The quality of fuel makes a considerable difference to the performance and life expectancy of fuel pumps, with inferior or dirty fuel being responsible for up to a 30% reduction in pump efficiency. A bad fuel quality is generally dirty and contains impurities like dust, rust or watre which makes it mix with particles in the filter, that when they combine can prevent the pump to deliver fuel making it work harder. However the extra pressure increases likelihood of early failure, and essentially cuts against the long lifespan of pumps running clean fuel, which is somewhere between 100,000 to 150,000 miles.
The higher water content in ethanol blended fuels like E10 or E15 can help speed up the internal corrosion that causes wear on fuel pumps. So readily does ethanol absorb moisture, that when water enters the fuel system it can corrode metal parts of the pump, reducing its efficiency by 15%. Ethanol has corrosive properties that can also wear away the fuel pump components over time, though models from some of the more performance-based aftermarket brands like Kemso are designed with this in mind by incorporating anti-corrosion materials.
This can result from differences in the octane rating of fuel, particularly inside areas having poor fuel laws and regulations. Additionally, this different burning can cause fuel pump cavitation; cavitation is when vapor bubbles form in the fuel, which diminishes vacuum force and pressure tendency. Cavities can cause the fuel supply to drop by 20%, largely hindering engine performance.
Routine maintenance, including changing the fuel filter every 30,000 to 50,000 miles will help keep contaminants away from the pump. Imagine the following question: How does poor quality fuel impact my fuel pump? This is beacuase when for a while it will have overheatings which means more energy consumption and the waste particles will cause damage to the pump after some time or over long periods and different reasons of failures like motor winding burn out.
Fuel quality is even more important with high-performance or modified vehicles. In the case of high-pressure (often in excess of 90 psi) pumps found on engines making 400 hp or more, sufficient fuel flow is necessary for these most demanding applications to function properly. The designs of these systems are easily compromised by less than pure fuel and the deterioration is very swift.
To learn about fuel pumps that come built for different grades of fuel, see Fuel Pump since there the company will show you a selection of products meant to survive in modern fuels.