How to Save Your Fuel Consumption
Text by Richie Setiawan
Today, it is out of the question how high gas prices have become. As a matter of fact, gas prices have been climbing up from time to time. Unfortunately, in this life, a lot of people use gas for various purposes, one of which is for the fuel their cars need. With that being said, it becomes necessary for people to think of some ways they can save their money instead of spending a large sum of it just for fuel. So, if you yourself own a car, you will have to figure out how to save your fuel consumption.
Try to slow down
Well, fortunately enough, there are quite a few ways you can approach in order to save your car fuel consumption. To start it off, you may want to slow down while you are driving your car. Don’t worry, you are not likely to arrive too much late at your destination. After all, unless you are really in a rush to an urgent meeting or the likes, it is you who control your time instead of your time controlling you.
You will find this technique of slowing down even more useful when you are travelling on a long journey. When you drive slower, your car consumes fuel far less than when you drive faster. An increase in speed normally results in an exponential increase in fuel consumption as well and you need to keep this in mind.
How much tyre pressure do you have?
There are quite a few car owners out there that often complain about how much their car consumes its fuel. However, the mistake they have in common is that they happen to forget about their tyre pressure. Under-inflated tyres often prove to cause your car to consume fuel inefficiently.
This is because tyres, when under-inflated, experience a larger rolling resistance than with their normal pressure. As a result, to make it possible for the car to move around, more gas will be necessary to burn. With that being said, it is of utmost importance to check your tyre pressure periodically as they tend to lose their pressure due to temperature and time. After every 10-degree temperature drop, tyres will normally lose about 1 psi of air pressure. Tyres will normally lose around 1 psi of air pressure as well each month.
But remember, though, that when you drive your car, you warm up the tyres and the air inside them and this may lead to false tyre pressure information. Therefore, it is best to check the tyre pressure when your car is in cold condition.
How clean is the air filter?
When the air filter of your car has some dirt in it, you will experience a boost in fuel consumption which, of course, is contrary to what you want. Besides, it may also harm your car. Fortunately, you will most likely be able to take care of an air filter quite easily.
All you have to do is simply to take out the air filter and direct it under the sunlight. You can tell that your air filter is dirty when you cannot see the sunlight getting through it. You may then either clean or change it. However, it is highly recommended that you use a permanent air filter such as the one from K&N as you will simply have to clean it without having to change it. Besides, it is also friendlier to the environment.
Accelerate smoothly
Accelerating smoothly is one way to save fuel as well. For cars with automatic transmission, it is recommended that the driver accelerates moderately to allow the car to shift gears more properly. For cars with manual transmission, the driver should shift in time so that the engine does not rev too much. However, regardless of whether a car comes with manual or automatic transmission, the driver will always have to be careful in case there is a road going down ahead of them. If they brake suddenly, this will boost their fuel consumption instead of saving it.
Stick to trucks
When there is a traffic jam, it is usually more preferable to stick to how truck drivers are driving. Trucks normally travel at a constant speed. Although most people may not realize it, a car consumes more fuel when it starts to move and it consumes less if all it has to do is simply to remain moving.
Air conditioner
Air conditioner also has a role in increasing the fuel your car consumes. So, at times, you may find it more economical to simply open up your car windows and feel the wind blowing outside.
Are stock tyres better?
If you are into car modifications, just like a lot of people are, there is a pretty good chance that you are interested in changing your stock tyres with some custom ones.
However, unfortunately, if these custom tyres turn out to be wider than the stock tyres, you will end up consuming much more fuel than you would stock tyres. With that being said, stock tyres are even better when you need to travel long distances.
Clean your car regularly
Sometimes, you may not realize that you have in fact put quite a lot of stuffs into your car. This is especially true for long distant journeys. When there are lots of stuffs in your car, it takes more fuel for your car to be able to move. So, by cleaning up your car after every certain period of time, you can save a considerable amount of fuel.
Is your car the right size?
At former times, people might prefer cars with a larger size. This was because they assumed that they would obtain more spaces inside the car and that the car would stand crashes better.
However, in this modern era, cars have transformed to a lot smaller sizes. Yet, this does not necessarily mean that there will not be enough spaces or that the cars will not stand crashes.
As a matter of fact, a lot of today’s small cars provide more than enough spaces inside them. In addition to that, those driving or travelling in them are also protected from crashes thanks to the front and side curtain airbags along with other safety features available in those cars.
Wednesday, 6th April 2011
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