The cost of fuel is a constant concern for motorists. With the price of petrol in the UK amongst the highest in the world, combined with the possibility that prices can shoot up at any time, you’d be wise to look to ways to improve your fuel mileage.
Here are our top tips to help you improve your fuel efficiency and reduce fuel consumption:
Regularly maintain your car
Regular maintenance and servicing will improve the efficiency of your car and reduce fuel costs.
Most importantly, make sure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure as specified in your owner’s manual. Both underinflated and overinflated tyres will compromise your fuel economy.
The correct tyre pressure will depend on the load you’re carrying. If you’re carrying a full load, you should inflate your tyres to the maximum recommended pressure.
Use your recommended fuel type
Some people assume that super fuel, or high performance fuel, will be the most efficient. Super fuel is petrol with a high octane rating. Most standard brands of fuel will have a 95 octane rating. Super fuel has an octane rating of around 98. Super fuel is designed to make your engine work more efficiently and improve performance.
Although super fuel can work well with some cars, it may not be ideal for others. Check your car manual for the best type of fuel for your car.
Use your recommended motor oil
Car manufacturers test the effectiveness of different motor oils on their vehicles. They should provide a list of recommendations in your manual.
Don’t be swayed by aftermarket providers trying to sell you their brand of oil with promises of improved performance and better fuel mileage. Their promises are not specific to the brand, model and features of your car.
Watch your weight
Don’t give in to the temptation to treat your car as a mini van and pack as much luggage and other stuff as you can manage. The more weight you add to your car, the more you strain your engine and the higher your fuel consumption.
Go through the items you have in your car. Get rid of any rubbish. Unload items that you don’t need on a regular basis. If you don’t need your roof rack right now, remove it until you do.
Reduce drag
On a hot summer’s day your car can start to feel like a sauna. But do you roll down your windows or switch your air conditioning on? Air conditioning uses fuel, but having the windows down increases drag at high speeds, which also uses up fuel.
So at low speeds, open the windows as the drag will be less. At high speeds, opening windows will cause too much drag, so turn the air conditioning on.
Go easy on your accelerator
Smooth driving is efficient driving. Save fuel by using only gentle acceleration and sticking to the highest safe gear for your speed. If you see traffic lights ahead, ease off your accelerator early and let your car slow down by itself.
Driving up hills eats up your fuel. If you’re approaching a hill, try to accelerate a little before you reach it, then ease off as you drive up. The extra momentum will minimise any additional fuel consumption.
For more tips and tricks on improving your fuel mileage, why not get in touch with us at Double Dee Autos? We’d be delighted to help. Call us anytime on 020 8460 3040 with your questions or to book an appointment.