If you own a car, fuel is probably one of your most straining expenses- and especially in SA it’s not always easy to utilise public transport. We are here to help! Here are ten tips on how to save fuel so you don’t have to stay home the whole weekend to save some cash…
Here are our 10 top tips:
1. Keep your tyres pumped, says Gary Ronald, from the Automobile Association of SA. When tyres deflate, there’s more rolling resistance between them and the road, so the engine works harder: -˜Correctly inflated tyres give an increased mileage of more than 3%.’
2. Service your car when it’s needed on a regular basis! Blocked filters and under-performing emissions control and other systems prevent your engine from working smoothly and increases your petrol consumption.
3. Drop the extra baggage and air drag. Remove your cycle-rack when not in use and don’t open all windows or your sunroof. This increases air drag over your car, which then needs more engine power, increasing fuel consumption by as much as 10%.
4. Cool it with the air-con! Whenever possible, turn it off -“ the unit contains a compressor pump driven by your engine, requiring more fuel.
5. Don’t carry anything in your car or boot that you don’t need. It makes the engine work harder when you accelerate. -˜For each additional 50kg you carry, you use about another 2% fuel,’ says Ronald.
6.Take it slow. On average you use 15% more petrol at 100 km/h, and 25% more at 110 km/h, than at 90 km/h. Just don’t go too slow as fuel consumption increases at speeds below 50km/h.
7. Stop the stop-start driving. Your engine works hard when you accelerate, and when you break, this energy is lost as heat, says Ronald: So, avoid rush-hour, where possible, and aim for an even pace to save fuel."
8. Do not idle! If you’re idling for more than a minute, you save more fuel by switching off and restarting your engine, rather than letting it idle.
9. Drive only when necessary. These are tough times so rather ditch those Sunday drives and also try to run all errands in one trip rather than doing everything separately.
10. Join a lift club. This will not only cut your petrol costs, but it’s also a ”greener” option.
