One of the major drain holes in your wallet while owning and driving a car should be its fuel costs. With depleting fossil fuels and increasing consumption especially in the third world countries, energy prices are bound to go up day by day. In this scenario, if we are unable to have our income increased over time, at least it would be worth the effort focusing on decreasing energy expenditures. To this aspect on saving gas in our day-to-day usage, while I have remained a telecommuter for so many years now, I still adopt the practices that I am going to discuss now in owning a car/motorcycle and whenever I am in need of travel, may be it is short or long.
Hence this article is going to be essentially not just a few fuel saving tips to save money on gas when driving but also all associated tips on cutting fuel costs in owning a vehicle. Therefore, before getting into how to save money on gas while driving, let’s look at some other possibilities of saving gas before we get behind the wheel.
1. Think if You Can Avoid the Trip
Whenever there arises a need to go out of home, the first thing I think of is whether the trip can be avoided. For eg., Internet could help you save time and fuel. Many needs like paying the bills and shopping can be carried out online from the comfort of your home. Think if the need can be coupled with another errand. If a trip can be avoided, you save money on fuel, parking, as well as time.
2. Think of Alternate, Most Fuel Efficient Way to Meet Your Travel Need
Each time I need to go out of home for any work, considering the time available and the number of passengers, I classify the distance depending on the different modes of transport viz.,
- Walk
- Bike (bicycle)
- Public transport
- Motorcycle
- Pooling
- Car
The first two modes are the most environment friendly modes of transport and should save you money on gas as well as on your healthcare costs! A few miles a day keeps the doctor and pounds away! Hey, how about switching to the age old methods of horse carriages and chariots on the country side that require nothing more than hay; the clean, green, pollution free, eco-friendly way? With the pace at which gas prices are surging ahead, it doesn’t seem to be a distant possibility!
3. Plan and Organize Your Errands
Another possibility where you burn out fuel unnecessarily is running unplanned errands. By combining errands, kill all the birds in one shot. With little planning, you can save time running errands. Reduce stress running errands efficiently thereby saving gas and money.
4. Work from Home
To keep employees productive and happy, most of the companies are offering the option of working from home nowadays. You save fuel, time, laundry, wear and tear; what else? If you still haven’t inquired with your boss about the option of working from home, it is high time to do so.
5. Move Nearer to the Workplace
If you are unable to convince your boss that you could be more productive working from home, the next best option is to move your home nearer the workplace. Even by moving near your children’s school or your spouse’s office, you could save energy, time, money, and a lot of associated troubles.
6. Do You Own the Right Sized Car?
Do you own the right car suiting the needs of you and your family. Small cars consume less gas and are easier to maneuver. Why would you need a guzzling SUV or a dinosaurian car for a family of three?
7. Diesel Cars and Hybrids are Becoming the Trend Now
Diesel has high calorific value per gallon than petrol and provides more miles per gallon than gasoline; probably the reason why there is much demand for diesel cars in the European union than cars running on gasoline.
I’m yet to ascertain the cost advantages of hybrids in terms of battery replacement costs and electricity charges over gas prices, hidden costs, and whether they are truly ecofriendly as claimed.
8. Prefer Automatic Shift over Manual
With the latest transmission systems like CVT (continuously variable transmission or constant velocity transmission), automatic transmissions are becoming smarter than the smartest driver. However, if you’re having a manual shift car, try to be on overdrive gears without engine knocking as long as possible and as soon as possible (without looking at the engine RPM). Use cruise control while on less traffic roads as it helps going at a uniform speed. Change the transmission fluid (gear box oil) at the recommended intervals.
Okay, now let’s look at things that are concerned with maintaining the car in saving fuel. Before getting into those details, I would like to mention at this point that the owner’s manual or user manual is the Bible for your car. Reading it thoroughly back to back will be worth the time.
9. Service Your Car as Recommended by the Manufacturer
Timely maintenance of your car at the stipulated intervals as recommended by the manufacturer ensures breakdown free motoring and better fuel efficiency. Servicing your car at the authorized service centers will ensure thorough inspection by the trained service personnel and knowledgeable maintenance if any needed. You may get insights on anything that might have missed your attention; timing belt, choked silencer, carbon deposited valves/nozzles or any other points I have missed here apart from the ones we are discussing below. Act according to their advice and your judgment.
10. Fine Tune the Engine
Fine tuning the engine could increase the engine’s output, yield optimal performance, which in turn means durability and better fuel economy. These days the engineers talk about a variety of complex terms with relation to engine tuning like max tuning, ECU-RS remap, chip tuning, and eco-tuning for diesel engines, all of which claim reducing fuel consumption up to 20-30%. Speak with your technician regarding the best tuning that can be done for your engine to get additional MPG and act accordingly.
11. Keep the Spark Plugs Clean
Another cause of concern with fuel economy in cars running on gas is fouling spark plugs. Apparently the intelligence systems in modern cars adjust for widening spark plug gaps and can run easily up to 100,000 miles or more before considering replacements; however, it would be still worth an inspection once in a while for any foul playing ones, say around 5000 kilometers or so. Regarding how often you should replace the spark plugs, it depends on the wear of electrodes and the quality of the plugs. Manufacturers usually recommend changing once every 30,000 miles but look at what your user manual says. If you think it is cheaper to replace than cleaning, go ahead. Else, make sure that spark plug is cleaned and the gap checked when you drop your car for service.
