9 Fuel Saving Tips: How to Save Whilst Driving
With fuel prices rising along with living costs, making your fuel go further has become an increasing necessity.
Here are 9 tips for how to save fuel while driving
Maintain your vehicle
While you’re expected to have your car serviced annually and undergo an MOT test, it is important to have maintenance done whenever you notice an issue.
When it comes to tyres, you’ll want to ensure that they are properly inflated. Underinflated tyres mean your car will have to work harder as the tyres have too much contact with the road.
For overinflated tyres, you may find yourself overcompensating as there is less contact with the road, so your car could up skidding while driving around corners.
Other checks like replacing old oil and worn brake pads can help to increase your fuel economy as your car won’t be working more than it has to.
Combine small trips
Cars make nipping out to the shops or doing the school run more convenient; however, these little trips add up in the long run as several cold engine starts will consume more fuel compared to one longer journey where the engine is warm and most efficient.
Accelerate and decelerate slowly
Driving at a consistent speed improves fuel economy as there is less chance that your car will come to a complete stop.
This is because your car will use more fuel to slow down and accelerate suddenly. Instead, pay attention to the road, pedestrians and other drivers to anticipate when you’ll need to slow your car down without having to brake and stop.
Use the engine Stop/Start button (if your car has one)
Having your foot on the clutch when stopped at a traffic light does waste fuel. Using your car’s stop/start system means that you can take your foot off while in neutral
Know what your fuel costs are
If you’re interested in saving fuel, then you’ll need to work out how much you spend on it, and you can use online calculators to work this out.
Only fill up with the amount of fuel you need
It might seem more cost-effective to fill your car up completely, however, driving around with a fuel tank weighs more which can impact fuel economy.
By filling up only what you’ll need, you won’t have the extra weight, and you’ll be less likely to make those “spur of the moment” short trips.
Avoid using the air-con system where possible
The air-con system uses fuel, so make sure that you use it sparingly. To make sure that you do, you can dress for the weather, so you’re less likely to use the air-con system.
Close your windows
While it can be nice to have the windows open on a warm day, it can actually create drag, meaning that your car will have to work harder to maintain the same speed.
However, having the windows down when driving slowly can be more fuel efficient than using the air-con system.
Get rid of extra weight
It can be tempting to store things in your car but that extra weight will make your car work harder to drive the same distance when compared to driving without the weight.
Remember to empty your car of unnecessary items to improve fuel economy.