Fuel. Who on earth can afford it these days? Prices have almost doubled compared to ten years ago, but there are still ways to make a little fuel go a lot further.
Check your tyres: It’s an obvious one, yet so few of us actually do it. If your tyres are under-inflated, the engine will be putting in extra effort. Keep them pumped up to the correct level and you’ll improve your fuel economy by 5%.
Offload extra weight: No, we’re not talking about your other half. Remove all unecessary baggage from your car before you travel, especially bulky or heavy items like roof racks and carriers.
Don’t fill up: A full fuel tank carries more weight, so it makes sense to fill it half full instead of right up to the brim each time.
Stick to 60: Driving just under the 60mph mark rather than 70mph will knock a hefty 25% off your fuel consumption. Slightly frustrating when you’re being overtaken by Robins on the M54, but worth it in the long run!
Drive in high gears: Using low gears consumes the most fuel. Necessary when you’re driving around 30mph or built-up-areas, but at higher speeds, keep your gear as high as possible.
Service regularly: Keeping your car’s performance at its peak condition means regular services. This could knock more than 10% off your fuel bill.
Keep air-con down: Air conditioning burns excessive fuel, so keep the vents open to let air circulate but only use the air-con when you need to.
Switch off: Don’t burn fuel when you’re not going anywhere. If you’re stuck in traffic, slow-changing lights or waiting to pick someone up, switch the engine off. ‘Warming the engine’ for long periods of time is also unnecessary.
Close the windows: It’s good to have a fresh air supply, especially on long journeys or when you’re feeling tired, but driving with the windows down (especially at high speeds) vastly increases the drag on your engine.
Explore other options: Cut your fuel bill in half and reduce wear and tear by car sharing with someone else. Have a look at www.liftshare.org to find other car sharers in your area.
By Lara Page
5 Comments
Another VERY good tip is to employ advanced driving techniques wherever possible; most importantly acceleration and deceleration sense.
Avoid unnecessary use of the brakes. Use engine braking instead. In using this method, it has an added benefit of honing one’s observational skills - which again has obvious benefits in the anticipation of potential conflict with other road users.
Actually, good observation, anticipation, and the adjustment of your driving to suit is - IMVHO - a cornerstone to good driving.
I think i have to correct you on the price of fuel over the past ten years.Fuel has more than doubled over the past eight years.I think people should do more online shopping and get all there groceries droped of at thier homes and it will save on fuel bills and there carbin foot print and better for all of us
Re Spindrift’s comment - I was told by a recently qualified driving instructor that engine braking is “against the law, because it wears out the clutch” the approved procedure is always to slow down using brakes.
More advice from jobsworth desk jockeys obviously
I showed my daughter the engine braking technique and she was really impressed, but afraid to use it in case “they” prosecuted her.
What a pity we can’t fuel cars on official bulldung. No carbon given off - just warmed air
Some of the things that have been said are corrrect, However turning your air conditioning off will not save you money in the long run since if it is not used regularly the seals dry and crack, gas either escapes or can’t be pressurised - repair bill, hundreds of pounds. Driving at 60mph certainly doesn’t save 25% in my car, more like 3-4%. Okay so buy a new generation hybrid car @ £18,000 and achieve 56mpg, well my 7year old 406 HDi returns this without problem anyway so where’s the huge improvement? Don’t fill up with fuel, well at a guess if you have to drive to the petrol station several times instead of once it surely makes sense that you will use more fuel overall.
With regards to John Broadhurst’s comment about engine braking “against the law, because it wears the clutch out” is surely rubbish since just about every steep hill in the country will have a sign saying ‘low gear’, hence engine braking is legal!
one way to waste fuel is to run the car for a long time on a cold morning.
it will be even more costley if you car is stolen.
i keep water in a container in the house over night.pour it over the screen,wipers on before it has chance to freeze,into gear and away.
never failed in 25 years.