12. Change Engine Oil as Recommended by Manufacturer
Engine oil gets thicker as it circulates through the engine parts and with increasing density, it loses the ability to lubricate the moving parts seeping through the narrow spaces, which in turn means friction and less efficiency. Change engine oil and oil filter at the stipulated time interval or kilometer as in the user’s manual with the right grade oil.
13. Clean Air Filter at the Prescribed Interval
Nowadays the engines have efficient mechanisms to run smartly even with a clogged air filter; asthmatic patients too survive! For better efficiency, confirm with the service personnel that the air filter is clean or has been replaced. Let the engine breathe easier without becoming asthmatic!
14. Maintain Correct Pressure in Tires
Maintaining the correct pressure in the tires will ensure optimum contact surface of the tires with the road and thereby less friction. Check the pressure in the morning in the cool condition. Broad tires may be aesthetic but is a foe to your wallet. Go for tire button pattern that offers better grip but lower resistance. If possible, fill all the 5 tires with nitrogen. Nitrogen molecules are larger than air molecules, hence nitrogen escapes from the tires only to about 1 lbs a year; so need to check tire pressures as often as you need to check with air, in turn saving you fuel, time, and money. Nitrogen is cool, hence less temperature in tires with less wear and tear.
15. Wheel Balancing and Alignment
If your steering wheel is vibrating when you drive, chances are your tires need balancing. Similarly, if your wheels are all pointing in the same direction, you need less fuel. Check your vehicle manual for instructions and carry out wheel balancing, alignment, and shuffling of tires to reduce uneven wear and tear and further to save on fuel. Usually, the interval is about 5000 to 7500 miles or once a year.
16. Remove All Unwanted Things Inside the Car to Reduce Weight
Obesity is not good for your heart as well as your car’s heart! Reduce weight and save your car’s heart! Declutter your car of all unwanted tools, spare tires of more than one, accessories, utilities; whatever you have dumped in the trunk or inside.
17. Do not Impair the Designed Aerodynamics
Remove any aftermarket body part that hinders the factory designed aerodynamics; anything that is protruding that could potentially be a wind resistance like roof rack, bike rack, roof box, ski box, bug deflectors, window and sunroof wind deflectors, flags etc. Passenger car spoilers are fitted mostly for styling purposes, and I doubt if there is any underlying aerodynamic characteristic. Think of using the sunroof minimally. Even fully lowered windows are a drag! Air resistance increases exponentially with speed. Hence, comparatively, it is advisable to switch on the air conditioner than lowering the windows at high speeds. We all know drag will be low if the surface is smooth, that means a sparkling car too can do the trick! Hey, how about a clean car wash to get rid of all those mud that you got along the countryside vacation?
18. Have an Eye on Possible Fuel Leaks
Check the floor of the parked space for any leaked fuel or oil. Back at home, it’s my wife who sniffs the petrol smell before anyone could. Should have encouraged her to be a sniffer trainer!
Now let’s look at some change in driving habits you need to have to save gas.
19. Turn off the Engine When not in Use
Why should you turn off your engine even for the shortest period of idling? If you look at the energy split up, you will be astonished to know that only about 14%–26% of the energy from the fuel you put in your tank gets used to move your car down the road. Rest is wasted due to inefficiencies, out of which 3% of the losses are from idling alone! It’s your hard earned money that’s getting burnt for nothing! When the idling time is more than 10 seconds, switch off your engine. If at all you want to idle the engine by any chance, bring the shift to neutral and take your legs off the pedals.
20. Do not Overload
Carry passengers/weight only that is recommended by the manufacturer and as registered in your car’s papers. Apart from the dangers of an accident by overloading your car, you will incur higher fuel consumption, higher maintenance costs with wear and tear of tires, brakes, shock absorbers, and nullify your insurance cover! So think thrice before you overload your car whether you want traffic tickets plus all these.
21. Accelerate and Decelerate Gradually
Avoid pumping the gas pedals vigorously, jackrabbit starts and stops. Be gentle accelerating and decelerating. Steady start, gradual acceleration, plateauing, gradual deceleration and a slow stop is the fuel efficient driving habit that you need to acquire over time.
22. Drive at Fuel Efficient Speeds
What is the ideal driving speed to be highly fuel efficient? It depends on the type of car you drive and a lot of interconnected factors. Smaller, lighter, more aerodynamic vehicles will get their best mileage at higher speeds. Heavier, bigger, less aerodynamic cars will get their best mileage at lower speeds. It’s advisable to drive in that “sweet spot” that the user manual says to get the best possible mileage for your car. Usually, the wallet friendly (as well as eco-friendly) speeds are 55 mph or 89 km/h.
