Answer
Aug 22, 2021 - 10:24 PM
Hi there
The fact that your fuel consumption changed when you moved down to the coast could be explained by the higher air density at sea level, which allows more air to enter the car's engine and the engine's control unit (ECU) feeding it more petrol to match the higher oxygen content. However, this should only be the case if you frequently apply heavier loadings on the engine (larger throttle openings), and shouldn't have any effect in gentle driving.
In your case, we'd suspect that your car needs higher-octane fuel than it currently receives - coastal petrol is rated at 95-octane, and the denser coastal air may just trigger some engine knock (pre-ignition) on the same fuel. The only way around this is to drive it with larger throttle openings for more of the time, which will then alert the ECU to the higher chance of pre-ignition in the current conditions, to allow it to adapt its timing- and fuelling maps for the prevailing conditions.
Alternatively, you could fit a different set of spark plugs with a "colder" heat rating, which will also reduce the chance of pre-ignition and allow the engine to run closer to its optimum fuel- and ignition settings.
Hope this helps!
The AskAutoTrader Team
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