Fuel Costs
In fact, you can cut your annual car gas bill by about a third and save yourself hundreds of pounds. However, most fuel costs come from taxing because of the government, as well as environmental and anti-congestion policies. It’s more than just about finding the shortest route to work to save on gas costs. It’s also about nearly painless and quick ways to make your car and your driving more efficient.
Can You Make Your Car More Efficient?
Relatively small changes can actually improve your mileage considerably. For example, if you average 35 miles a gallon at present, you can increase your mileage to 40 miles a gallon by driving more efficiently. This can save you almost 15% in fuel costs. (The RAC helped by providing the efficiency improvement data.)
Correctly inflate your tires. (Fuel efficiency increases by up to 15%)
If your tire pressure is too low, this can increase drag on your car, which increases your needs for fuel. Regularly check your tire pressure and make sure it’s correct so that your car needs less fuel to keep it going.
Clean out your car. (Fuel efficiency improvement by about 2%.)
Keep only bare necessities in your car because the lighter your car is, the more fuel-efficient it is. As you remove all the junk from your trunk, and remove any excess and unnecessary weight, you’re going to greatly increase your savings.
Remove your roof rack. (This will improve your fuel efficiency by up to 2%.)
Even if your roof rack is empty, it adds resistance, which increases your car’s drag and makes the engine work harder. If you don’t need it, take it and anything else that makes it inefficient off. Even if you close the windows, car will be slightly more efficient.
Turn off your air conditioning. (Adds up to 8% efficiency.)
Air conditioning uses a lot of fuel, so turn it off unless you really need it. If it’s really hot, though, having your air-conditioning on is more economical than driving with your windows open. Having open windows causes extra drag. Don’t keep the engine running, either. Drive as soon as you start the car up and switch off the engine as soon as you’ve gotten to where you’re going.
Don’t fill up. (Improves efficiency by up to 1%.)
Because fuel has its own weight and can be quite heavy, when you fill up you’re adding weight to the car. The less fuel you have in your car within reason, the more efficiently you can drive it. Filling up slightly more often and putting in anywhere from half a tank to three quarters of a tank will make your car run more efficiently.
Make Your Driving More Efficient
You can drive the same distance in the same amount of time even as you use less fuel. In fact, you can reduce your fuel usage by up to 60% without reducing your top speed. Simply, you just need to drive more smoothly to boost fuel efficiency.
Accelerate gradually, but don’t overdo it.
Smoothly increase your speed, using less power. Stay under 3000 revs to increase your fuel efficiency.
Use the correct gear.
Drive in the highest gear you can without overworking the engine.
Slow down naturally.
Instead of breaking constantly, let your car slow naturally and use stored momentum to keep going up until the time you must stop, then gently apply the brakes.
What’s your road position?
Stay alert so that you can be aware of the road, plan ahead, and move gradually and gracefully.
Basically… the harder you press on the accelerator, the more fuel you expend.
