Tips for improving fuel economy
I can remember my first few years of being legally allowed to drive on our roads, I had a V8 Ford Fairlane and it was nothing to drive to the Gold Coast on Friday night (just over 100km each way), come back Saturday and then drive to the Sunshine Coast (80km one way) for the street drags that night and then go for a cruise on Sunday!
All on $50 worth of fuel. 50 cents a litre was considered expensive back then. How I long for those days!
Getting back to reality now, those days are long gone and with our natural resources slowly depleting fuel is not likely to get any cheaper. So what can you do to increase your car’s fuel effiency? Lots of little things that together should see you spending less time and money at the fuel station.
First and foremost ensure that your car’s engine is in good shape. A tune-up carried out every 10,000km will help ensure this. If you prefer to do this yourself pay particular attention to the condition of the spark plugs, ignition leads, distributor cap contacts and rotor (if fitted). Check that the ignition timing is set correctly. Having a clean and un-obstructed air filter and clean fuel filter is vital also.
If your vehicle runs electronic fuel injection (is there and car still on the road that doesn’t!) an injector clean every 60-80,000km is a good idea. The function of the oxygen sensor and catalytic convertor is important to maintaining good fuel economy, although they are a tad involved to check. Have your mechanic take a look if your vehicle is using excessive amounts of fuel. A good quality fuel additive (injector clean in a bottle) used when filling up is also a good idea. Be aware that there are many such products on the market and my experience has been that some of them are about as useful as peeing in the tank – if you get what I mean!
Another important item to consider is your tyres. The overall condition and inflation pressure can have a dramatic effect on fuel economy. Periodical checks of the condition and pressures are strongly advised. For passenger car tyres 32-34psi is good and for 4×4 or Light Truck tyres bump them up to around 45psi to help reduce drag.
Don’t carry around unnecessary loads, and I don’t mean your mother-in-law! Take a look in the boot (or trunk depending on which hemispere you are in) and make sure that everything in there needs to be in there. If you use roof racks remove them as soon as they are no-longer needed. My father-in-law had a VN Commodore that had shocking fuel economy figures, we tried everything to fix it, even had it run on the dyno and it wasn’t until he removed the bullbar that the figures returned to normal! If your not using it remove it or take it out!
Driving Style – this one can make a HUGE difference. Avoid sudden foot-down acceleration. Look ahead at what the traffic is doing and try to be as smooth as possible with both your acceleration and braking. Don’t be in a hurry to get to the next set of lights, they will probably be red anyway. If you have to use the air conditioner set it to ‘recirculating’ so that the compressor is not running continually.
One important point that I nearly forgot about is to make sure that your engine oil is clean and the level is correct. A well lubricated engine takes less fuel to run due to reduced friction. Although the price may not offset the benefits consider using light-weight synthetic oil however I wouldn’t recomend this for older or high-mileage vehicles. I don’t really have an opinion on the benefits of synthetic oil when it comes to fuel effeciency. Many oil manufactures claim that thier synthetic oil will increase fuel effiency by a reasonable amount however I have not seen any evidence to support this.
A closing note for you – go easy on the gas pedal and keep your engine tuned-up and the difference will be surprising!
