5 misconceptions of drivers about car fuel

Some car users think that refueling their car in the morning will help them go further, or that letting the fuel tank run out will affect the car... but in reality, this is not necessarily true.

Many drivers still have misconceptions about fuel problems in cars.

From his experiences with many different car models during his work, Colin Harding - senior engineer of the central instrument cluster design team on Ford cars recently pointed out the misconceptions of some drivers about fuel consumption in cars:

Filling up in the morning helps the car go further.

Some car users often believe that under the influence of environmental temperature, gasoline and oil will expand. Therefore, in the morning when the weather is not too hot, more fuel will be poured into the tank. Thereby, it will help the car move a longer distance than when refueling in hot weather. However, this view is completely wrong.

In fact, at petrol and oil filling stations. Fuel is usually stored in tanks arranged underground, so the ambient temperature does not affect the expansion much. With the capacity of the vehicle's fuel tank, there is no difference no matter how full the tank is at any time.

Driving a car with a nearly empty gas tank will damage the engine.

Normally, when the fuel level in the tank is low to a certain level, the fuel warning light system on the car will turn on. Drivers often think that if they often let the fuel tank run low, the warning light will turn on while driving, causing the residue at the bottom of the tank to fall into the engine compartment.

According to Colin Harding, this is a misconception of drivers, because the design of the fuel tank on the car has a fuel pipe at the bottom to suck fuel, this system also has a filter. Therefore, contrary to the concept of the majority, driving when the fuel tank is still full or almost empty basically still does not affect the engine.

Premium fuel is better for mid-range cars

There are many types of gasoline and oil on the market for car users to choose from when refueling. Among them, there are some types of fuel that are described by dealers as “premium” or “powerful” for cars and are often sold at higher prices. Many people believe that using these types of fuel will be better for the engines of mid-range cars.

However, according to Colin Harding: “Premium gasolines are generally difficult to ignite and are only compatible with high-performance engines. In addition, they do not bring any benefits to most conventional cars, because every gasoline sold on the market must meet similar standards.”

Jet fuel will make cars go faster

This is completely wrong, because the gasoline engines in most cars today cannot burn kerosene (jet fuel). Therefore, in addition to upgrading the engine, you should stick to the fuel you usually use if you do not want to cause damage to the car's machinery.

The speedometer is incorrect.

After filling up, some drivers often assume that the odometer is giving an incorrect reading of the number of kilometers the car will travel based on the amount of fuel in the tank. In fact, if the fuel gauge always accurately indicates the amount of fuel remaining in the tank, the odometer is based on driving habits over a longer period of time.

This means that when the driver drives on the highway for 2 hours, the fuel consumption of the car is about 6 liters of gasoline / 100 km. After leaving the highway to enter the city, the fuel consumption is 12 liters / 100 km. At this time, the clock will have to take some time to adjust to the driving conditions. Because this number also depends on the driver's skills as well as the operating conditions.

According to TNO