How To Choose A Good Electric Fuel Pump For Your Car?

By Author: Nate Rodney
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An electric fuel pump is small, but critical component in a vehicle’s fuel delivery system. Its main function is to create enough pressure that pushes the gasoline from the fuel tank to the engine. Proper functioning of a fuel pump is highly essential to ensure efficient fuel supply to the engine. Thus, choosing a good electric fuel pump that suits your vehicle’s fuel delivery system is important for optimal performance of the engine.

This article discusses about the various aspects you need to look into before purchasing an electric fuel pump.

Things to consider while choosing an electric fuel pump

Make and model of your car engine – Get ready with the details like the size of the engine, the year of manufacture and the model of your vehicle. These are the basic details you need to know before purchasing a fuel pump.

Horse power of your engine – Horse power of the engine is one crucial determinant that helps you find the right kind of fuel pump for your vehicle. Installing a low pressure pump to a high power engine is equally dangerous to installing a high pressure pump to a less power ...
... engine. Both will, more or less, affect the engine leading to sub-optimal performance. Therefore, make sure the engine power and the pressure of the fuel pump are in sync.

Type of fuel pump – There are two types of fuel pumps – high volume low pressure pumps (HVLP) and high volume high pressure pumps (HVHP). While the HVLP pumps offer a decent fuel volume and flow even under low pressure conditions, the HVHP pumps operate at very high pressure and offer same volume as a HVLP pump.

Prefer a HVLP pump if you want the fuel pump to push fuel to another auxiliary fuel tank or a surge tank i.e., when you want the pump to work under low pressures. A HVHP fuel pump is more suitable for high power engines which require high volume of fuel flow under high pressures.

Flow of the fuel pump – The flow of the fuel pump can be rated using two units – the volume of fuel it flows and pressure with which it flows at that volume. Both should be high in order to get an optimal flow volume. For instance, a fuel pump that flows 250 liters per hour (LPH) at 40 psi offers less flow volume compared to a pump that flows 250 LPH at 50 psi.

Pressure of the vehicle’s fuel system – The pressure of the fuel delivery system and the flow volume of the fuel pump are inversely proportional to each other. That is if the pressure of the system increases, the flow volume of the pump decreases. So, know the maximum pressure of your vehicle's fuel delivery system to get a fuel pump whose flow volume matches its pressure.

Voltage required by the fuel pump – Fuel pump should have sufficient voltage to create pressure to deliver required amounts of fuel to the engine. Based on your engine load, determine the voltage required by the fuel pump and the volume of pump's flow at that voltage. Remember, the higher the voltage, the higher will be the volume. Also, make sure that the pump voltage matches with the pressure of the fuel delivery system.

Choose OEM products instead of after-market ones – The market is literally flooded with a huge variety of automobile spare parts. The variety not only confuses you but also increases the likelihood of choosing a wrong part. As fuel pump is considered as the heart of the vehicle, it is better to go for OEM products instead of after-market fuel pumps. Though OEMs are little expensive and their availability is limited, you should opt for OEM products for better and long lasting performance of your engine.

Go for a reliable brand – Choosing a fuel pump from a trusted brand is also an important factor to consider. Brands with good repute often provide superior quality products and also offer products with warranty. This not only helps you to get good a fuel pump but also avoids loss of money, in case the fuel pump malfunctions in the warranty period.

These are major things you need to look into before purchasing an electric fuel pump. If all these things are taken care of, you can get a good fuel pump that improves your engine's performance.

Airtexproducts.com is the leading aftermarket supplier of mechanical and electric fuel pumps and modular reservoir assemblies (MRA). For over 50 years, Airtex fuel pumps have been the benchmark fuel delivery components for leading companies in the automotive aftermarket. If you are searching either for electric fuel pump or mechanical fuel pump, visit our site.