The Green Diva

How to Save Fuel when Driving

The ridiculously expensive cost of fuel is now old news. There is a lot you can do to cut down on the amount of fuel you use- I have cut down my weekly fuel costs massively just by doing the following things.

The biggest change is to do less journeys by car in the first place, however it isn’t always feasible to get to work without your car so let me share my fuel saving tips with you. Driving economically helps you reduce your vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions therefore minimising your carbon footprint.

Optimise your vehicle

Get rid of any extra weight that you don’t need. You don’t need to lug the kitchen sink with you in your boot to everywhere you go. Accessories such as roof racks affect the way the air flows over your car and messes with car’s aerodynamics reducing fuel efficiency, so remove them when not in use.

Check your tyre pressure regularly, under-inflated tyres are dangerous and increase resistance which uses more fuel. I watched a programme where seven out of ten drivers had at least one tyre that was under inflated. Don’t make that mistake! Also when your tyres are deflated the tyre life is also reduced by up to 30%. Pumping your tyres up is an easy, simple and quick way to instantly improve your fuel consumption.

Having clean oil in your car reduces the wear caused by friction of moving engine parts and also helps improve fuel consumption. For this reason it is recommended that you have the oil in your car regularly changed.

Change the oil in your car annually or more regularly if you drive a lot of miles. For a diesel engine it is recommended you change the oil more frequently (every six months or 3000 miles). This keeps your engine in good condition ensuring that fuel is used efficiently.

Be organised

Plan your journeys to avoid congestion, road works and getting lost. I use google maps to get an idea of the route and sometimes even print out the route and stick it on the dashboard. If you have a satellite navigation system then use it!

Drive away immediately when starting from cold – idling to heat the engine wastes fuel and causes rapid engine wear. Also avoid short journeys if you can – a cold engine uses almost twice as much fuel (it takes about five or six miles to hit efficiency with catalytic converters).

Be smooth

Are you the type of driver who speeds up fast up to a red light and then brakes harshly? Well stop it as you are using extra fuel for no reason. Anticipate what is happening and drive smoothly, avoid both sharp acceleration and heavy braking. This saves fuel and makes you a far better driver. Take your foot off the accelerator to slow down earlier rather than slamming the brakes on late. You’ll find this method far less stressful.

Cars shut off fuel to the engine if you’re not accelerating, but in neutral the engine will still use fuel to stop it from stalling, so keep the car in gear. Use the cars weight to your advantage on hills and take your foot off the accelerator going downhill.

Avoid driving on rough surfaces like gravel or heavily potholed roads. Driving on these kinds of surfaces can reduce your fuel consumption by a third. It may be worth altering a route to improve your MPG.

The most efficient speed depends upon the car, mine is 50-60mph though many are around 45- 50mph. Change into the highest gear as soon as you can while driving but don’t rev unnecessarily. Revving the engine in low gear consumes lots of fuel. The ideal time to shift up a gear is when the engine is revving between 2000 and 2500 revs. Finally maintain a steady speed in the highest gear possible at your most efficient speed.

Unfortunately driving with the windows or sunroof open decreases your car’s aerodynamics and leads to using more fuel. This is particularly high when driving above 50mph leading to significant drag. Air conditioning also significantly increases fuel consumption. I just use my fans with the windows closed as I chose a car without air conditioning. Fortunately my fans are excellent.

If you’re stuck in traffic and expect to be there for longer than a couple of minutes, switch the engine off. Cutting the engine will save fuel and reduce emissions. This will not get you home any later!

Slow and steady

When driving on the motorway and country roads try and limit your speed as much as possible. I found I was spending twenty pounds more a week when driving at 70mph or higher on the motorway. Now you’ll find me driving behind the lorries at around 60mph, and at 50mph where the new speed limits are in force. Around half of engine power is used to overcome aerodynamic drag (which increases dramatically at high speeds) so fuel consumption increases with high speeds. Regrettably for you speed freaks the Department of Transport claim driving at 70 mph uses up to 9% more fuel than at 60 mph and up to 15% more than at 50 mph.

Petrol

Go in the early morning or in the evening when it is cool to fill up for fuel. You can get more for your money due to the way pumps measure petrol. This may just be pennies in terms of savings but I prefer to fill up first thing as it means less queues.

Take care when filling up with fuel- the petrol doesn’t just stop coming out when you let go of the lever. When you stop filling up hold the pump for a few seconds to let all the petrol flow out and shake it slightly to grab every last drop. This is great as you get all that you pay for and no spillages.

The Results

My driving a few years back was pretty poor in terms of fuel efficiency before I made these changes. For example I no longer take off at a traffic light like a bat out of hell. Interestingly my journey times to work have only changed by a couple of minutes. It used to take me 57 minutes to get to work and now it takes me 59 minutes. With an average saving of £4 a day it is well worth it for me to keep this method of driving. Luckily this commute isn’t a long term thing otherwise I wouldn’t feel very green in the long run! Give these tips a go and let me know how you get on. I am sure there are savings to be gained for everyone in some way.

 

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