With fuel costs constantly fluctuating and environmental concerns on the rise, being able to drive more efficiently in your car can be increasingly effective. Simple adjustments to your driving habits and vehicle care alone can offer additional fuel savings and lower your carbon footprint. In this post, we will examine the tips which can lead to significant improvements in fuel efficiency.
1. Maintain Proper Tire Pressure
Properly filled tyres are one of the hardest and most useful things you can do to stop wasting fuel.
A. Why It Matters
Rolling Resistance: Underinflated tyres have more rolling resistance, which means your engine has to work harder to drive the car, and hard-working cars consume more fuel.
Tire wear: Over- or under-inflated tyres wear much more quickly in the contact areas with the roadway, and also less evenly; for instance, the inside grooves of tires running at too low a pressure will wear faster than the outside grooves of the tread. Properly inflated tires wear evenly and last much longer. On properly inflated tires, tyre pressure decreases slightly over time, so they should be checked every two to three months and inflated to the recommended pressure.
B. How to Check
Daily: Check tire tread using a penny. Insert Abraham Lincoln’s head between the treads at several places so that his hair goes almost through, but not quite. If you can see the top of his head, you need to replace your tires. Weekly: Wash wheels and elimine grime from around wheel rims.Monthly: Use tire pressure gauge to check air pressure in all four tyres, including spare; make sure that tyres aren’t under or over inflated.
Cold Tyre Pressures: Check the pressure with the tyres cold (when they are not warm from driving) for an accurate reading.
C. Tip: Check your car’s owner’s manual or the sticker on the driver’s side door jamb for the correct pressure. Ensuring the right tire inflation can increase fuel efficiency by up to 3 per cent.
2. Reduce Unnecessary Weight
Carrying excess weight in your vehicle can significantly decrease fuel efficiency.
A. Why It Matters
Increased Fuel Consumption: Extra mass makes your vehicle use more fuel, especially if it is heavier in the trunk and/or roof.
Taken in the conservative sense, however, ‘expendable weight’ is… well, expendable – making it a great way by which to deduct car pounds. Complications to your steering and braking are further causes of reduced performance. This is, alas, one area in which the additional weight of you and your stuff really will add up.
B. How to Reduce Weight
Clear out your car: dump anything in the car that you don’t need, especially anything heavy in the trunk.
Travel light: Take only what you need for your trip; don’t allow your car to become your storage area.
Tip: For each extra 100lbs of body weight your car carries, its fuel efficiency decreases around 1 per cent. Keep your vehicle light by regularly removing clutter.
3. Drive Smoothly and Avoid Aggressive Driving
Your driving habits have a significant impact on fuel consumption.
A. Why It Matters
Aggressive driving: accelerate slowly, brake and accelerate less, and slow down. Quick acceleration, a style that often includes hard braking and speeding up, can drastically reduce your fuel economy. Your engine simply works harder and burns more fuel when you accelerate quickly and abruptly.
Smooth driving: Keeps your car moving at a steady speed and anticipates traffic, making the task of driving smooth, which in turns saves on fuel.
B. How to Drive More Efficiently
Accelerate gently: Make sure your foot pushes the gas pedal smoothly and gradually to avoid high fuel-consumption peaks.
Maintain constant speed: On the highway, set cruise control to ensure a consistent speed while also reducing fuel waste.
Right Before the Light: At a stoplight, coast before you get close and push the pedal down hard. Coasts to a Stop: When you get close to a stop, ease off the gas and coast instead of braking hard at the last second.
C. Tip: Aggressive driving can lower gas mileage by up to 33 per cent on the highway and five per cent in the city, according to the US Department of Energy. Drive gently to save fuel – and your brakes and tyres.
4. Limit Use of Air Conditioning
Using your car’s air conditioning system can increase fuel consumption, especially in stop-and-go traffic.
A. Why It Matters
More work for the engine: This increases engine load, making it work harder and burn more fuel than it normally would.
Open Windows: It’s a classic gas-saving technique: running the air conditioning results in greater drag, and pumping that air through the car takes more, you decrease drag,ing of outside air takes
B. How to Use AC Efficiently
AC Sparingly: Whenever possible, use air conditioning sparingly, especially in city driving where it has the largest effect on reducing fuel economy. If driving at lower speeds, leave the windows open to save fuel.
Ventilate First: On hot days, ventilate your car by rolling down the windows a few minutes before turning on the air conditioning. This allows its AC to do a little less work at startup.
C. TIP: The air conditioner might be more efficient at highway speeds than driving with the windows down (increased aerodynamic drag), so find an intermediate setting that keeps both low.
5. Keep Your Engine Well-Maintained
Regular engine maintenance is crucial for ensuring optimal fuel efficiency.
