Stock up now for glowing winter sales

With winter just around the corner, the peak season for replacing glow plugs approaches. DENSO, one of Europe's leading suppliers of OE quality parts for the aftermarket, reminds customers that it is never too early for their customers to stock up on the best performing cold weather glow plugs.

Glow plug failure is highest during colder weather when the temperature drops – in fact 80% of replacement glow plug demand occurs between September and March. Knowing this, and building stock levels large enough to handle the inevitable winter demand, will help garages to deliver unbeatable customer service. End-users will also benefit, safe in the knowledge that their diesel vehicle will start, even during the coldest time of the year.

Factors need to ensure that garages arm themselves with increased stock levels now, to enable them to provide the right parts when they are needed most.

Fanis Kapetanakis, Product Manager Glow Plugs at DENSO Aftermarket explains: “Glow plugs have a vital role to play within the diesel engine. However, glow plugs come under immense pressure to perform in the winter months, with low temperatures and frost both contributing to the increased probability of failure. Factors therefore need to ensure that garages arm themselves with increased stock levels now, to enable them to provide the right parts when they are needed most. Above this, we also recommend that they advise garages to look at ways to educate their customer on when and why glow plugs should be replaced. In doing so they will demonstrate a commitment to their customers, which will offer vital peace of mind. This in turn will improve customer loyalty, and ultimately increase profitability.”

Which winter glow plugs?

Although there are several different types of glow plug on the market, to ensure optimum ignition performance after replacement it is vital to know which technologies perform particularly well in colder weather.

In winter there are two types of glow plug that can be particularly recommended for diesel cars: Ceramic and Instant Heating. These technologies provide an extremely reliable, rapid cold start, especially in winter. Fanis Kapetanakis

“Instant heating glow plugs in particular are likely to become more prevalent in the future, both as original equipment and in the aftermarket,” he continues. “DENSO’s Instant Heating Glow Plugs even offer a unique advantage – with a heat-up time of around two seconds they achieve the fastest start of any glow plugs in the world.”

The DENSO difference: Glow Plugs

One of the best glow plug programmes in the industry for scope and performance, drawing on DENSO’s heritage as a world leader in OEM Diesel systems
Double Coil, Extended Post-Heating, Ceramic and Instant Heating plugs
The all-makes, OE quality programme comprises 137 part references covering 6,095 applications
Fast heat-up offering outstanding reliability, and extended post-heat temperatures that help to significantly reduce vehicle exhaust emissions

Double Coil

One heating coil and a regulating coil
Specifically for direct injection diesel engines
Extended post-heating time
Smoother running engine with reduced noise, vibration and emissions

Extended post-heating

Improved, double coil design that can heat up the combustion chamber more rapidly than by combustion alone after start-up
Continued heating after the engine has started running; optimising engine efficiency by reducing common diesel engine problems such as vibrations and excessive emissions
More ‘green’ benefits, helping to meet increasingly stringent world environmental legislation

Ceramic

Ceramic heating element that can reach temperatures as high as 1,250°C
Super-fast pre-heating for lower emissions, better oxidation and erosion resistance
Extended post-heating temperature from a cold start, helping to reduce engine emissions and noise
Longer service life

Instant heating

All the benefits of DENSO’s Double Coil Glow Plug, with improved coil properties and materials
Fastest start in the world, at around two seconds – an even shorter heating time than Ceramic plugs
Lower price than Ceramic alternatives

Find out more

Further details of DENSO Aftermarket’s recently expanded Glow Plugs programme are available online in the Glow Plug section of our website, in TecDoc or from your local DENSO Aftermarket sales contact.