11 Tips To Save Your Car Fuel
9 July, 2023
If you use private car as your mode of daily transportation, you must feel that the cost for fuel is getting higher each day. But take fuel cost aside, traffic jam and so many activities to be done make you use private car more often.
If driving your private car is inevitable as it is actually the thing you must do, you can save fuel consumption by doing the following tips:
Make sure car engine is always in good performance
Car engine that is always in good performance will affect fuel consumption.
Avoid sudden stop and unnecessary acceleration
Sudden stop will not only erode brake pads quickly, it will also make the car starts from its lowest condition if you press on brake pedal too often. This will certainly affect the amount of fuel to burn. Additionally, unnecessary acceleration can also burn more fuel.
Also read: Car Preparation Checklist for Long Distance Driving
Maintain engine rotation
In order to save fuel, you must know when to shift gear. For gasoline engine, it’s advisable to shift gears at 1,500 to 2,200 rpm. Whereas for diesel engine, shift gears at around 1,100 to 2,000 rpm. Do not wait until car engine makes a droning sound to shift gear. Apart from that, maintain car speed so that the car moves constantly at those particular ranges of rotation.
Make sure that tires have enough air
Car tires that don’t have enough air can cause bigger friction, especially between tires and road surface. Consequently, tractive force will decrease and the car will be burdened. Filling tires with too much air is not good too. For safety, check manufacturer’s recommendation on tire pressure for your car. By keeping tire pressure at recommended level, fuel consumption can be saved by 5% to 20%.
Choose quality fuel
Choose fuel with octane number that is suitable with your car. Do not pick lower octane number just to save expenses. Using cheaper fuel does not guarantee you can save more money. It may be effective for a short time, but in the long term car engine will surely consumes more fuel. Using fuel that is recommended by car manufacturer also helps maintain car engine clean.
Don’t turn on AC unnecessarily
Leave air conditioner (AC) off, unless it is necessary. An active AC is actually quite burdening for car engine. The engine must bear with heavy burden, especially when AC is set at a very low temperature. If you want to turn on AC, set the temperature at 22°-23°C. This way, car engine will have fewer burdens.
Also read: Which One To Choose, Manual or Automatic Transmission Car?
Stop car using engine break
If you must stop the car, decrease car speed by releasing gas pedal and shifting gears in phases. This way is quite effective to decrease car speed. Besides, it is more fuel-efficient and save brake pads too.
Operate gear shifting properly
The range of ideal rotation for gasoline engine is 1,500 – 2,500 rpm and 1,100 – 2,100 rpm for diesel engine. It is advisable to shift gear at those ranges. Make sure to drive the car at constant speed with high gear. In such setting, the car can move at around 70 km/hour to 80 km/hour.
Turn off engine whenever possible
You can turn off car engine when traffic lights show red signal or when you stop in front of train crossing. When traffic is severely jammed, it is highly recommended to turn off car engine for a while. For your information, fuel that is saved by turning off car engine for 3 minutes can be used to go through 1 km distance with a constant speed of 50 km/hour. Reduce the burden that car has to endure.
Never carry luggage more than recommended capacity
When car carries a lot of luggage, make sure to drive it at low speed. You must know that every 20 kg of luggage will add fuel consumption by 1%. According to experts, driving with excessive luggage ranked at number 2 for fuel inefficiency.
Also read: Go Front or Go Rear?
Always use momentum
Every time a car is nearing a fork, an intersection, or traffic lights, the driver must decrease car speed. It is advisable to decrease the speed a few meters before reaching these spots. Press on brake pedal only when the car has reached a point where you must stop. If you build this pattern, you can save more fuel.
In addition to the above tips, you should choose the right type of car in accordance with the needs. Cars with large engine capacity will spend a lot of fuel. A car with a capacity of 1500 cc engine like Wuling Confero does not spend a lot of fuel and can be relied upon for your daily mobility.
Let’s do the tips and compare, does your fuel consumption get more efficient than before?
Source: mobilkamu.com & viva.co.id
