Cut Down on Fuel Costs

With fuel prices increasing across the globe, motoring has become more expensive, and consequently less enjoyable for some. Gone are the days where you can ho into your car with a bunch of your mates and cruise around for hours, enjoying the freedom of driving and not having to think twice about the cost. Nowadays the cost of fuel is always a burden, threatening to ruin your fun. Whilst the government is not likely to reduce the cost of fuel, you can personally reduce the amount you spend on it.

Here are some steps to take which when followed should save you some precious pennies. They run in order of their ‘money saving’ effectiveness, with number one being the most effective:

1. Use your vehicle less! Cheap fuel makes it tempting to use your vehicle more. Now fuel is more expensive it’s time to snap out of the old habits and hop on your bicycle, skateboard, etc, or good old fashioned walking!

2. Avoid short journeys. A journey that is under 10 minutes will not give your engine time to warm up. When your engine is warming up, it uses approximately TWICE the amount of fuel it would be using if it was fully warmed up. Not only does this waste a massive amount of fuel, but it also wears out your engine quicker.

3. Don’t warm up your engine before you drive: Now you may be thinking that this totally contradicts number 2. Well not exactly. Modern engines are designed to warm up whilst moving, not sitting still. Why waste fuel whilst not actually going anywhere? It’ll take around 15 minutes for an engine to fully warm up whilst stationary. Drive as soon as you start the engine. Keep the revs low and drive smoothly.

4. Avoid heavy acceleration and braking: You could say that braking is the biggest waste of fuel and energy when driving a car. You are slowing the vehicle down, after using fuel to make it move in the first place. By no means am I suggesting that you do not brake however!! What I suggest is to avoid heavy braking, which is usually caused by heavy acceleration! So by avoiding the latter, the former shouldn’t have to occur. Heavy acceleration uses more fuel than you would like to imagine, so try to avoid it !

5. Keep your engine speed in the optimum range: Most vehicles have a gauge (tachometer) telling you the engine’s speed (RPM). In petrol engines, this usually goes round to 8000 RPM. Some people think that keeping the RPM as low as possible will save fuel. This is not always the case. When an engine is under load, for example travelling up a hill, you want the maxium torque available to you. This torque is not available down in the bottom of the rev range, i.e. 1000 to 2000RPM. It is in the hill situation that some people will shift to 5th gear, meaning their revs are very low but the gas pedal is flat to the ground. What they don’t realise is that the throttle position sensor is telling the car’s fueling system that the driver wants maximum acceleration, meaning lots of unwanted fuel is being injected. It’s all about volumetric efficiency; how much air/fuel mixture you can get into the cylinder compared to the maximum attainable. The better the VE the more efficient burn you’ll achieve, and the less fuel you’ll use. The best VE is usually around 2500 (for fuel efficiency) to 4700 (for performance) RPM.

6. Keep your speed down on the motorway/freeway: In the UK, the motorway speed limit is usually 70mph. Your car has to ‘cut’ through the air in front of it. The air is always trying to oppose the movement of your car, (air resisitance, or ‘drag’). At 70mph this air resistance is strong and you have to burn more fuel to move through it.  At speeds above 70, the effects of the air massively increase, and the aerodynamics of the car become very important. Whilst some modern cars may be more streamline, cutting down your motorway speed to 55 – 60 mph will create a significant difference in the amount of fuel you use.

7. Lose weight: Every given somebody a piggy back? Bet you can’t run as fast as you usually can. Likewise, your car’s engine has to work harder to carry more weight. Weight is a big killer in fuel economy. Lose the rubbish from the boot that you don’t use and when you fuel up, don’t fill up a whole tank! For every litre of fuel you put in your car, you’re adding 0.73kg of weight. A full tank could weigh the same as a child or young adult!

8:Healthy Car: Make sure your car is regulary serviced. A poorly maintained car will use more fuel and cost you more in the long run. A clean engine and fuel system will be more economical and more reliable

9. Pump up: Make sure your tyre pressures are at the manufacture’s specified pressures. Low tyre pressures will create more rolling resistance and cost you fuel. Not only that but they are also dangerous.