Tips to save fuel with your current car

EDITORS DESK

Iñigo S. Roces

With fuel prices currently high, it’s important to get the most mileage out of your fuel. While getting a newer, more fuel-efficient vehicle is out of the question for most, thankfully, there are many ways we can extract more kilometers out of each drop using the vehicles we have. We’ve put together a list of tips to consider to maximize your fuel mileage.

Plan your trips and routes

Often overlooked, one of the best ways to save fuel is to carefully plan your routes. Granted it’s tempting to stick to main roads and simply slog through the traffic. Yet with a little time spent planning, sometimes the more serpentine, indirect route with less traffic can help save you a few liters of fuel.
When planning your trip, try to include some errands that are along the way. This ensures you travel in one general direction and avoid making a special trip for it later in the week and end up using more fuel.
Finally, try to travel during off-peak hours. When you hit the road when there are less cars around, you’re less likely to encounter traffic and can more consistently keep your speed. This amounts to less fuel used accelerating or slowing down.

Inflate your tires to the right pressure

Many motorists typically neglect this critical part of car maintenance. Believe it or not, your vehicle’s tires actually have a large effect on fuel consumption. Underinflated tires can increase your fuel consumption by as much as a kilometer per liter per trip. To save a little more fuel, refer to the tire pressure diagram typically found on the driver’s side door sill or glove box of your car. It will usually have the ideal tire pressure depending on the number of passengers. Tires inflated to the right pressure roll more easily and require less effort from your engine to get rolling.

Keep a light foot on the throttle

Another thing you can do to improve fuel efficiency is work on your own driving. At a time like this, there’s no real need to have a heavy foot. Keep a light foot on the throttle and only accelerate as needed. Granted, it’s a slower way to get around, but what’s the rush if there’s just another traffic build-up just ahead. You can save a large amount of fuel just by gently accelerating and coasting to a stop, particularly when your route involves several traffic lights. Besides the accelerator, be mindful of how you change gears (if in a manual), and apply the brakes. Anticipate traffic buildups and use the car’s momentum rather than engine to roll. Being gentle on these can help you extract a few more kilometers per liter as well.

It’s not just tires that have a drastic effect on your consumption but the rest of your car as well. If you want to get the most out of each fuel fill-up, it’s important to ensure your car is in proper working order. Take the opportunity to check up on consumables like air, oil, and fuel filters and replace if necessary. Old filters may be clogged with contaminants and therefore take more effort from the engine to get the necessary air, oil, or fuel to pass through them. It may seem negligible at first glance but old filters can rack up hundreds of liters of fuel wasted in the long run. If you’re not sure, what needs replacing, bring your vehicle to the casa and ask for a Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS). This typically involves checking parts and filters that usually wear at a particular mileage and replaces them. You’d be surprised how changing out some of these parts can help your car run much more smoothly and save fuel.
These are just a few tips on how to save fuel, but are definitely the simplest to apply and reap the benefits from. Saving fuel is all about being mindful of how much you’re asking of the car. The less pressure there is, the less fuel it uses.