As the price of fuel increases yet again, motorists are looking for ways to save and use fuel sparingly. If you are serious about saving fuel, there is a lot you can consider to achieve that.
Motus.cars, supported by Motus Ford (previously Imperial Ford), shares 10 fuel-saving tips:
1. Accelerate smoothly from pull off
Pulling off smoothly from standstill, avoiding wheel spins and selecting the next gear as soon as possible are some of the most significant ways of saving fuel. If your vehicle has a gear change indicator, use it. It’s been designed to tell you to swap cogs at optimum points in the engine’s power and torque bands.
2. Maintain a constant speed
Once on the move, try to maintain a constant velocity within the speed limit and always use the highest gear possible to keep momentum. Try not to press the accelerator too far to the floor – rather change down a gear so that lighter throttle inputs can be applied. On the open road, try to maintain a steady throttle position. Make use of cruise control if your vehicle is equipped with it, as this will help you save fuel.
3. Turn off the air-conditioning
Any load on a car’s electrical system makes the engine work harder, and in the process, it consumes more fuel. Turning off the air-conditioner when it is not needed will help to keep fuel consumption down.
4. Stick to the speed limit
On long trips, it is tempting to ignore the law and travel above the speed limit. However, not only do you run the risk of incurring speeding fines, but you will also use a lot more fuel to cover the distance. Simply put, the harder an engine works the more fuel it would require. Stay within the legal speed limits and save at the pumps.
5. Check tyre pressure
The lower a vehicle’s tyre pressure, the more fuel it needs to move down the road. Under-inflated tyres or tyres that are over-pumped can also pose a danger to vehicle occupants in terms of the way the tyres respond to driver inputs.
Motus recommends that you check your vehicle’s tyre pressure every second week.
If you’re not sure to which pressures they should be pumped, refer to the owner’s manual or look for a sticker near the driver’s door or inside the fuel filler flap. These give you the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations.
Read about how to extend vehicle tyre life here.
6. Avoid rush hour
If possible, commute during off-peak periods. Traffic jams and stop-start motoring adds considerably to a vehicle’s fuel bill. Every time you accelerate from standstill, your car needs first gear and a large amount of fuel to get moving. Second gear is not much better.
The best solution is to journey when roads are quiet. You can also save fuel by anticipating what traffic ahead is likely to be and trying to travel steadily slower, rather than accelerating quickly and braking hard.
If you must travel in rush hour, you should consider buying a hybrid car. This uses much less fuel than a conventional petrol or diesel-fuelled vehicle.
7. Close the vehicle’s windows
Open windows or an open sunroof exacerbate aerodynamic drag. At speeds of 60km/h or less, the effect on fuel consumption is not that bad. However, at high speeds it can be significant.
Anything that makes wind noise, as your car goes along, is actually making the vehicle more expensive to run. You can’t do much about the design of your car, but you can avoid making it worse by closing the windows and sunroof – use the vents to allow outside air into the car.
8. Remove roof racks or roof-mounted tents
Just as open windows create drag, so does roof racks. Stow them when they’re not needed. By doing this, you will save on fuel costs and, in the case of roof-mounted tents, a lot of weight too. You will be surprised how much fuel an SUV can save when it isn’t disadvantaged by a heavy tent or roof rack.
9. Remove the clutter
The heavier a car, the more fuel it needs to get moving. So, don’t allow clutter to build up in the interior or boot of your car. The extra kilograms will cost you at the pumps.
Ironically, the heavier the items – usual culprits are golf clubs – the less likely you are to take them out of the boot and the greater the effect they will have on your vehicle’s fuel bill.
10. Have your car serviced regularly
A well-maintained vehicle with an engine that is serviced at the manufacturer’s recommended intervals is likely to use less fuel than a neglected counterpart. Choose quality fuels and oils to promote engine health, which in turn will help to lower fuel consumption.
Browse a range of quality, Motus-certified new, used and demo vehicles for sale here.
Visit motus.cars for more information.