Fuel Economy
How does a car get 50MPG?
Oxygen Sensor
The oxygen sensor is is an electronic device that measures the proportion of oxygen in the gas or liquid being analysed. It also determines how much fuel the car uses because it is suppose to be a mixture of air and gas and if your car is not getting much air then it will use more gas. So if you have a bad oxygen sensor than your car will use way to much fuel. That is why it is important to check your vehicle regularly for important things like the sensors. If your check engine light comes on then you need to have it fixed because that could be something serious that could affect the fuel economy. The oxygen sensor is located at the front of your exhaust and right behind the catalytic converter. A 1 or 2 wire oxygen sensor needs to be replaced every 30,000 miles. A 3 or 4 wire oxygen sensor needs to be replaced every 50,000 miles. A thick film oxygen sensor AKA (Planar type) needs to be replaced every 93,000 miles. Oxygen sensors are more of a service thing than maintenance so when you have your car serviced they check the oxygen sensor to make sure they are good.
Weight
The weight added on to a vehicle has a little bit to do with gas mileage but does not affect it a lot. For every 100 pounds taken out of a vehicle, the fuel economy is increased by 1-2 percent. Which is a savings of $0.03-$0.05. It might not be a whole lot but if all you do is drive and drive then you might start looking for ways to save gas after a while. If you are paying for your own gas and don´t have a company card then little tings like this matter if you are trying to save money so you will have money for other things. Of course 100 pounds taken out of a hatchback vs a Tahoe would make a difference because there is a difference in car size and motor size. If you add 100 pounds on to your vehicle you should be sure to check your tire pressure before you drive because your tires could be slack and if so that will hurt your fuel economy too. Pack as light as you can for long trips so you will get better fuel economy and you will not have as much luggage to carry when you get there especially if you are going hiking!
ECU
The Engine control unit (ECU) is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. The ECU is probably the main thing in a vehicle that has to do with controlling fuel. The ECU controls the amount of fuel a car uses and the sensors also help let the ECU know how much fuel it should use. The ECU will allow you to have much better fuel economy and performance. It also means that there is a smaller amount of emission coming from the vehicle. The ECU is something that already comes on a vehicle when you get it and it never goes bad, you might have to change a few sensors every now and then to be sure you get the best fuel economy you can but other than that no problems. It is located on the top left side of the motor and if you was just looking for it you would not be able to find it because it is kind of hidden under some other stuff. I wonder if there are different types of ECU units that you use on different vehicles because some vehicles you want to be fast.
Cylinders
The amount of cylinders in a engine depends on the engine size and you do not put more cylinders in or take them out because that is serious work and you should just buy a vehicle that has the amount of cylinders you want. The most common ones are 4, 6, and 8 cylinder vehicles. The more the cylinders the more gas your vehicle will use. But if you have a big truck that is made to pull things it will probably be a 6 or 8 cylinder because you do not want to pull anything heavy with a 4 cylinder because it will strain the engine and could cause transmission problems. In fact, I don´t even know if they make a truck with a 4 cylinder engine because that would just be stupid. For instants a 4 cylinder gets about 30-50 MPG a 6 cylinder gets about 20-30 MPG and a 8 cylinder gets about 10-20 MPG. The cylinders are inside the actual engine and they move up and down in a circular motion on the crankshaft. Also the more the cylinders the greater the oil capacity is. Me personally i would have an 8 cylinder because i pull things a lot and i like horsepower.
ECU
This is a picture of what the ECU loos like it is located on the top left side of your motor.
Cylinders
These are cylinders that are located on the inside of your engine that move up and down.