46
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Accepted
What is in fossil fuels that we can't mass produce?
Oil as it comes out of the ground is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds that are the remains of deposits of algae and microscopic animals, also called phytoplankton and zooplankton.
Scientists have ...
- 1,062
42
votes
What is in fossil fuels that we can't mass produce?
What's in fossil fuel that we can't reproduce is energy.
We've been making synthetic fossil fuels in one form or another for about two centuries: town gas (a methane substitute), synthetic gasoline, ...
- 749
37
votes
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Do cars consume less fuel when in Neutral?
If the car is equipped with a modern fuel injection system, it will likely use less if left in gear and allowed to run against the transmission with no throttle as modern fuel injection systems can ...
- 23.3k
36
votes
Symptoms of Lean or Rich carb settings on a motorcycle
Lean and Rich Symptoms in Motorcycle Carburetors
In your post you indicate that some of the symptoms you have read are contradictory. I will try and clarify between the two conditions and attempt to ...
- 32.7k
35
votes
What is in fossil fuels that we can't mass produce?
The other answers are right, technically. As they say, what's in it is energy, or hydrocarbons, or whatever you want to call them. Burnable stuff. Unfortunately, the first two laws of thermodynamics ...
- 459
29
votes
Small amount of wrong fuel type put in the tank
The main concern with using petrol in diesel systems is that diesel is used to lubricate the fuel pump, which petrol cannot perform adequately, which will shorten the useful life of the fuel system.
...
- 38.9k
27
votes
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What causes a 20% difference in fuel economy between winter and summer?
Your fuel economy change is caused by the fact you're not using the same fuel. Fuel changes twice per year from summer blend to winter blend and back again causing a change in the Reid Vapor Pressure (...
- 1,518
23
votes
Ford Focus hard to start after fueling
The next time you plan to buy gas, open the gas cap, do not add gas, leave the gas cap open for the amount of time it normally takes to fill the tank, then replace the gas cap and start the car. Hard ...
- 1,068
18
votes
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What does Honda's 'Econ' button do? Does it truly improve fuel efficiency?
The ECON button is not a placebo, though the wording from that specific web page is a bit vague.
The key is that the ECON button and the Eco-Assist system are two separate things.
According to ...
- 1,536
18
votes
I accidentally fueled my car with E10 (10% ethanol). What should I do next?
I would suggest that the original problem was not the use of E10 (the vast majority of all gas sold in the US is E10 fuel due to federal mandate), but rather you received a ration of bad gas which ...
- 139k
18
votes
Ford Focus hard to start after fueling
Modern cars all have what is called the evaporative emission control (EVAP) system. This is a system of valves, tubes, and a charcoal canister that is supposed to capture the excess vapors from the ...
- 8,629
16
votes
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Does a carburettor engine apply fuel at high speeds when the pedal is no longer depressed?
At a base level, carburetors meter the amount of fuel they let into the engine by the amount of air that is moving through them.
Vacuum is created by the piston moving in the engine and creating an ...
- 176
16
votes
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Small amount of wrong fuel type put in the tank
The main problems from misfueling a diesel car with petrol stem from the fact that (as Zaid points out) petrol doesn't provide the lubrication effect of diesel fuel and as a solvent it can actually ...
- 9,674
15
votes
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Are there any modern diesel engines that require electricity to continue running?
Most modern diesel engines (ie: engines after mid-80s) require some electricity to run because they are electronically controlled. This is due to computers controlling the fuel charge and monitoring ...
- 139k
15
votes
LTFT and STFT values are off and don't make sense
I think I have an answer
But bear in mind that this is my assessment with the limited information at my disposal.
I'll walk through my reasoning here. If someone finds a flaw in my logic then I'm ...
- 38.9k
15
votes
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Is it really not advisable to let your fuel tank get low on fuel?
The problem with running the tank low in older cars is that the fuel cooled the fuel pump.
The fuel pump would just hang out in the bottom of the tank with all the fuel and the fuel would wick away ...
- 15.9k
15
votes
Why is the engine on my Royal Enfield Classic 350 shutting down?
IMO you have a fuel starved vehicle. Perhaps some blockage in the gas tank at the petcock filter or an inline filter between your gas tank and the carburetor.
When you run the bike the fuel might ...
- 32.7k
15
votes
Does a carburettor engine apply fuel at high speeds when the pedal is no longer depressed?
Carburettors are very crude in comparison to EFI systems, and so the amount of fuel entering the engine is simply a factor of the amount of air going in, which is controlled by the position of the ...
- 28.6k
14
votes
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Motorcycle Four Body Carburetor Synchronization Balancing
Background
Multi-cylinder vehicles with multiple carbs
To port this question over to applicability with cars. This is the same issue that has plagued older Ferrari and Jaguar mechanics over the ...
- 32.7k
14
votes
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How critical is it to match the stock fuel pressure regulator pressure when replacing it?
You should be fine¹
The beauty of fuel-injection management systems is that they can compensate for slight deviations in operation via feedback.
The amount of compensation is commonly referred to as ...
- 38.9k
14
votes
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Fuel gauge very slow to come up after filling - anything to worry about?
There's 2 possibilities here. The first is that you have an electro-mechanical fuel quantity meter, and that it may be sticking a bit due to a lack of movement. The good news is it did eventually ...
- 14.4k
13
votes
What happens if you put the wrong kind of gas in your car?
Higher octane fuel does not burn as easily as a lower octane fuel. Higher octane fuels are specified where higher compression ratios are present in an engine, or where forced induction (such as turbo ...
- 139k
13
votes
Accepted
What is seafoam? What does it do? How do you use it?
Seafoam is a fuel additive which has several uses. Its primary purpose is to clean the fuel system of varnish and fuel deposits. It also cleans carbon from your combustion chamber to help reduce ...
- 139k
13
votes
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Do I need any special maintenance plan for a car only driven a every couple of weeks?
It sounds like you're spot on for your car. Words of advice:
If you only want to change the oil once a year, use something like Mobil 1 Annual Protection, which is a full synthetic oil. It's good for ...
- 139k
12
votes
Why does a diesel sound like that?
As already stated, the ignition source between gasoline/gas engines and diesel engines are different and this is the primary reason for the difference in sound. I will try to explain those differences ...
- 139k
12
votes
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Why are V engines less smooth?
He is mostly right and here's why ...
There is an old saying about Harley Davidson Motorcycles. They call them the "Milwaukee Vibrator" because of they way they run. These engines are a 45 deg V-Twin ...
- 139k
12
votes
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What is this pipe coming out of the petrol tank under the seat
It's a gasoline vent tube, serving three purposes.
Gasoline vapors can be especially dangerous under pressure (pretty much why it is useful), and as the temperature fluctuates it is safer to relieve ...
- 2,674
12
votes
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Why is there a hissing noise when I open my petrol cap?
Regulations limit the amount of unburnt hydrocarbons that can be released into the atmosphere, therefore fuel tanks on cars now have to be sealed to stop these emissions. The noise you hear is air ...
- 20.1k
11
votes
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Why is the effect of a bad fuel pump more noticable at higher speeds?
Background
You asked
Why is the effect of a bad fuel pump more noticeable at higher speeds?
I assume that by 'higher speeds' you mean engine speeds or RPM's.
During high RPM operation an ICE ...
- 32.7k
11
votes
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How exactly does running fuel-lean increase the temperature of ignition?
You have a qualitative description of what happens, but let's break it down to a smaller scale. When we talk about "temperature" of something, we are really talking about how fast the molecules are ...
- 273
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible