₦airaland Forum

I’ve noticed something common with many cars in Nigeria, after some years of use, the engine begins to drink fuel more than usual.

Some people say it’s because of poor maintenance, while others blame bad fuel quality in the country.

A few mechanics even claim that once an engine has been opened before, it will never remain the same again.

But is that really true?

Could it be the engine design?

Wear and tear of parts like injectors, plugs, or fuel pumps?

Or maybe just bad driving habits?

I’d love to hear from drivers, mechanics, and even car lovers here.

Why do engines become fuel guzzlers with time, and what’s the best way to prevent it?

What do you guys think?

Wear and tear. Over time some parts fade,degrade or spoil. To get genuine replacement is hard. Most aftermarket are knock off.

True, wear and tear is something every engine goes through.

And you’re right, finding genuine replacements these days can be tough, especially with so many knock-offs around.

MyDnis:
Wear and tear. Over time some parts fade,degrade or spoil. To get genuine replacement is hard. Most aftermarket are knock off.

Naija fuel is bad. After 4months your piston grooves and piston crown would gather carbon then from there.it would seize piston oul control rings. From there. Engine would start burning oil and start smoking.from thr. Say bye bye to your factory engine once u ring am or change am.
Na why I dey fear car wey dem put or crest
Unleaded fuel only for fuel tank area.
E get why

My brother, you no lie.
Naija fuel fit humble even brand-new engine if person no dey careful.

Proper maintenance and good fuel source na the only way to stretch the life of that factory engine.

2cribz:
Naija fuel is bad. After 4months your piston grooves and piston crown would gather carbon then from there.it would seize piston oul control rings. From there. Engine would start burning oil and start smoking.from thr. Say bye bye to your factory engine once u ring am or change am.
Na why I dey fear car wey dem put or crest
Unleaded fuel only for fuel tank area.
E get why

First off! We no get quality fuel for naija. Secondly is that the same bad fuel would start clogging your engine and exhaust overtime thereby making the engine forcefully breathe and in that case drink more fuel. An engine that breathes very well doesn't drink fuel and some of these cars sef have egr(exhaust gas recirculation) which also clogs up and consumes more fuel...also oxygen sensor,fuel pump and fuel filter whaala
People usually think that catalyst makes your car drink more but na big fat lie sha

Consumption of fuel has nothing to do with engine...but based on your carburettor..

Is because the biston have wear and wash

Let them pour water if the petrol is not working

ZickWorldNG:
I’ve noticed something common with many cars in Nigeria, after some years of use, the engine begins to drink fuel more than usual.

Some people say it’s because of poor maintenance, while others blame bad fuel quality in the country.

A few mechanics even claim that once an engine has been opened before, it will never remain the same again.

But is that really true?

Could it be the engine design?

Wear and tear of parts like injectors, plugs, or fuel pumps?

Or maybe just bad driving habits?

I’d love to hear from drivers, mechanics, and even car lovers here.

Why do engines become fuel guzzlers with time, and what’s the best way to prevent it?

What do you guys think?

Like someone said, wear and tear.


Other factors that contribute to fuel consumption in a car are:


1.) Excessive friction in the engine due to wear and tear as the engine ages and use of wrong engine oil.

Also some engine oil are thicker than others and therefore they give more resistance to the movement of the engine parts which then leads to more power usage, hence more fuel consumption. This explains why new model cars consume lesser fuel due to use of lighter engine oil specification with better efficiency


2.) Bad O2 sensors

3.) Reduced efficiency of catalytic converter as the car ages, or complete removal or absence of it

4.) Worn out tyres causing more friction and uneven movement on the road

5.) Poor combustion due to wear and tear and poor engine maintenance

6.) Other factors like driving attitude



Note: I speak as a professionally trained Mechanical Engineer with practical experience on this and more

Why do older adults eat more than younger babies?

Your answer is right there.

ZickWorldNG:
My brother, you no lie.
Naija fuel fit humble even brand-new engine if person no dey careful.

Proper maintenance and good fuel source na the only way to stretch the life of that factory engine.

How careful can you be as a driver in Nigeria?

You must use the fuel as e be na, since we cannot produce our own unleaded fuel

Sonnobax15:

Consumption of fuel has nothing to do with engine...but based on your carburettor..

Your car uses a carburettor?

Honest question ooo

Apart from engine, check your oxygen sensor, Mass air flow sensor among others .

People always focus on engine, while they leave other factors. Reason while car owner would go and do engine and fuel consumption would still high as ever.

That simple,its due to old age,
Its applicable and its the principle of life

Same applies to human beings,you spend more on health as you grow older

Sonnobax15:

Consumption of fuel has nothing to do with engine...but based on your carburettor..

Are you a technician.?A lot of factors affect fuel consumption - type of fuel, engine configuration, fuel pump, spark plugs, injectors, overheating etc. Modern cars no longer use carburettors. They use injector systems.

Aging and using mineral oil weakens engine overtime.

I don't understand what you mean by 'After a few years ' if you bought a car made in 1990 as a tokunbo in 2020.drove it till 2025 in Nigeria, making how many years now yet you still want the engine to remain the same, secondly a fuel bought at ten liters rare in Nigeria is equivalent to normal liters of seven, know this know peace.

Why do you need so many medications and doctors visit as you grow older.. wear and tear

Driving technique also contributes. If you are too speeding and braking abnormally

ZickWorldNG:
I’ve noticed something common with many cars in Nigeria, after some years of use, the engine begins to drink fuel more than usual.

Some people say it’s because of poor maintenance, while others blame bad fuel quality in the country.

A few mechanics even claim that once an engine has been opened before, it will never remain the same again.

But is that really true?

Could it be the engine design?

Wear and tear of parts like injectors, plugs, or fuel pumps?

Or maybe just bad driving habits?

I’d love to hear from drivers, mechanics, and even car lovers here.

Why do engines become fuel guzzlers with time, and what’s the best way to prevent it?

What do you guys think?

Poor maintenance, Bad mechanic, low quality fuel, inferior parts, Removal of thermostat & Enlargement of radiator

ZickWorldNG:
I’ve noticed something common with many cars in Nigeria, after some years of use, the engine begins to drink fuel more than usual.

Some people say it’s because of poor maintenance, while others blame bad fuel quality in the country.

A few mechanics even claim that once an engine has been opened before, it will never remain the same again.

But is that really true?

Could it be the engine design?

Wear and tear of parts like injectors, plugs, or fuel pumps?

Or maybe just bad driving habits?

I’d love to hear from drivers, mechanics, and even car lovers here.

Why do engines become fuel guzzlers with time, and what’s the best way to prevent it?

What do you guys think?

change your spark plug and see fuel consumption reduce drastically

In developer climes you don't use a vehicle indefinitely.There is a period of three to four years and they change the vehicles because they klknow that by this time wear and tear has started taking place.
Those vehicles are then shipped to Africa as second hand.So tell me exactly 💯 what do you expect to happen to those vehicles?

ZickWorldNG:
I’ve noticed something common with many cars in Nigeria, after some years of use, the engine begins to drink fuel more than usual.

Some people say it’s because of poor maintenance, while others blame bad fuel quality in the country.

A few mechanics even claim that once an engine has been opened before, it will never remain the same again.

But is that really true?

Could it be the engine design?

Wear and tear of parts like injectors, plugs, or fuel pumps?

Or maybe just bad driving habits?

I’d love to hear from drivers, mechanics, and even car lovers here.

Why do engines become fuel guzzlers with time, and what’s the best way to prevent it?

What do you guys think?

In civil engineering there is a course called strength of materials.

Over time the strength of all materials weakens creating various deformations.

Many are saying we have bad fuel, but I thought our crude oil is the best?

Sonnobax15:

Consumption of fuel has nothing to do with engine...but based on your carburettor..

We no longer use carburetors in modern cars but injectors.

Lack of maintenance, worn spark plug, dirty air filter, dirty fuel filters, bad mass airflow sensor, leak evap system, bad fuel tank cap, etc

Wear and tear from the engine could be minimized if the recommended oil is used.loss of oil viscocity affects the engine performance.

The load factor also contributes to fuel consumption,less load in the trunk means less fuel consumption.

Spark plugs replacement every 10,000 miles.
Replace air filter every 3 months for complete air and fuel ratio Thus helps with the efficiency and vehicle performance.
Finally..Good tyres with the recommended factory psi.

Peace Out.

iHart:
Many are saying we have bad fuel, but I thought our crude oil is the best?

Fuel has nothing to do with engine.If a bad fuel goes into a carburettor that car will stall.Unless the bad fuel is removed from the fuel tank and carburettor and they are wash thoroughly before it will start working fine.Fuel is like a gas that burns in a car cylinder head.It doesn't go inside the engine.Carburator is mainly the cause of fuel consumption.It can service and be adjusted though.

Once any engine is opened, forget about it. No Nigerian mechanic has the workshop with facilities and conditions necessary to open an engine and close it back properly.

As an engineer, i will give you few reasons why your engine is taking more fuel

1. the first and obvious reason is wear and tear, especially your piston rings and cylinder walls. once your engine starts loosing compression, high fuel consumption sets in automatically.

2. your new car comes with Original spark plugs that hardly misses to ignite at every cycle, once those plugs are bad and you replace them with lower quality, your high fuel consumption automatically sets in.

3 your car comes with few sensors, especially the newer models. oxygen sensor, air flow meter, catalyst etc, once those sensors starts getting weaker and dirty over time, high fuel consumption gradually sets in.

4. for injector and carburetor cars, once your nozzles starts increasing the hole sizes, the amount of fuel and the fuel spray pattern will automatically change leading to high fuel consumption.

5. the list in the causes are frictions and drags due to misalignment, installation of extra fittings to improve appearance. for the frictions and misalignment, your car was designed with all the moving parts well aligned and lubricated, once your car starts deviating from the alignment, friction will set in creating a natural restriction to the car movement. as a result, more fuel will be required to cover a certain distance.
moving on to drag, your car is designed with the best possible aerodynamics which will minimize drags from wind forces. once you start installing additional fenders, bigger side mirrors, bigger sand protectors etc, you are creating drag which will slow your car down and increase fuel consumption.