A. Why It Matters
Less wear and tear: A cleaner engine suffers less wear and tear, with fewer moving parts rubbing together. It therefore runs more efficiently, and not only uses less fuel to do the same amount of work but will also last for longer.
Preventative Care: Maintaining regular service will identify such things as dirty air filters, dirty spark plugs or a faulty oxygen sensor before they can become a problem which can cause poor fuel mileage.
B. How to Maintain Your Engine
Regular oil changes: Change the engine oil every 1,000 miles as directed by your vehicle’s manufacturer. Clean oil has lower friction than dirty oil, thus improving fuel efficiency.
Change the Air Filter: A dirty air filter can let extra air into the combustion chamber of your engine, reducing fuel economy.
Spark Plugs: Worn or fouled spark plugs can misfire, reducing fuel economy and harming performance. Replace them at the interval specified in your owner’s manual or vehicle repair guide.
C. Tip: Keeping your vehicle in good shape, especially by sticking to the manufacturer’s service schedules, can increase your fuel efficiency by as much as 4 per cent. A well-maintained engine also lasts longer and is less likely to break down.
6. Choose the Right Fuel
It is important to use the right type of fuel for your vehicle in order to ensure fuel efficiency.
A. Why It Matters
Required Octane Level: Your car is engineered to run on a certain octane level. Higher octane fuel won’t help your engine run better, or more frugally, but it will cost you more money.
Ethanol Blends: Fuels with more ethanol (eg, E85) have less energy per gallon. You will get fewer miles per gallon compared with gasoline.
B. How to Choose the Right Fuel
Consult the Owner’s Manual:
Never use high-octane fuel if your car was not designed for it. Use the octane level recommended by your car manufacturer.
Ethanol Content: If you’re particular about fuel economy, pick gasoline with lower ethanol content. It’s cheaper per gallon, but it may not save you money in the end if your mileage suffers.
Correct FIT exclusive: Use the right fuel for your engine to avoid knocking (pings), and save on fuel efficiency in the long run.
7. Plan Your Trips and Reduce Idling
Trip planning that minimises excessive braking and acceleration and reducing idling can boost your car’s fuel efficiency.
A. Why It Matters
Frequent Short Trips: Cold starts and frequent short trips waste fuel because your engine doesn’t have time to get up to its optimum running temperature.
Idling: This wasted fuel burns up without getting you anywhere.
B. How to Optimize Trips
Trip-chain Your Errands: Instead of driving a number of short driving trips to different places, drivers can combine their errands into a longer trip to minimise cold-start incidents.
Plan Trips to Beat Rush Hour: Whenever possible, choose a time of day to drive where there is no accumulated congestion (such as rush hour traffic, which causes your car to run less efficiently due to more frequent stops and starts).
When Stopped: If you expect to be stopped for more than a minute or two – such as at a railroad crossing or waiting for someone – turn off the engine to save fuel.
C. How should I interpret the results?Since modern engines are built to use less fuel during restarts than they do at idle for a long time, turning off your engine when appropriate can make a big difference to your fuel economy.
8. Consider Aerodynamics
Improving your car’s aerodynamics can reduce drag and enhance fuel efficiency.
A. Why It Matters
1. Wind Resistance: The faster you drive, the more wind resistance your vehicle faces. Roof racks, cargo boxes, and other external accessories will increase this resistance, which in turn leads to higher fuel consumption.
Windows And Sunroof: When you open your windows or the sunroof while driving fast, they will create aerodynamic drag which reduces fuel efficiency.
B. How to Improve Aerodynamics
If you can, get rid of roof racks or cargo boxes (which sit on top of your racks) – especially if your car doesn’t have an aerodynamic design.
Keep those windows closed: driving at high speeds creates more aerodynamic drag with the windows and sunroof open Close Windows: Keeps those windows
(and sunroof) closed when driving at highway speeds to avoid additional aerodynamic drag from creating excess airflow.
C.1 tip: If you want to increase the miles per gallon of your car, you can remove unnecessary ornaments outside the car because they not only reduce noise but also improve fuel economy by decreasing drag.
Conclusion: Small Changes, Big Savings
Improving your car requires radical changes. With a few small tweaks to your driving style, regular maintenance, and smart vehicle care, your car can be more fuel-efficient. Maintaining fuel economy is a win-win: it’ll save you money at the pump and leave a cleaner, greener planet behind. Simple changes make a big difference. Here’s how to optimise your car’s fuel economy: • Make sure your tires are properly inflated • Pay attention to your driving style • Follow the manufacturer’s recommended service schedule A more fuel-efficient car is a more powerful car – for your wallet, and for the planet.
