DON'T BE FUELLED
Fuel has become an investment like property. If you don't buy it today, you will be paying more for it tomorrow. This is not the only reason to keep your vehicle fuel tank full.
When your vehicle is parked with warm fuel in the tank, the fuel cools down and moist atmospheric air is drawn in. The moisture laden air condenses into water that eventually causes premature failure of the fuel injection components.
Factors that contribute to poor fuel consumption:
1. Driving with more accelerator pedal depression than necessary.
2. Driving in congested traffic.
3. Excessive idling of the engine.
4. Under-inflated tyres.
5. Overloading with passengers, goods or trailers.
6. Adding electrical load like high-powered amplifiers.
7. Adding weight to the vehicle like bull bars.
8. Fitting wider tyres than specified.
9. Fitting accessories that add wind resistance like spot or fog lamps.
10. Tuning for performance, like fitting chips to the computer.
11. Lack of service or maintenance.
Most of these fuel consuming devices are within the owners' direct control, so you may want to revise your decision making to include the fuel consumption aspect in future. Fuel has become an expensive commodity so it is sensible to achieve the best fuel consumption possible.
Service and maintenance is the aspect that can cost you more in fuel than the replacement part or adjustment that is necessary to restore the fuel consumption to specification.
Examples are:
1. A dirty air filter can starve the engine of air, reduce the power, which you compensate for with more acceleration and higher fuel consumption.
2. A worn or over tightened spark plug will have excessive electrode gap, the burning time will be reduced and unburnt fuel will be pumped out of the exhaust instead of being used as power in the engine.
The modern vehicle is an advanced and complex piece of engineering that requires specialist treatment if you intend reaching the expected service life without unnecessary downtime and expensive premature repairs.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your vehicle is service by a workshop that has qualified trained staff, modern equipment and technical specifications and repair instructions for your particular vehicle.