The rumor of sugar and gas has been around for several years. Rumor says that if you pour sugar in a gas tank, you can disable the car. How true is it? Read to know the truth and science behind it.
More on the sugar in a gas tank rumor
According to the rumor, adding sugar into someone’s gas tank can disable the car. It reasons that the sugar reacts with gasoline and becomes semisolid. The gasoline becomes gooey and clogs up the gas tank. Soon, the fuel lines get clogged and hence disable the car. It sounds like a great comeback for grudges but, it is just a myth.
The science behind the rumor
Firstly, all cars come with a fuel filter. The filter’s job is to remove any debris that might have found its way into the car tank along with the fuel. After all, fuel can have impurities. So sugar, just like any other impurity, will be filtered out before it can cause damage. Additionally, sugar does not dissolve in gasoline. When you add sugar to gasoline, it sings to the bottom.
Back in 1994, researchers from the University of California in Berkeley tested out this myth. They added sugar into gasoline and then pinned it in the centrifuge. However, the researcher found more undissolved sugar sludge at the bottom, not damaged by any means.
The origin story
The myth first began floating in the 1950s when fuel stations worked mechanically and if there was a carbon impurity at the bottom of the tank, it may stop fuel flow. However, it never reached the engine. Now, all fuel pumps are electronic but, impurities like sugar can still not harm engines.
If you really want to mess with a car engine, add water to it. But, it needs to be a large enough quantity. Engines use combustion to move vehicles hence, water will sink to the bottom of the tank. When water goes into the engine it will not combust to move the car.