Feeling the fuel price hike? Here are our top tips to help reduce your fuel consumption!

 

Tip one: Make less trips

It may sound like the obvious answer but you’ll be surprised at how much planning journeys can improve your fuel consumption. A cold engine uses increasingly more fuel than a warm engine, so if you can plan ahead with your journeys it can save you a shed load. So instead of nipping to the supermarket with a cold, thirsty engine – just take a small walk to the local shop if you can! Alternatively, public transport has always been a great option other than cars, or even cycling! Save yourself some pennies and help the environment through opting for a different mode of transport! 

 

Tip two: Remove unnecessary weight from the vehicle

If you’re like me, your boot will be full of rubbish that you probably never need in your car. All this unnecessary gear adds weight to your car, therefore needing more fuel to power it. If you can, have a little summer clear-out and you should hopefully feel a small difference, although not massive. It may just help you not burn through as much as quick.

 

Tip three: Easy does it with the accelerator 

So it’s not rocket science is it? Flooring it from a standing start, instead of pulling away gently will obviously burn more fuel. However there’s a common misconception that drivers stay in higher gears to use less fuel but this is wrong on some occasions. I’m sure instead of just changing down a gear, you’ve decided to just floor it in some occurrences. This uses more power! You are essentially opening the accelerator, to allow more fuel into the engine. In future, we recommend changing down and accelerating gently back up to speed.

 

Tip four: Stick to the speed limits, especially at high speeds

On a 200 mile journey, if you overspeed at 80mph you will use around £10 more fuel. This adds up, especially for those people doing a long commute each day. It’s similar to easy with the accelerator, the faster you go on a longer journey, more will be used up. The slower you go however, the petrol or diesel won’t be burnt as quickly. If you need to be somewhere by a set time, why not just set off a while earlier so that you don’t have to ‘floor’ it as it were! 

 

Tip five: Keep your tyre pressures in check

A lower tyre pressure increases drag by creating more friction with the road surface. It is essential to check them every couple of weeks to maximize fuel efficiency. This information is normally found in your car door frame or fuelcap.

 

Tip six: Choose your temperature control wisely

So, people say to turn off your air conditioning to reduce fuel consumption, however in summer it is pretty much impossible to go without. People also say to close your windows to reduce fuel consumption as it increases drag. How do they expect you to keep cool in the Summer? Our advice is to have the air conditioning on if you need it and keep the windows closed. Alternatively, turn off the air conditioning and open your windows.