23. Apply Brakes Wisely
With the cars having latest braking systems like ABS (anti-lock braking system), the art of braking is becoming a lost skill and you are tempted to just slam on the brakes whatever the situation is. Fuel efficiency is maximized when braking is minimized. Don’t always rest your foot on the brake pedal. Be vigilant, look far down the road for obstacles, and anticipate stops well in advance. Unless an emergency stop, take your foot off the gas pedal a few meters away and let the car lose its inertia and stop on its own. Become a wise braking driver!
24. Use Air Conditioner Sparingly
Think how best you can reduce the usage of air conditioner. I don’t mean to say to switch it off on an extremely hot noon but why would you need to use the a/c while driving at night if you can enjoy the breeze? Parking at shades should help you a lot on this goal.
25. Use Lights/Electrical Appliances Sparingly
You are already exploiting the car’s resources for power steering, electric windows, electric mirrors, remote locking, theft alarm, CD, ABS, air conditioner, heater; it’s a long list. Any load on the alternator or any need to charge the battery is in turn a load on the engine itself. Hence turn off headlights, demisters, windshield wipers, heater blower, or rather any electrical appliance that you has minimal need or can be avoided.
26. A Clutch is not a Footrest
In manual transmission cars, don’t always rest your leg on the clutch pedal. It’s not a footrest; use it only when you shift speeds. Else the engine torque won’t be used efficiently, as good as idling the engine. A worn out clutch is also a cause of concern. Speak with the service personnel to ensure that your clutch is in good condition.
27. Visualize Your Path
Before you start, visualize the path you want to go. Prefer reaching the target in a straight line than going through curves and zig zags. Similarly a smooth road consumes much less fuel than a rough one. Sometime it is worth to pay the toll than taking an alternate route!
28. Travel at the Ideal Time of the Day
Extreme temperatures, hot or cold, are bad for engine. Plan your long trips at the ideal time of the day with pleasant temperature and less windy, depending on the geography of where you live/travel. Else, travel in the time when the traffic is less.
29. Use Credit Cards with Fuel Rewards
I never recommend using credit cards because of the possibility of falling into debt trap but if you are Mr. Sincere who clears all the dues monthly, then you should think about going for a credit card that offers fuel rewards for shopping and filling. My credit card offers up to 5.17% discount (2.5% fuel surcharge waiver and 2.67% as turbo points) which takes care of more than a fortnight’s gas requirement a year for my credit card usage; my credit card usage is bare minimum. Still, isn’t it a good bargain and an excellent gas saving idea?
30. Lookout for Gas Stations with Retail Loyalty Programs
I have a customer loyalty card that offers 1% as loyalty rewards which gives approximately a week of free fuel a year for my usage. Something is better than nothing, isn’t it?
31. Fuel Filling Habits
For petrol cars, do not let the fuel tank empty. Fill up when the tank is half empty. Petrol evaporates soon and the less quantity in your tank means more space to hold vapor/evaporate. More fuel means less room to evaporate. However, this is not the case with diesel cars. Diesel evaporates very much slower than gas and a full tank diesel means more weight to be carried and hence less mileage. Hence, fill diesel cars when it is 1/4th up to 3/4th.
If you are not filling up by yourself but the gas jockey is doing it for you, keep an eye on the meter to not get cheated. Make sure the gas station attendant starts filling with the meter reading at zero. Ask him to fill up very slowly. If you are doing it yourself, pull the trigger to pump on a low mode to reduce turbulence and vaporizing.
Furthermore, if you fill an almost empty tank, chances are there that any dirt settled at the bottom of the tank getting into the fuel line. Also, do not fill up when there is a truck downloading into the underground storage tanks at the gas station as the turbulence would stir up dirt and subsequently find its way to the car’s tank!
32. Fill Gas at Trusted Outlets
Adulterated or less quantity of fuel dispensed by the gas pumps also would indicate poor fuel efficiency. By filling at trusted outlets, you ensure that you get the right quality and quantity for what you pay. Every drop you receive less on what you pay for has a dragging effect on your MPG.
33. Get Best Bargain on Fuel
Find gas stations that offer best bargains for branded fuels, usually at places when two or more gas stations are there and there is intense competition. I don’t mean cheap gas and those with spurious additives and false claims but discounts for the really best brands.
34. Fill Gas in the Morning
Density is equal to mass divided by volume. Density of any matter increases with decrease in temperature and vice versa. If you fill gas in the morning when the bunker is cool, you get the ideal mass for the volume you pay for.
35. Fuel Composition
The basic components and additives for various functions that constitute the fuel as well as its octane rating and blending with compounds like ethanol has significant impact on fuel efficiency. For best fuel efficiency, it would be advisable to stick to the recommended fuel for your engine by the manufacturer in the owner’s manual.
36. Miscellaneous Other Aspects
Fuel efficiency varies from vehicle to vehicle, driver to driver. Your mood at the time of driving, whether you are angry, extremely happy or in pleasant moods, also has definitely an impact on how you drive and in turn on fuel efficiency.
Finally, though this is not a fuel saving tip, don’t use cell phone while driving. Neither will it keep you vigil nor will it let you concentrate on driving. Switch it off or hand it over to others traveling along with you to take care of.
Drop by drop makes an ocean! Hope this has been a comprehensive guide of fuel saving tips! Did I miss anything?