Automotive fuel consumption is an issue that concerns all of us who are fortunate enough to have a vehicle since it is something that impacts our pockets daily; How many of you have it happened that you are driving your vehicles and feel distressed at seeing how the fuel level goes down, or how many of you have not left the gas station and the fuel level almost does not go up. Because of these uncomfortable situations, I have decided to write a small tutorial that allows you to know for sure what fuel consumption performance your vehicles are achieving.

But you may wonder who I am to tell you if fuel consumption is good or bad; Don't worry, I am Mr. Wheels, an automotive engineer with more than 40 years of experience in the industry; I have had the fortune of working with the most recognized brands on the market such as Chevrolet, Renault, Mazda, Ford, Kia and Volkswagen among others. During all these years I have learned first-hand the reasons that affect the fuel performance of our vehicles, among which we find the poor quality of the fuel, the elevation above sea level of the city where the vehicle is used, the driving style that we have and most importantly the maintenance that guarantees that the vehicle uses the gallons of gasoline per kilometer suggested by the manufacturer.

Fuel quality

First of all, we have the issue of fuel quality, as we well know in the market there are different distributors such as Texaco, Esso, Terpel or Petrobras and each of these brands sell fuels that are manufactured by themselves, with different procedures and inputs. that affect the final product; Additionally, each service station associated with a specific brand has its own procedures that can affect the quality of the fuel. But the objective of this article is not to tell you which is the best brand, but rather that you yourselves can have the knowledge to determine if the fuel from a brand or a service station is good. In that order of ideas, the first advice I can offer you is to tank at service stations where the floor is completely paved, since a station with a dirt floor causes the gasoline to absorb a lot of dust and this harms the quality of the fuel, in addition. That same dust damages the vehicle's fuel pump.

Second, to define which fuel supplier to use, the advice is to go to the same station several times, measure the vehicle's performance each time and repeat the test until you find the supplier whose gasoline provides the best performance. In my personal case, the one that works best for me is the Texaco one because I can travel more kilometers with the same amount of gallons. As additional information, I tell you that Texaco stations in Bogotá have an agreement to accumulate points with LEAL points, which can later be exchanged for more fuel.