Ways To Save Fuel Consumption

With the lastest fuel hike of as much as RM0.78, which resulted all Malaysian, including myself to resort to ways to save petrol. I had found this "12 Tips to save petrol" in the interenet quite useful.

12 Tips to save petrol

1) Pump up your tires.
Keeping your tires inflated is one of the easiest and most important things
Saving petrol means saving money one can do to improve fuel economy. If a
range is recommended by the manufacturer, the higher pressure should be
used to maximize fuel efficiency. Deflated tires run hot and jeopardize
safety. It will also cause the tires to wear out prematurely, affect the
vehicles adversely, and hurt the fuel economy by increasing the rolling
resistance. Tires lose about 1 psi pressure per month due to air loss
caused by the tire hitting holes, bumps and curbs. Therefore, the tires
should be checked at least once a month. Just 1 tire deflated by 2 psi will
result in a 1% increase in fuel consumption.

2) Drive at moderate speed.
Avoiding high speeds on open roads results in safer driving and better fuel
economy. In highway driving, over 50% of the power produced by the engine
is used to overcome aerodynamic drag. Drag and thus fuel consumption
increases rapidly at speeds above 90km/h. On the average, a car uses about
15% more fuel at 100km/h, and 25% more fuel at 110km/h compared to when it
is doing only 90km/h. However, this should not lead one to conclude that
the lower the speed, the better the fuel economy - because it is not. The
fuel consumption of an average car increases sharply at speeds below
50km/h.

3) Clean the air-filter regularly
Clogged air filters increase fuel consumption by restricting airflow to the
engine, and thus should be cleaned/replaced when necessary. Clogged air
filters can increase fuel consumption by up to 10%.

4) Use thinner tires
Tires with thick width will improve the handling of your car. However, it
will also increase your car's fuel consumption. Thicker tires mean more
rolling resistance! , and thus will consume more fuel.

5) Start up the car properly
With today's cars, it is not necessary to prime the engine first by pumping
the accelerator pedal repeatedly. Do not crank the engine excessively This
only wastes fuel. When starting the engine, idle it no more than 30 seconds
to warm it up. An engine will warm up faster on the road. However, avoid
sudden acceleration before the engine has warmed up sufficiently.

6) Drive in high gear (overdrive)
The engine runs most efficiently between around 1,500 and 2,500 rpm. To
maintain these low revs you should change up through the gears as soon as
practical and before the revs reach 2500 rpm. For automatic transmission
cars, you should always switch on your overdrive to help save fuel.
Overdrive will allow your engine to change gears at lower revs. It also
puts your transmission into an "economy" mode and lets it engage the final
"overdrive" gear when cruising to ! keep the rpms extra low, thereby
increasing fuel economy.

7) Travel light Avoid carrying any unnecessary weight in your car. On the average, every
50kg added load in your car will increase fuel consumption by 2%.

8 ) Anticipate traffic ahead
A driver can reduce fuel consumption by up to 10% by anticipating traffic
conditions ahead and adjusting the speed accordingly, and avoiding
tailgating and thus unnecessary braking and acceleration. Accelerations and
decelerations waste fuel. Braking and abrupt stops can be minimized by not
following too closely and slowing down gradually when approaching a red
light. It takes up to six times as much fuel to move a car from a dead stop
than it does for one moving at just a few km/h.

9) Avoid strong acceleration
The fuel consumption remains at a minimum during steady driving at a
moderate speed of about 90km/h. Keep in mind that every time the
accelerator is hard pressed, the engine goes into a "fuel-enrichment" mode
of operation that wastes fuel. The vehicle should always be gradually and
smoothly accelerated. Using cruise control on highways can help maintain a
constant speed and reduce fuel consumption.

10) Minimizes aerodynamic drag
Additional parts on the exterior of a vehicle such as roof racks and
spoilers, or having the window open, Roof racks are bad for fuel economy
increases air resistance and fuel consumption, in some cases by over 20%.

11) Don't let your engine idle Minimize fuel wasted in idling by stopping the engine whenever your car is
stopped or held up for an extended period of time. Idling more than a
minute consumes much more fuel than restarting the engine. By having the
engine switched off, you will save more fuel than is lost from the burst of
fuel involved in restarting the engine. The net increased wear and tear
from this practice is negligible.

12) Use the air-con sparingly Air conditioners can use about 10 per cent extra fuel when operating.
However, at speeds of over 80 km/h, use of air conditioning is better for
fuel economy than an open window.

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