Posts Tagged ‘fuel saving ideas’
Careful driving and how to save fuel
Most of us have to keep an eye on our outgoings nowadays and one fairly big expense is running our cars. The price of fuel seems to be forever going up and so there are a few rules we can all follow to help save on fuel.
One thing a lot of us are guilty of is putting our foot down when we accelerate. If you drive an automatic it is best to accelerate at a fairly moderate speed to give the transmission time to shift to the higher gears. If you accelerate away and brake right away this is a big waste of fuel.
A good way to save petrol is simply reduce your speed. As the speed increases fuel decreases!
Under inflated tyres are very often overlooked. If they are not set at the correct pressure they will need to use more petrol to keep the car moving. Get yourself a good tyre gauge and check the tyres at least once every month. One tip is to check them when they are cold because driving the car warms up the tyres and also the air inside which increases pressure and gives a falsely high reading.
Check your air filter because one which is dirty will restrict the flow of air to the engine which will affect performance and also economy.
New wheels and tyres may look good and they can improve the way that a car handles, but if they are wider they could create more resistance and increase petrol consumption. So it is worth considering keeping the old ones for long road trips which will give you a far smoother ride and far better economy.
If you are thinking of changing your car then maybe this is the ideal time to downsize a little. Nissan and Toyota are two of the leading manufacturers who have developed highly fuel efficient cars.
This may not seem obvious, but take a look inside your car and give it a bit of a spring clean. We are all often guilty of collecting rubbish in our cars and its surprising how this extra baggage mounts up in the terms of weight. The more the weight in the car the more fuel is burnt.
Finally, probably not a popular thing to say, but whenever possible why not simply walk?!!