1) Car Service
Service your car at the recommended schedule. A car’s engine is its heart and, similar to the human body, a fit car will run more efficiently and burn less fuel. Skipping a service could end up costing you more money in the long run and could also affect your car’s resale value.
2) Tyre Pressures
Tyres must be inflated correctly or you will burn extra fuel. As a general rule under-inflated tyres create excessive drag and this will burn more fuel. On the other hand over-inflated tyres compromise grip and could be dangerous coming into the winter months so be careful.
3) Excess Weight
Carrying excess weight means the car is burning more fuel to haul itself around. You may not think it will make much difference to your fuel consumption but believe me it all ads up. Have a look in your boot and you’ll be amazed at the amount of unnecessary stuff you will find.
4) Air Conditioning
Air conditioning is terrific for not only cooling the inside of your car down but also for removing moisture from your windows. But air con comes at a price: it burns allot of extra fuel .
5) Move It
When you start a car (petrol) from cold, move off as promptly as possible. Cold engines run inefficiently so the sooner the car’s temperature is up to normal the more energy efficient it will be.
6) Fill Right Up
Ireland has a long tradition of its motorists filling up with just a few euros worth of fuel at a time. When you think about it not only are you stopping and starting your car more than you need to, but you are also making life harder for yourself. When you stop for fuel fill up to the brim. Supermarket filling stations seem to offer the best value for money.
7) Right Car Wrong Car
We all know that smaller cars are lighter and generally use a lot less fuel than larger ones so plan the purchase of your next new car wisely. If you don’t need to carry adults in the back or do little mileage why not downsize to something that will run with greater economy.
8) Gradual Acceleration
Gradual acceleration is the key to saving fuel. Once at speed a car is generally most energy efficient between 60 & 100Km/h. Check before you buy any new car check what’s it fuel consumption is.
9) High Speed Costs Money
Get in to top gear as soon as you can. Remember that car gears are just like those on a bike so 5th will get you a lot further than 1st for the same amount of energy used. Traffic jams can play havoc with fuel costs so if you think you are going to be stationary for more than a few seconds turn off your engine. BMW does this with its latest cars using ‘Efficient Dynamics’ and other companies are following suit.
10) Do You Need to Drive?
Sorry for stating the obvious but a car in the driveway doesn’t use up fuel. Could you walk or cycle to your destination, or maybe, just maybe, you might have decent public transport nearby (unlikely… but worth a look).
