With the world oil market taking a hit due to current world events, rising fuel prices is a major worry for car owners.
Fuel costs make up about 24% of a car’s expense in twelve months. It affects daily consumers and companies using vehicles for delivery or official use.
Many people are looking towards cost-cutting methods or reducing their fuel burn to match the high price rise. We have compiled a list of ways you can achieve both.
1. Increase the Aerodynamics of Your Car
Air has resistance. When it interacts with a moving object, such as a car, it will face resistance and eventually lose its speed.
To make up for the lost speed and fight the resistance, your car will burn a lot of gas. You need to make the vehicle run as smoothly as possible for less fuel consumption.
Making your car more aerodynamic will help in this situation. Roll up your windows on all sides and the sunroof if your car has one built in. This helps stop the air from filling up your car’s interior and causing drag. Instead, the air can glide on the sides for smooth running.
Remove the roof rack or anything else that might cause resistance because the more drag a car will endure, the more fuel it will burn.
2. Check Your Car’s Engine Regularly
There might be a lot of issues going on with your car’s engine, making it burn more fuel than usual.
These days fuel injection for cars is automated everywhere with no old-fashioned tune-ups. It is important to check the individual parts of your car’s engine to know its conditions.
A camshaft is arguably the most essential component of an engine regarding oil consumption. If you drive a chevy, go to WVDOT’s review page for the top-rated camshafts.
Check your engine’s camshaft, spark plugs, oxygen sensor, the air and fuel filters. Follow the recommendations of your car’s manufacturer to ensure whether the spark plugs or oxygen sensors need replacement. Changing them in time will reduce the fuel burn of your car.
3. Remove Excess Weight From Your Vehicle
It is common knowledge that adding weight to your car will increase fuel burn. A passenger car’s fuel consumption rises by almost one percent for every additional twenty-five kilos of weight. In other words, this extra load removes about five hundred meters of fuel efficiency.
Remove any sports equipment, heavy-weight gym gear, or any large items you could be driving without to reduce the fuel burn of your car. Give the trunk of your car a good clean so you sort out the unwanted clutter you have been carrying without notice.
You can take off the roof rack if you do not need it, as it adds extra weight. Keep the essentials, such as the fire hydrant or the first aid kit in your car, but if you have a box of old junk, it can go.
4. Make Sure to Accelerate Gently
Most people need to be aware that accelerating the right way can impact your fuel consumption. The truth is the harder you accelerate; your car will use up more gas.
Avoiding accelerating with aggression can save up to twenty percent of fuel wastage. Accelerate your car to about 20 km/h in an estimated time of five seconds, to be as fuel-efficient as possible.
Keep an eye on the road, especially near a traffic light where you must stop and go again. Follow a car or two ahead of you, giving you ample time to stop and accelerate again gently.
Experts recommend visualizing a cup of water on your dashboard or a fresh egg under one of the tires. The challenge is to avoid spilling the water or smashing the egg. Try to practice your way into accelerating gently.
5. Maintain a Constant Speed While Driving
Is speeding a crime? In most cases, staying within the speed limit will not get you into trouble; however, speeding is almost criminal for your fuel burn.
Driving at a steady speed is the best gift you can give to your car in terms of fuel efficiency. It is wise for you to abide by the given speed limit to manage excess gas consumption.
When you suddenly increase or decrease your speed, you burn more fuel and spend more money. You will increase your fuel use by as much as twenty percent if you fluctuate your speed between 75 and 85 km/h per eighteen seconds.
If it is allowed, use cruise control while driving on the highway. However, if your car is moving against gravity on an uphill route, it is good to speed up and then slow down while cascading.
6. Be Aware of the Traffic
Who does not hate traffic? Spending hours on the road is not only counterproductive but extremely annoying. It is also a vital cause of excess fuel burn.
Keep your focus on the traffic ahead. Maintain a convenient distance from your car and the one in front of you.
If you pay close attention to what commuters and other vehicles are doing and predict their next move, it will be easy for you to maintain a steady speed and be more fuel-efficient. You can also drive safely this way.
Avoid traffic altogether if possible. Every time you brake and start again, your car requires first gear and a lot of fuel to restart. Starting in second gear is equally as fuel-consuming. Turning off the engine entirely and restarting uses roughly the same amount of gasoline as it would have with a thirty-second traffic halt.
7. Do a Monthly Checkup of Your Tires
Keeping your tires in check is very important. It is one of the essential components of safe driving. There are a few aspects to help you care for your tires easily and affordably, which will also reduce your fuel burn.
If your car’s tires are underinflated by as much as 56 kilopascals or eight pounds per square inch, your gas consumption can increase up to four percent. It can further reduce the running life of each tire by 10,000 kilometers.
The tire placards on your vehicle will tell you what tire pressure is appropriate. If you have a diffused tire below the manufacturer’s recommended pressure, your fuel burn will increase.
It can result in misaligned wheels that tussle against one another or polluted air filters that jam up your engine’s airflow, resulting in higher fuel consumption.
8. Minimize the Use of Your Air Conditioner
It is a no-brainer that air conditioners burn up much of your fuel. Keeping it on can waste up to ten percent more gasoline, especially on short journeys.
The car’s cooler has to burn additional fuel to bring down the hot temperature to a comfortable level. Once it has cooled down, you can change the power of the airflow. On a shorter route, it will probably run the entire way, increasing fuel consumption.
Keep your air-con off as long as it is bearable. Keep the temperature at twenty-two-degree celsius if you must keep it on. Less use of the central cooling system will reduce your fuel burn.
While you are parked, parking in a shaded area can stop you from unnecessarily wasting your fuel. The shade will keep you cool during your wait.
9. Try Not to Sit Idle With Your Engine on
You might often need to run some errands, which requires you to step out of your car for a while. It is also possible that you dropped your friend somewhere and will have to wait for their return.
Under these circumstances, keeping the engine on the entire time will drain a huge amount from your tank. Keep your engine switched off if you must stay idle for more than sixty seconds unless you are in traffic.
On average, a passenger vehicle burns over a cup of gasoline every time your car sits idle for more than ten minutes. Turn the engine off while loading and unloading anything in your car.
Keeping it on is a huge loss and counterproductive in reducing fuel burn.
10. Use Your Car for Fewer Trips
The most fuel-efficient favor you can do to your car gives it some rest once in a while. This does not imply leaving it idle for a short period.
Every time your car has sat idle in a parking space, the engine runs cold. Restarting it uses a lot more fuel to run in the first few kilometers. If you make three rounds with your car on three different occasions on the same day, that will result in triple fuel wastage.
Combine all your necessary errands and try to make it in one trip. This way, you will reduce your fuel burn. If carpooling is an option, keep the opportunity. Your friends can help you out once in a while.
Final Thoughts
Due to rising oil prices, it is generally more expensive to drive a car. You can reduce your fuel burn and cut costs with a few smart choices. As much as possible, start with using a fuel-efficient car.
Checking your car’s engine and tire pressure regularly can be a preventive measure to burning excessive fuel. While driving, keep your windows closed and extra weight off your car to reduce drag.
Make smart decisions, such as efficiently using your air conditioner, keeping your idle engine switched off, and maintaining speed while driving your car.