How to Save Petrol
Fuel prices are rising, with none of us knowing when petrol and diesel prices will drop.
An unstable political world is making for inflated petrol prices, although the price of a litre of fuel has been rising for more than a year now. The Government’s fuel duty added to every litre of petrol and diesel sold at UK garages also adds up to more than 30% of a tank of fuel.
The cost of a tank of petrol or diesel is so extortionate that it’s making many of us question whether we should be making the journey in the first place.
While we can’t claim to solve the issue and magically remove some pence at the pumps, we can at least ensure you extract every last mile of your tank, courtesy of some simple fuel saving tips.
By adjusting your driving techniques to save petrol, and go for more economical driving, you can make your fuel go further and ensure that you’re not having to refill quite so often.
Here are 6 tips on how to save petrol
Regular Maintenance
Regular maintenance and servicing improves the efficiency of your vehicle, and therefore can improve your fuel consumption.
Visit our servicing page and find out how our car servicing takes the stress out of vehicle maintenance and saves you money.
Best tyre pressure for fuel economy
It’s also really important to make sure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure as indicated in your owner’s manual. Underinflated and overinflated tyres both adversely affect fuel economy. Vehicles with under-inflated tyres have increased rolling resistance that require more fuel to maintain the vehicles speed. This is not good for your pocket and equates to higher Co2 emissions too, which is not good for the environment either.
Recommended fuel efficient tyres
We stock fuel efficient tyres from a range of reputable brands. An example of our best-selling energy-saving tyres are the Bridgestone T005 and Bridgestone Ecopia.
You can check the fuel efficiency of a tyre before you buy it by checking the EU Tyre label. The fuel efficiency score, sometimes known as rolling resistance have to be displayed by law on all tyres sold in the UK. A tyre’s fuel efficiency is rated on a scale of A-G with “A” being the highest score. Choosing a tyre with a good fuel efficiency score will lower your fuel costs and CO2 emissions.
Call us to learn more about the best tyres for fuel economy 0345 2997955.
Drive slower or conservatively?
Driving slower does not save petrol, but excessive speed is the biggest fuel-guzzling factor so having a light right foot and ensuring all acceleration is gentle is very important to fuel-efficient driving.
Choose economical driving style
Fuel efficiency is achieved driving slightly slower for long periods in the highest gear, so city driving for instance, staying at a low gear for long periods is going to increase fuel consumption.
The best way to achieve high mpg is driving in the highest possible gear for your vehicle while keeping within the speed limit. The best advice in urban areas is to change up through the gears as quickly as you can with the lowest (rpm) revs possible. Remember: the faster an engine spins, the more fuel it uses.
Anticipate
Anticipation is key. Try to anticipate what’s going to happen in front of you by looking well ahead. By doing this, you’ll see the traffic lights on red meaning you can ease back on the accelerator or slow down as you approach and potentially keep moving as opposed to coming to a stop.
Keeping the car moving at a steady speed as smooth as possible is essential to fuel economy. Obviously, this depends on traffic conditions and what’s happening on the road ahead, but slowing down and having to accelerate again uses more fuel.
Driving up hills destroys fuel economy too. When you spot a hill coming try to accelerate a little before you reach it, then ease off as you drive up. The extra momentum should be enough to minimise additional fuel consumption.
Use Cruise Control
Cruise control only aids fuel economy when driving on a constant flat surface, hence why it is usually best reserved for motorway driving.
One of the keys to saving fuel is driving at a constant speed, cruise control can do this effectively on flat surfaces, making your driving as fuel efficient as possible by negating unnecessary acceleration.
Some cars have adaptive cruise control specifically to save petrol. However, if you were to use your cruise control regularly, not on flat roads, you would encounter problems that would increase your fuel consumption.
Lighten the load
Don’t pack things into your car that you won’t be needing once you arrive at your destination. Also, don’t leave your roof bars and roof box on because they create wind resistance and cause your car to use more fuel through the ‘drag’ effect. This is increased the faster you drive.
Driving with an open window also has a similar effect. And while this isn’t going to make the biggest difference to your MPG figures, it stands to reason that the heavier a vehicle is, the more fuel it will use.
For that reason, don’t keep unnecessary items in your boot as they all add weight to your vehicle, which is not going to help your fuel economy in the long run.
How to save petrol in an automatic car?
Excessive speed is the biggest fuel-draining factor so having a light right foot and ensuring all acceleration is gentle is very important to fuel-efficient driving.
The best way to achieve high MPG is to drive in the highest possible gear while keeping within the speed limit. The best advice in urban areas is to change up through the gears as quickly as you can with the lowest revs possible. The faster an engine spins, the more fuel it uses.
What is Hypermiling?
Hypermiling the use of fuel-saving techniques to maximize a vehicle’s mileage and minimise fuel consumption
Keeping the car moving at the right speed is essential to successful hypermiling. Obviously, this depends on traffic conditions and what’s happening on the road ahead, but slowing down and having to accelerate again uses more fuel. Also, driving when roads are quiet and traffic is minimal is another technique.
Other hypermiling trends are to keep your car serviced regularly, to remove excess weight and to ensure that your tyre pressures are correct.
Keeping the windows up and the air-conditioning off are other examples of effective hypermiling.
Driving safely can also save you money on petrol in the long run. Check out our top tips on driving safely in our other blogs.