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Credit Crunch Motoring - Volume 1
A step-by-step guide to saving fuel
With the UK (and indeed most of the western world) forecast to go into recession in the near future and oil prices set to start rising again, here are some tips to help you keep a lid on your fuel costs.
Pump Up Your Tyres - Under inflated tyres increase rolling resistance which increases your fuel consumption. It is estimated 50% of tyres on the road are under inflated. Check your car manual for the recommended pressure then go to your local petrol station and use their pump, this is normally free! If your tyres are under inflated by 20% this will result in a 3% fuel consumption increase and reduce the tyre life by 30%. Pumping your tyres up is one of the easiest and quickest ways to instantly improve your fuel consumption.
Check For Tyre Wear - If your tyres are bald or heavily worn, bring your car in to us immediately! This is not only harming your fuel economy, but is dangerous and illegal.
Lose weight - If you are keeping lots of items in your boot that you don't need then take them out. On average every 50kg extra will increase your petrol consumption by 2%. If you have the Roof Rack then take it off. They can reduce fuel economy by as much as 25%!
Get the oil changed - Having clean oil in your reduces the friction in your engine which will improve fuel consumption, and it also makes your engine last longer. An oil and filter change can cost from as little as £20 and can be done while you wait.
Get your wheel alignment checked - If your tyres appear to be unevenly worn then you should bring your car in and let us check the wheel alignment. Uneven wear is the best sign that your wheels are not correctly aligned. Improper alignment affects the handling of your car and increases fuel consumption.
Avoid High Speeds - When driving on the motorway try and limit your speed as much as possible, the average car consumes 38% more fuel at 70mph than it does at 50mph. Avoiding high speeds on motorways can save a lot of petrol. Around 50% of the power produced by the engine is used to overcome aerodynamic drag, drag increases rapidly above 70mph so your fuel consumption will suffer.
Smooth Driving - Acceleration and deceleration is what uses most fuel. For this reason you will improve your fuel consumption with smooth driving.
Avoid short journeys – A cold engine uses twice as much fuel as a warm engine, and catalytic converters take 6 miles to become effective. So either avoid short journeys completely or drive super efficiently until the engine has warmed up.
Turn off the Aircon - Having air-conditioning is a nice luxury, and when it is baking hot air-con seems like the greatest invention ever! However air-con does increase your petrol consumption by as much as 10%, so during the winter just have your fans on instead of having the air con on, and try to just have the air-con on in short bursts to remove humidity.
Shop around – Shopping around for petrol can save you a quite a bit of money. We recommend that you use www.PetrolPrices.com to find the best prices locally. PetrolPrices is a site worth visiting regularly as often the difference in prices between the cheapest and most expensive can be more than 15p!
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