Climbing fuel prices and growing environmental awareness prompted a focus on how to get the maximum value out of a tank of fuel. We have selected the most useful tips:
- Fill up your car in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold and the fuel is dense (petrol expands as it gets warmer).
- Set the trigger of the nozzle to the lowest speed to minimise the vapours that are created while you are pumping. (If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour and is sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money).
- Fill your tank when it’s half full (petrol evaporates incredibly quickly and you want to minimise the amount of airspace in the tank).
- Do not fill up if there is a fuel truck pumping into the storage tanks (the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you may pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom).
Click here to read more about these tips.
A recent Mail and Guardian article reports on a global movement to encourage drivers to change their habits to maximise fuel efficiency. This is referred to as eco-driving in Europe and hypermiling in the United States. Some South African experts contend that savings of 25% to 30% can be achieved just by driving more carefully.
With this is mind, try out these tips from ecodrive.org:
- Change gear between 2000 and 2500 rpm.
- Anticipate traffic flow so that you can:
- Maintain a constant speed by having an even pressure on your accelerator which minimises fuel intake into the engine
- Decelerate smoothly and avoid heavy breaking
- Check tyre pressure frequently: 25% too low tyre pressure increases rolling resistance by 10% and your fuel consumption by 2%.
Feel free to share any other fuel saving tips with us!
