FUEL SAVING TIPS: Every time you get behind the wheel, there’s an opportunity to save. Improve the fuel economy of your car with these 11 tips…. 1 CHECK YOUR TYRE PRESSURE Under-inflated tyres are not only dangerous, they increase the rolling resistance between the vehicles tyres and the road. To overcome the extra drag, the engine will have to work harder and therefore consume more fuel 2 SERVICE YOUR CAR REGULARLY A badly maintained vehicle is unlikely to perform as it is designed to. Problems such as partially blocked filters, poor oil performance and emissions control systems defects may occur. These and other factors will prevent your engine from functioning as well as the manufacturer intended it to, which can result in increased fuel consumption and higher emissions. 3 USE HIGH QUALITY FUELS Using high quality such as BP Ultimate, will allow the vehicle to run more efficiently, enabling improved combustion quality thus reducing fuel consumption and lowering emissions. Independent tests show that the fuel economy benefit of BP Ultimate Unleaded can be up to 25km more per tank and up to 36km extra when using BP Ultimate Diesel, compared to ordinary fuels. 5 TURN OFF YOUR AIRCON The airconditioning unit contains acompressor pump driven by your engine. When air conditioning is used the compressor uses power from the engine, increasing the work it has to do. This requires more fuel and produces increased emissions. 6 LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD Carrying unnecessary weight in the boot or cabin of the vehicle will make the engine work harder when accelerating- this particularly affects stop/start driving. Simply removing this load will reduce fuel consumption and emissions. 7 AVOID STOP/START DRIVING The engine has to work hard when accelerating and every time the brakes are used this energy is lost as heat. By observing and predicting road and traffic conditions ahead, the effects of stop/start driving can be reduced. Simply lifting off the accelerator earlier and gently slowing down will improve fuel economy. 8 Avoid excessive idling- Unnecessary idling will consume fuel and produce emissions even while stationary. During idling periods of several minutes or more, where it is safe to do so, switching off your engine will stop fuel consumption and emissions completely. 9 EASE OFF THE ACCELERATOR Accelerating hard and using high engine speeds will make the engine consume more fuel. This because, under high loads and speeds, the engine is not operating very efficiently. Accelerating more steadily to the desired speed will reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Using the engine in its most efficient range can reduce consumption and emissions: ⦁For petrol, changing gear at 2500rmp is recommended ⦁For diesel, changing gear at 2000rmp is recommended 10 AVOID SHORT JOURNEYS On short journeys when an engine is cold it uses more fuel because some of the energy in the fuel is used to heat the engine. The catalytic converter in the exhaust, which reduces harmful emissions, is also less efficient when cold. Cold start journeys, therefore, lead to high emissions and high fuel consumption for several minutes after start up. It is best to avoid such journeys as much as possible. 11 CHANGE DOWN A GEAR When driving in a steep hill, do not labour the engine at low engine speeds. It is better to use a lower gear and keep the engine speed higher.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 22:23:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015