This is a guest post from the Fox a writer at Money-Fox.com a personal finance blog which aims to put a little bit of cash back in your pocket.
As fuel and car insurance costs continue to rise, owning a car is becoming a costly business. But follow these 5 simple fuel saving steps and you could find that you can significantly cut the cost of motoring.
Keep your motor well maintained
Having your car regularly serviced may seem like an expense that you can do without but a well maintained engine will save you money in the long run. It is estimated that an under-serviced engine can reduce a car’s fuel economy by up to ten per cent.
As part of a regular service you should have your air filters and oil changed as this will help to maintain your car’s fuel economy. Having clean oil in your engine will reduce the friction caused by moving engine parts and this, in turn, will reduce wear and help to maintain efficient fuel consumption.
In addition, you should regularly give your car a quick look over and make sure of the following:
• Tyres are inflated to the correct pressure – under-inflated tyres add resistance and can increase fuel consumption to such an extent that it can add two per cent to your annual fuel bill!
• Your fuel cap fits correctly – if the cap is not airtight then fuel can easily evapourate.
Keep cool correctly
You may not realise it but keeping you air-conditioning on can increase petrol consumption by up to 25 per cent! So it’s best to keep cool by simply opening the air vents, sunroof or windows.
However, when driving at high speeds it may actually be more fuel efficient to keep your windows closed and cool down using the air-con system. This is because driving at speeds of over 60 mph with an open window dramatically increases drag and can affect petrol consumption more than using the air-conditioning.
Keep drag down
It’s not only open windows that can increase drag as anything that adds unnecessary weight to the car will also do this.
It is estimated that every 50kg of extra weight will increase fuel consumption by up to two per cent, so remove things such as roof racks, carriers and any unnecessary equipment that is being kept in the boot.
Keep the revs down
This could be the most difficult fuel saving tip to adhere to but it may be necessary to change your driving style to cut down on petrol consumption.
According to RAC studies, you can save as much as 30 per cent on fuel costs by simply driving smoothly and consistently, in high gears wherever possible, and by avoiding sharp braking and accelerating.
It’s also worth noting that driving at 85mph uses around 25 per cent more fuel than driving at 70mph so just sticking to the speed limit can save fuel.
Keep idling to a minimum
If you are going to be idling for more than five minutes it makes sense to turn your engine off altogether.
Keeping the engine running for more than a minute consumes more fuel than is needed to restart it. So by switching the engine off instead of leaving it idling you will save more petrol than is lost from the burst needed to fire it back up again.
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April 8, 2023
finance