Is Filling up Fuel to Full More Economical than Half a Tank?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Each car already has a standard figure related to the amount of fuel consumption (BBM). Some are known to be fuel efficient, or otherwise wasteful of fuel.

Regarding fuel-saving measures, there is one technical assumption that is spread among car owners, that is, filling up fuel to full will be much more economical than filling half a tank. However, is this assumption correct?

Ekowati, Technical Leader of Auto2000 Kalimalang, East Jakarta, explained that this assumption is actually not wrong, it’s just that there are some misconceptions that need to be straightened out.

First of all, filling up fuel, whether it’s only half a tank or a full tank, will not affect whether or not the car is economical. This is something that must be understood.

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“Nothing has changed about fuel consumption. For example, a car that is 1 liter for 15 kilometers, yes the numbers are still the same,” he told Kompas.com, Wednesday (3/5/2023).

Eko added, the assumption that fuel consumption is economical if fully charged is due to other factors that many users may not know about.

The thing that is meant is the fuel capacity sensor which does not read excess fuel when refilling it until it overflows a little.

“The sensor in the tank can only read up to the neck of the tank. For example, if a user fills a full tank until it is slightly overflowing, there will be extra fuel that the sensor will not detect,” said Eko.

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This has an effect on the fuel indicator bar on the speedometer which doesn’t seem to go up and down. This is what gives rise to the impression as if fuel consumption becomes more durable when the car is fully loaded.

“From 100 percent to 90 percent, the descent process can take a very long time because there is extra fuel that has not been detected, so it seems to be more economical,” said Eko.

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