Fuel has been rising in price for decades, regardless of fluctuations in oil prices, so the issue of fuel economy becomes more relevant every year. There are several simple ways to significantly reduce the consumption of gasoline or diesel and thus save money.
1. Drive the car smoothly
A car uses the most when you start briskly. To accelerate a heavy car, the most uneconomical mode is used: high engine speed in combination with low gears. In this situation, the load on the engine is much higher than in the case of maintaining even speed or smooth acceleration. Sharp acceleration for overtaking is the same way to burn excess. Learning to accelerate unnecessarily, you can reduce fuel consumption.
2. Shift
With automatic transmissions, not much depends on the driver. The manual opens up good opportunities for the economy. Regardless of the type of transmission, the general theory is as follows: drive in the highest gear as the speed allows. Modern automatic transmissions shift into a higher gear in any suitable case. It is not required to use the possibility of a manual choice of gears. The main thing is not to shift into a sport mode. In such cases, high revolutions of the engine are used, and all economy is in vain.
At the car with mechanics, the driver himself should feel the earliest moment for transition to the next gear. When driving leisurely, revs over 2000 are already an excuse to shift. You can compare all the technical specs and dimensions of the cars on the Сararac site.
3. Four-wheel drive? Disconnect the second axle (if possible)
Note that here the situation is ambiguous: in some cases, all-wheel-drive wastes more fuel, and in other cases it saves it. We are speaking about cars with a switchable all-wheel drive.
On asphalt it makes sense to switch transmission to 2WD mode – thus the system will not use units that transmit traction to the second axis, and waste energy on them. The consumption will be reduced at least a little bit.
4. Turn off the engine
When the car stands and runs at idle, the fuel consumption is low – less than a liter per hour. But the consumption per kilometer will be maximal: you are not going anywhere. Fuel flies aimlessly down the chimney! It is no accident that most car manufacturers equip modern models with start/stop systems, which shut down the engine even during a short stop at a traffic light.
If you do not have such a system, act as it is – manually turn off the engine during stops. At least, it is worth doing so if you are standing for longer than one minute.
5. Monitor the pressure in tires
The lower the pressure, the higher the rolling resistance of wheels, and, therefore, the higher the fuel consumption. Underinflated tires are the enemies of an economical driver. But you should not overinflate the tires (it is not safe). The pressure should correspond to the characteristics, specified in the instruction.
6. Remove all unnecessary things
Extra load in the car – more fuel. Put everything in order in a trunk. Technical liquids, tools, shovels, and brushes, etc. – all these things make your car very heavy. Some things you don’t need in the summer and can be put away for the season.
7. Turn off the air conditioning and music
Of the ancillary equipment, the most expensive energy consumer in the car is the air conditioner. It requires both mechanical energy (the air conditioner compressor is driven by the engine belt) and electrical energy. Therefore, it is not surprising that air conditioners considerably increase the consumption of fuel. But climate control turns out to be more economical because with the help of temperature sensors in the interior the system doses use of air conditioner better. For maximal economy of fuel, it is necessary in any case to forcibly switch off the air conditioner – it does not matter what type it is.
In general, any power consumer in the car is your enemy, because it increases the load on the generator, which, consequently, leads to an increase in fuel consumption. So turn off the audio system, too.
8. Improve aerodynamics
The very easy way to make your car more aerodynamic is simply to close the windows. At speed, the oncoming airflow into the open windows creates whirls and additional aerodynamic drag. The higher the speed, the greater it is. As a consequence, fuel consumption also increases. To have a comfortable temperature in the cabin, it is better to air the car before starting the trip by opening all the doors wide and letting the car stand for a while.
A luggage rack on the roof and any projecting elements like additional lighting equipment, unusual mud flaps, air intakes and other worsen aerodynamics noticeably.
9. Get down in gear
This little trick can be used in cars with a manual gearbox. When the car is going downhill, don’t drive with the clutch depressed or shift into neutral. It is not only unsafe but also uneconomical. The fact is that when the car rolls downhill in gear, an interesting effect happens: when the accelerator pedal is released, the engine starts to consume less than at idle speed! This is because when braking the engine, there is a situation of so-called forced idling when the fuel supply to the combustion chamber stops.
10. Service/repair the vehicle
Have you changed the air and fuel filters, oil, and candles for a long time? Be sure that your fuel consumption will be higher than if you serviced the car properly. Do not neglect the entire list of routine maintenance and repair work, if necessary.
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