Fuel economy refers to the number of miles your motor vehicle can drive per gallon of fuel. You can convert this calculation into liters as 1 Gallon = 3.7854 Liters.
Good fuel economy refers to the cars that use less than six liters of fuel for every 100 kilometers. These are usually mini cars and hybrid ones. If a car consumes six to eight liters for every 100 kilometers, it falls in category of doing pretty good on fuel. These include smaller and several medium-sized cars.
Bad fuel economy: If your car don’t follow above given scheme you are facing bad fuel economy. Keeping in view the various factors which we are going to discuss below can effect fuel economy.
Bad Fuel Economy: Various Factors
1. Excessive Weight
Overloading increases fuel consumption, extra load needs more energy from the engine ultimately more fuel needed. Every 50 kg of weight in your vehicle, decrease fuel economy by 1.5 to 2%.
2. Driving Habits: Originate Bad Fuel Economy
Aggressive driving and moving on for long distances on high RPM (revolution per minute) damages fuel economy. When you don’t care about good or safe distance from the vehicle ahead, follow unnecessary braking and acceleration ends up with wastage of fuel.
3. Inappropriate Tire Pressure
Low tire pressure (under-inflated tires) due to higher rolling resistance require more energy from the engine to move efficiently.
Must Read: Importance of Recommended Tire Pressure
4. Wider Tires: Bad Fuel Economy
Vehicle manufacture always recommends a specific tire size for every model. If you manoeuvre with wider tires, contact area of tire with road surface increases and more engine power required to overcome resistance, resulting bad fuel economy.
5. Bad Gearing
Driving on high RPM continuously, engine needs more fuel to operate efficiently leads to poor fuel efficiency.
6. Poor Aerodynamics
On highways vehicle experiences maximum drag. If aerodynamic drag is increased by 10%, fuel efficiency decreases by 5%.
7. Idling: Instant Cause of Bad Fuel Economy
ZERO miles-per-gallon while idling, can you feel it? If your vehicle remains idle for more than 30 seconds you need to switch off the engine, to save fuel and wear and tear.
8. Substandard Engine Oil
Poor engine oil hinders the movement of pistons and other engine parts. This extra strain on the engine leads to bad fuel economy.
9. Over-Speeding
Over speeding can lower fuel economy by 15%-30% at highways and 10%-40% in stop and go traffic.
10. Air Conditioning
Driving with the AC on puts extra load to the engine resulting more strain on engine and poor fuel economy. However, if driving at a speed of over 80 kmph use of air conditioning is better for fuel economy than opening window.
Average Fuel Consumption of a Passenger Car in France in 2014 and 2019, By Fuel Type
Fuel consumption is shown in liters per 100 kilometers. World is going towards fuel efficient engines day by day.
11. Poor Fuel Quality: Bad Fuel Economy
Poor standard fuel can assists the formation of deposits on fuel injectors. These deposits hinder fuel flow, leading to poor atomization and incomplete combustion resulting misfires.
12. Atmospheric Temperature
The atmospheric air density increases as the air temperature decreases. Vehicle requires more engine power to run smoothly resulting bad fuel economy.
13. Faulty Spark Plugs: Leading Cause to Bad Fuel Economy
The spark plugs are responsible for combusting the air fuel mixture in the engine. Faulty spark plug leads to poor combustion, resulting wastage of unburnt fuel.
14. Faulty Engine / Neglecting Maintenance
Fuel efficiency of an engine declined if maintenance service or tuning is delayed. Regular oil changes, air filter changes and spark plug replacement not only save on fuel also lengthen the lifespan of engine.
15. More Rolling Resistance: Bad Fuel Economy
Tires effect rolling resistance of vehicle, more resistance leads to poor fuel economy.
Must Read: Effects of Tire Profile on Overall Performance
16. Choked Air Filter
Blocked air filter requires extra pressure needed to push air through a choked system. This means more effort for your engine and less ability in powering wheels.
