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Automotive Guide Tips on How to Save Money by Greener Driving

By: Paul Clarke
Automotive Guide

Here are some simple tips on how to enjoy maximum fuel economy.

Weight

No matter what the weight of their car, some people just make their cars even heavier by carrying lots of unnecessary things – thereby needing more energy to make the car move. This also includes carting around heavy people – if they’re just being a dead weight and making you use more fuel – get them to walk instead! Remember that if carrying extra weight, your tyre pressures should be higher – see your car’s manual.

Aerodynamics

Anything that interrupts the smooth flow of air past your car needs to be addressed. The obvious culprit here is roof racks/luggage carriers/roof boxes. You may think that carrying skis around on your roof all year round makes you look cool and trendy but it’s just burning a hole in your wallet and the ozone layer – take roof racks off if not in use. Windows are also bad! – open windows drastically reduce your fuel efficiency – so keep them closed unless you’ve got a very good reason to keep them open.

If you really must tow a caravan or high trailer, then apart from annoying every motorist behind you, you’re fighting the first two principles of fuel efficiency – low weight and good aerodynamics – so consider fitting an aerofoil to the roof of your vehicle to minimise wind resistance.

Finally, body kits or extras that are added to the outside of a vehicle will also affect the aerodynamics of the car and contribute to extra weight. But more importantly body kits look rubbish so just avoid them completely.

Sapping power

As you can’t open your windows, so you’ll be tempted to use the air conditioning to cool down – well think again. Air conditioning can increase fuel consumption by 10%, however the impact will be less if travelling at a constant speed on the motorway. So keep those fresh air vents open and wear minimal clothing when driving in summer! All accessories can drain energy and use more fuel, even the rear screen demister or the radio. If you want to be really super-keen, then in winter see if you’ve got the will power to avoid turning on the engine and using the windscreen demister, and scrape off the ice or use a de-icer. An easier option may be to buy an insulating cover for the windscreen or keep the car undercover in the winter.

Speed

No surprises that there’s a direct link between burying your right foot on the accelerator and the amount of fuel burnt! Aim to perfect the art of gentle pressure on the accelerator and keep speeds down to achieve max mpg. Doing this could easily save hundreds of pounds per year. The faster you go over 70mph, the more the fuel burns away...

Drive smoothly

Accelerating harshly then braking like a mad person is a sure way to devour the contents of your fuel tank, as well as ensuring you’ve got no brake disks or tread left on your tyres - or any passengers that want to travel with you. By thinking and planning ahead you can apply light throttle and avoiding heavy braking, so reducing both fuel consumption and wear and tear. Try to predict traffic at junctions and when in queues avoid accelerating and then braking harshly. Driving techniques can affect car fuel efficiency by as much as 30 percent. Advanced driving techniques will help with smooth driving and will make you a safer driver – see www.iam.org.uk

Gears

Driving in the highest gear possible without labouring the engine is a fuel-efficient way of driving. A car travelling at 40mph in third gear can use 25 percent more fuel than at the same speed in fifth gear. The fuel saving of coasting downhill in neutral or with the engine off will be negligible, but as the car will be out of control this can result in instant death, therefore this is not recommended.

Stop and switch off

If you stop for more than a few minutes, switch off your engine – the ultimate in economy as you’re using no fuel at all! However switching off your engine for short periods of time can increase fuel consumption, as it requires more fuel to get the engine started. Also your catalytic converter may no longer be running at full temperature, so your car will be less efficient, increasing the amount of pollution produced.

Drive off promptly

After starting your car, rather than leaving your engine running, drive off as soon as possible to prevent wasting fuel. And to save money on replacing a worn-out engine, drive gently until the engine has reached its normal operating temperature.

Paul Clarke is the founder of the Green-Car-Guide.com, a website designed to help UK motorists make an informed choice about environmentally-friendly cars,saving them money on fuel and car running costs. For further information please go to http://www.green-car-guide.com. Paul is also Managing Director of Promote Environmental Communication a communication consultancy he has built up over 15 years specialising in the energy and environmental sectors.

Automotive Guide Tag : Cars Fuelefficiency Fuelefficient

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