Many of us in the UK are still recovering financially from Christmas and things may get a bit tight coming up to the end of January. With the colder weather it is known that cars are less fuel efficient and can cost you more. So here are some simple tips to save you some money by making your tank of petrol stretch a bit further.
Slow Down
Especially if you are not in a rush don’t be afraid to take it easy on the roads, not only will this make you safer it will also make a big difference to your fuel consumption. The AA say that going 70mph rather than 80mph can use 25% less fuel and reducing your speed further down to 60 can save a further 15%!
Ensure That Your Tyres Are Inflated
Having slightly flat tyres can create unwanted drag on your car that can cost you money. Check your tyre pressures to ensure that you are getting the best performance out of your car especially when you are initially pulling away.
Put Your Jumper On Turn Your Air-con Off
We would not recommend this on the very chilly days but while when the weather is more on the mild side turning your air-con off can make a huge difference to fuel consumption. Though this is not so much the case for the latest cars many older cars will benefit a huge amount from this, well worth putting on an extra jumper. Reducing your usage of air-con in start stop traffic will make the most significant difference to your fuel usage around 5%-10%!
Ensure that you do use your air con from time to time as not using it for prolonged period may cause it to break. At high speeds the air-con does not make a huge difference to fuel consumption so this would be the most ideal time.
Don’t Hammer The Accelerator
Put simply the further you are holding down the accelerator pedal the more fuel you are using. This is one of the easiest ways to save on fuel as all you need to do is keep your revs low and change up in gears before the engine is under strain. Gradually getting up to speed is often just as quick as accelerating fast as you can plan ahead more efficiently and avoid breaking.
Find The Best Prices
We all know to avoid motorway service stations as they can cost an arm and a leg for petrol but there are also significant price differences is your local petrol stations too. It is best to be aware of when you’re are getting a good deal and when you need to wait for the next opportunity. The RAC have a handy Fuel Watch page that will inform you of the average UK prices and a likely forecast of what will happen to prices that you can find here: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/fuel-watch/.
Fuel saving myths to avoid
Filling up in the morning or at night
Many people believe that it is more cost effective to refuel when it is cold as the fuel is denser. Unfortunately this is not the case as fuel pumps measure by volume and the difference over all is very very small and so are the savings.
Getting the last few drops after the clunk
Topping your car up after the clunk to get the most out of your tank can actually be doing serious damage to your vehicle having detrimental effects to other components.
Switching your car off at idle (unless you have Start/Stop Tech)
Unless your car is specifically using start stop technology then it can take a considerable amount of fuel to get it going. Therefore switching your engine off and back on again for a short wait can cost you, better to leave it ticking over. Though this is not always the case if you going to be waiting for upwards of three minutes then it will be worth switching your car off at idle.