the aftermarket.
Beating OE quality
Contained within the range are more than 250 air mass meters, many of which are fully manufactured on site using the company’s electronics manufacturing facility. All in-house manufactured air mass meters are individually tested and calibrated and supplied with a serialised test certificate for 100% traceability.
SMPE has spent many years and invested a significant amount of money in developing the Fuel Parts range of manufactured air mass meters, using its engineering and electronics know how to produce a product which meets or exceeds the OE product it replaces. All of the development work, manufacturing and testing of the range of sensors happens in- house at the ISO9001 accredited Nottingham facility, to ensure quality levels are maintained.
Another one of the Fuel Parts brand’s most successful ranges is ignition coils, with more than 425 part numbers available, making it one of the widest ranges in the aftermarket. SMPE has a long tradition of manufacturing ignition coils and continues to do so to this day. In addition to ignition coils and air mass meters, Fuel Parts also supplies a range of engine position sensors (cam sensors, crank sensors, gearbox speed sensors, speedometer sensors), with the range standing at more than 800.
Fuel Parts spotted a gap in the market for a high quality alternative to expensive OE EGR valves and has recently undertaken a programme to remanufacture EGR valves, the most successful of which is the VW EGR valve/cooler combination. The current EGR range consists of almost 300 part numbers.
Blocked or partially blocked Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) lead to carbon deposit build-up, resulting in premature failure of the EGR valve. The company’s remanufactured EGR valves include a custom, in-house designed PCB (printed circuit board) and all components are stripped, cleaned and replaced if necessary. Every unit is fully calibrated after remanufacture and includes an individual test certificate.
All applications can be found on third party electronic catalogues such as TecDoc and MAM Autocat+, as well as Marathon’s EMPOWER platform, which was covered in last month’s PMF issue.
The varied ranges offered in the Fuel Parts brand include:
• Accelerator pedal sensors
• Air mass meters
• Cam/crank/speed sensors
• EGR valves
• Electric valves
• Fuel pumps and injectors
• Ignition coils
• Knock sensors
• Level sensors
• Oxygen sensors
• Park assist sensors
• Pedal switches and sensors
• Pressure switches and sensors
• Reversing light switches
• Temperature switches and sensors
• Throttle bodies
• Throttle position sensors
• Wheel speed sensors
