Neutralizer and Fuel Economy: Myth or Reality?

The neutralizer is present in almost any modern car – this is the most important element of the exhaust tract of the car, which serves to reduce the toxicity of the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine. These parts are especially often clogged with slag due to the use of not always high-quality fuel, poor road conditions, etc., which predetermines the premature failure of this expensive unit.

Perhaps, there is no car owner who has never in his life in his car practice asked himself the question: what happens to fuel consumption when the filter begins to clog?

How are a clogged filter and the consumption factor related?

One of the signs that the cleaning component of your car is in trouble or, more simply, is already clogged to the brim – is increased fuel consumption. As soon as you have the feeling that the car has begun to consume more fuel than usual, we advise you to immediately pay attention to the converter. Don’t be lazy, do it yourself or undergo appropriate diagnostics at a car service, since the consequences of delay in this matter can cost you significantly more.

But do not rush to dispose of a worn-out filter. After all, used Ford catalytic converters for sale on Autocatalystmarket, which will allow you not only to receive monetary compensation, but also to contribute to environmental protection.

Note that some competent, but not entirely honest auto mechanics, instead of directly eliminating this problem, will try to “divorce” you into many other, essentially unnecessary procedures, for example, replacing spark plugs, flushing injectors to reduce fuel consumption, etc. So that you are also savvy in this matter, let’s figure out how the converter affects fuel consumption and how exhaust affects fuel consumption in general?

The whole point is that the exhaust system is equipped with special oxygen sensors from the factory, which are also called lambda probes. Usually, two lambda probes are installed in it – before and after the element, in some car brands there are more. At the same time, the principle of installing lambda probes, regardless of their number, is the same – before and after it.

Lambda sensors are needed to transmit information about the composition of the exhaust gas to the electronic control unit of the car, which, based on the data received, adjusts the composition of the fuel-air mixture and its dosage in real time during the operation of the car. The second lambda probe shows how effectively the spare part has worked.

At the initial moment of time, when the element has just started to clog, the readings of the second lambda probe will differ from the norm, but the indicator on the dashboard with the error code will not light up yet – the whole point is that the electronic control unit will initially try to adjust the sensor readings by changing the fuel consumption. It is at these moments that your car begins to “eat” more.

Practical recommendations

You can easily determine that this moment has come on your own and without any computer diagnostics. What you need to do for this: unscrew the filter and shine a flashlight through its cells on the opposite side from your eyes, while two options are possible:

• if there is no light at the other end, there is only one conclusion – it is completely clogged;
• if the light is barely visible somewhere in the middle, then the clogging process has begun and has already reached an irreversible level – in this case, you can screw it back on and operate the car for some time until it is completely clogged, or you can immediately replace the clogged one with a new one or remove it and then replace it with a flame arrester.

Does fuel consumption really decrease after removal? A clogged element is essentially an additional resistance for the exhaust gases in the tract, which causes a slight increase in operating costs due to the increase in fuel costs. After removing the source of resistance, i.e. the clogged neutralizer, fuel consumption returns to normal.