Fuel Efficient Driving
Unless you’re an enthusiast, spending less money on your vehicle is usually a main goal.
There are a few ways to save money on your vehicle ownership that we’ll take a look at today. While it’s hard to place an exact dollar value on the amount you’ll save, following these tips should see your fuel costs and maintenance costs drop.
What it means to drive efficiently
Driving in an efficient manner won’t just save you money at the bowser, over time it can also save you money with mechanical repairs, too.
Getting the most from your fuel tank is a combination of driving habits as well as preemptive maintenance. And doing one without the other can only get you so far. Read on to find out a combination of tips and tricks to get the most from your tank.
Ways to improve your fuel efficiency
Tyre Air Pressure
Tyre pressure is the most important variable in helping with your fuel economy. It’s also one of the easiest to check. We have a dedicated article with a deep dive into how low tyre pressures can impact your fuel efficiency by between 2-4%.
Tyre Choice
Not only do you have to worry about air pressure, you need to worry about what tyres you’re using? The main point here is that you should be using tyres that compliment the style of driving that you’re doing. There’s not much point having huge, heavy mud terrain tyres on your 4WD if you primarily use the vehicle for commuting to and from work on sealed surfaces.
Likewise, if you are just in a little buzz box driving to and from work, having high performance, sticky tyres is probably reducing your fuel economy by over 1l/100km.
That being said, high performance tyres that feature low-rolling resistance are becoming more common. If you’re concerned that your tyre choice is not optimum for your vehicle and your driving habits, come and see the Tyrepower team today and ask us for advice!
Wheel Alignment
A wheel alignment is another great way to ensure your vehicle is fighting against parasitic drag simply driving down the road.
Having a wheel alignment ensures that all your wheels are pointing in the same direction, within factory specifications, a good wheel alignment will also help avoid premature tyre wear.
Remove excess weight from the vehicle
More power makes you get up to speed easier, bigger brakes and better tyres slow you down easier, and less weight makes you do everything easier.
If you’re still carrying around that sports gear from the weekend or you habitually leave your roof top tent on even though it’s used twice a year, you’re basically throwing away money every time you mash the pedal to get your vehicle up to speed.
Plan trips
This tip is the most important but also the most difficult. Plan your trips into batches. When your engine is cold it uses much more fuel until it warms up, so it makes sense to spend as little time as possible with a cold engine, right?
If you are able to organise trips in the car so that you accomplish multiple tasks in a single outing, you’re going to be using less fuel.
While driving, try to avoid start-stop traffic and stick to routes where your speed is more consistent, pulling away from the lights and getting back up to speed can see your fuel economy figures momentarily spike up to 40 or 50 litres per 100kms!
Over time, changing your driving habits can result in up to 50ks extra from a single tank!
Mechanical Servicing
For most of us, mechanical servicing and repairs are a reactive thing, but if you’re looking to make sure your vehicle is always running most efficiently, maintenance really needs to become a proactive part of vehicle ownership.
Ensuring your vehicle is serviced and maintained means that it’s spending less energy overcoming mechanical wear and tear, resulting in more kilometres out of every tank.
Simple and cheap items like spark plugs, or engine sensors can drastically knock your fuel economy out of whack, while poorly maintained suspension, wheel bearings, exhaust systems and filters can cause your vehicle to work harder to produce the same power.
Your locally owned and operated tyre store.
For all tyre and wheel-related queries, including inspections, product advice, wheel alignments, tyre rotations and balancing, all with great customer service and speedy turnaround times, come see your nearest Tyrepower store today!
Call us on (08) 8354 4580 to speak to an expert today!