{"id":1915,"date":"2018-08-05T01:05:48","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T05:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/?p=1915"},"modified":"2018-08-05T01:11:22","modified_gmt":"2018-08-05T05:11:22","slug":"how-to-estimate-your-engines-required-fuel-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/2018\/08\/05\/how-to-estimate-your-engines-required-fuel-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Estimate Your Engine’s Required Fuel Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
Posted by<\/span> Jeff Behuniak<\/a> on Sep 1, 2017 12:49:51 PM<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We are occasionally asked, what fuel flow do I need to support my application? \u00a0Or, will your fuel filter flow enough for my engine? \u00a0These are important questions when\u00a0selecting fuel filters, lines, and pumps for a performance engine. \u00a0You want to be sure that your components\u00a0can deliverer\u00a0the fuel needed to supply your thirsty engine. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Fuel makes power. \u00a0Different types of fuel make different amounts of power. \u00a0By knowing the amount of power your engine makes or is expected to make and the type of fuel you will be running you can calculate\u00a0your engine’s required fuel consumption and flow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brake-Specific Fuel Consumption<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To start the calculations for fuel consumption we use the\u00a0<\/span>BSFC (Brake-Specific Fuel Consumption)<\/a>\u00a0for the fuel being used. \u00a0BSFC measures the amount of fuel needed per horsepower per hour. Fuel is measured in pounds instead of gallons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"download.jpg\" <\/p>\n

\n

Listed below are the BSFC ranges for average efficiency Gas, E85 & Methanol engines at their\u00a0peak hp output. \u00a0An engine’s BSFC can vary depending on load and RPM, these rates aim to represent the peak horsepower environment. <\/span>The unit of measure here is lbs \/ hp \/ hr.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Gasoline \u00a0 .45 \u00a0– \u00a0.50<\/a>
E85 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0.63 \u00a0– \u00a0.70<\/a>
Methanol \u00a0 .90 – \u00a01.0<\/a><\/p>\n

You can used these BSFC values to calculate the fuel requirements\u00a0for various horsepower levels. \u00a0The above BSFC number tell us that our gasoline engine requires .50 lb of fuel per horsepower per hour. \u00a0Said another way, we know for each horsepower our gas engine creates we will need .50 lbs of fuel per hour. Expressed\u00a0as a formula it looks like this:<\/p>\n

Given Horsepower \u00a0x \u00a0.50 lb fuel\/hp = lbs of fuel for given horsepower<\/strong><\/p>\n

To calculate Fuel Consumption for a 400 hp Gas engine with a BSFC of .50 lbs\/hp\/hr:<\/p>\n

400 hp<\/span> x .50 = 200 lbs\/hr<\/span> \u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n

To convert this lbs\/hr to a more meaningful\u00a0gallons per hour we use the conversion rate from lbs to gallons which is 6.2 lbs to 1 gallon of gas<\/span><\/p>\n

200 lbs\/hr<\/span> \u00a0\/ 6.2 lbs\/gal<\/span> = 32.25 gph<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

And that’s it! \u00a0Now you have an approximate\u00a0peak gph fuel requirement for your engine that can guide you in choosing your fuel system components. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you will be doing this calculation often, you can make it even easier\u00a0by converting the BSFC you prefer\u00a0for your fuel from the normal lbs\/hp\/hr unit of measure to a gal\/hp\/hr measure. \u00a0This way you will only need to multiply your horsepower by that figure to arrive\u00a0at your GPH rate, without the need for converting from lbs to gallons after. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BSFC .50 \/ 6.2 \u00a0= .0806 gallons \/ horsepower \/ hour.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Again we calculate Fuel Consumption for a 400 hp Gas engine.<\/p>\n

400 hp<\/span> x .0806 = 32.24 gph<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember, if you are\u00a0running E85 or Methanol be sure to use those BSFC values in your formula.\u00a0<\/span>To calculate peak fuel consumption for a 800 hp E-85 engine we can use a BSFC of .70 and the formulas below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

800 hp<\/span> x .70 = 560 lbs\/hr<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 560<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0lbs\/hr<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\/<\/span> \u00a06.2 lbs\/gal<\/span> = 90.32 gph<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

OR<\/strong><\/p>\n

BSFC .70 \/ 6.2 = .113 gallons \/ horsepower \/ hour<\/strong><\/p>\n

800 \u00a0* .113 = 90.40 gph<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Note: \u00a0These gph flow rates may seem high when compared to your daily driver on the highway, but remember these are not averages, these are flow at loaded peak output. \u00a0Regarding the small differences in the numbers between the methods, that is a result in rounding differences. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What does that GPH rate mean for my Filter?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"25-902.jpg\" <\/p>\n

If you are using a quality fuel filter like our <\/span>CM filters<\/a> your filter should be out flowing\u00a0the fittings and fuel lines on your car by a considerable margin. Our filter tests showed that in stock based applications with OE fittings and<\/span>\u00a0fuel lines in the 3\/8 range the<\/span>\u00a0fitting and line size was the determining factor for flow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using\u00a0<\/span>our\u00a0<\/span>25-902 fuel filter<\/a>\u00a0as an example lets see how the filter fitting size and line size relates to flow. \u00a0<\/span>This filter features OEM style Ford\u00a0fuel fittings specifically found on the 4.6 modular motor Mustangs. \u00a0In our testing this filter in isolation flows close to 100 GPH with around 1\/2 psi resistance. It can do this because the filtration media is designed for high flow and the point of restriction is limited to the stock style fittings in and out which are short in distance. \u00a0Compare that to the long length\u00a0of stock 3\/8 fuel line running to and from the filter. \u00a0The long length and twist and turns in the fuel line mean resistance\u00a0to flow is much greater. \u00a0In this application the stock line would not be able to flow much more then 60 GPH without significant\u00a0pressure flow restriction accumulating. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When planning your fuel delivery system we recommend first starting with an estimate of the fuel consumption your engine will require. Then determine the line size and pump to support that flow. Next choose a quality\u00a0fuel filter to match your line size that uses high flow high filtration media like our CM filters<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

BSFC is a great tool to quickly examine the relationship between fuel flow and horsepower. \u00a0Even though the fuel consumption required at your engine’s peak horsepower\u00a0will be effected by several variables\u00a0such as throttle position, RPM, and aspiration\u00a0type these calculations can get you close.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted by Jeff Behuniak on Sep 1, 2017 12:49:51 PM We are occasionally asked, what fuel flow do I need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-techpost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}