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SEVEN TIPS: On How To Reduce Car Fuel Consumption

Here are handy ways to reduce fuel consumption of your vehicle.

REMOVE EXCESS WEIGHT
You can reduce fuel consumption by removing excess weight from your car.
You can do this by removing your roof rack when you aren’t using it and disposing of any rubbish. The trick to reducing what you spend on petrol and diesel is to make a series of small changes, starting with a boot clear-out.

REDUCE DRAG

It’s the middle of summer and the inside of your car is like a sauna. But do you roll the windows down or switch the air conditioning on? Either method of achieving an ambient temperature can be wrong, depending on your speed.
At low speeds, open the window – the fuel used to compensate for drag is less than the fuel used to power your air con.

DON’T COAST
Many people used to try to save fuel by coasting – that is rolling downhill out of gear. While it’s true that it won’t cost you extra, nowadays it won’t save you fuel either. That’s because when you take your foot off the accelerator in a modern car the fuel supply to the injectors is cut, so there’s nothing to be gained. Therefore, you’re much better off altering your driving style, as outlined above, than trying to improve fuel efficiency by coasting.

ONLY TOP UP YOUR TANK WITH AS MUCH FUEL AS YOU NEED
As annoying as it is to regularly top up your fuel, it does help you get more miles for your money. Only topping up with what you need and avoiding having a full tank means the fuel you do have goes slightly further. To make it easier to judge the correct amount of fuel, keep a notebook in the glove box. When you fill up, write down how much fuel you put in to get from A to B.

GO EASY ON THE ACCELERATOR

Your driving style can have a big impact on how much petrol or diesel you use.
To improve your fuel economy, the Institute of Advanced Motorists has the following driving tips. Try to keep your driving smooth. Gentle acceleration and using the highest safe gear will use less fuel. What’s more, when you approach traffic lights, ease off the accelerator early if the lights are red.

FILL UP WITH YOUR VEHICLES RECOMMENDED FUEL TYPE
When it comes to getting the best performance from your car, there’s a notion that super fuel, or high performance fuel, is best. Super fuel, also known as premium fuel or high performance fuel, is petrol with a higher octane rating. Most standard brands of fuel have a 95 octane rating. Whereas super fuel typically has a rating of around 98. This can make the engine work more efficiently and improve performance.

INFLATE TYRES TO THE CORRECT PRESSURE
If you can’t tell from how your car handles that your tyres aren’t the right pressure, then your fuel economy should tip you off.
The surface area that’s in contact with the road increases when a tyre is under-inflated. The more surface area in contact with the road, the more drag on the wheel.
Research has found that a tyre just 10 PSI under the recommended level can increase fuel consumption by 2.5 percent.

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