Fill Up First Thing in the Morning
You may not realise this, or you may not have thought about it but filling up first thing in the morning will help fuel consumption. The benefit of filling up first thing in the morning is that the tanks have had time to settle overnight and there is no air mixed with the fuel. Think about it, a busy garage full of cars filling up all day is constantly disturbing the tanks and mixing air with fuel. Therefore when you fill up later on in the day you're pumping into your car, fuel mixed with air which will disappear far more quickly.
Slow Fill-Ups
When filling up avoid pumping as fast as possible. Squeeze the trigger halfway or less if possible. The faster you pump, the more air particles are going into your tank which goes hand in hand with what I have previously said. Pumping slowly will eliminate the chance of air particles entering the tank.
Keeping to speed limits
You may think that going a little faster will have no effect on your fuel gauge. However take a look at these statistics:
- Driving at 65mph rather than 55mph increases fuel consumption by 20%
- Driving at 75mph rather than 65mph increases fuel consumption by 25%
That's only a 10mph difference but it all adds up at the end of the week.
Tyre Inflation
Under inflated tyres increases fuel consumption so you must keep your tyre pressures maintained else you will be wasting fuel. Make sure you check tyre pressure regularly and keep to the manufacturers guidelines.
Car Clutter
Footballs, old lunchboxes, clothes, books and other items left in your car be it the boot or backseat increase fuel consumption by 2%. It's not a lot but think about a 2% increased fuel consumption over 12 months. It soon adds up. Get rid of car clutter and keep it as empty as possible.
Idling
If you think you're in for a long wait, switch off your engine. Avoid sitting in traffic jams for long periods of time with your engine running. You are just burning valuable fuel.
There are a number of things you can do when trying to save fuel. By following my suggestions you should be on your way to a longer lasting tank.
