When we drive a car, we tend to focus only on safe driving but tend to abandon the idea that we can save on fuel (or potentially increase fuel consumption) by doing certain things.
Here are the top ten tips on how to be efficient with fuel while driving a car:
1. Watch the RPM
RPM stands for Revolutions Per Minute. It’s a measure of how fast any machine is operating at a given time. Car engine RPM increases as you press the accelerator. Once you hit 2500, it’s time to change the gear. This applies to manual (instead of automatic) cars. If you change the gear after 2500 RPM, your car tends to consume more fuel.
2. Drive Smoothly
Avoid sudden break or intense acceleration. This includes avoiding traffic jams, bumper-to-bumper driving that not only drives you insane but also consumes a lot of fuel.
3. Watch Your Speed
Driving faster means more fuel. Don’t drive too fast. This, not only save you from speeding fines but also on fuel. The faster a car goes, the more fuel it consumes.
4. Check Tyre Pressure Regularly
Tyres with less air make your car heavy and thus consumes more fuel. Read your car manual or google what is the right pressure for your car tyres as each car has different optimum levels. You should check the pressure every week or two.
5. Check Wheel Alignment Every 2-3 Years
Wheel alignment doesn’t only make your car safer to drive, it also makes the suspension and steering components last longer. Furthermore, it saves fuel as it avoids rolling resistance that increases fuel consumption.
6. Remove Unnecessary Weights From the Car
Carrying extra weight makes your car heavy. Heavy weight increases fuel consumption. Check your car regularly and remove unnecessary items.
7. Don’t Warm Up
Unless the temperature is below -20°C, you don’t need to warm up your car, letting the engine idle like what people did in the 1970s. Today’s cars don’t need warming up.
8. Turn off Air Conditioning
Unlike car heaters that don’t use up much fuel as they recycle the heat from the engine, air conditioning
9. Stay Aerodynamics
Keep windows closed when driving at high speed so that the car doesn’t experience wind resistance which increases fuel consumption. Also, racks like roof racks and bicycle racks cause aerodynamic drag. Remove them when not needed.
10. Regular Maintenance
This maintains engine efficiency. Also, make sure that you’re using the right engine oil
