12 Hints on How to Save Money and Improve Fuel Economy
When the price of petrol and the cost of living are so high who wouldn’t want to save money on fuel costs?
The following hints are provided to assist in improving your fuel economy, our definition being the amount of fuel consumed (measure in litres or cost) for a given distance travelled, so you can drive further for less.
Only a few people measure their average fuel economy (litres of petrol consumed per 100 kms) on a consistent basis. Today, most cars, even basic models, have an onboard computer that provides a readout or display of the car’s petrol consumption per 100 kms. It should be noted it has been observed many times onboard readouts tend to be on the optimistic side, on average varying 5% or more from actual results.
How do you measure your average fuel economy? It’s very simple.
- Start with a consistent point of reference – Start with a full tank (always fill your tank until the petrol bowsers pump cuts off as they generally cut off at the same point, filling the car to the same level each time), then reset your trip computer to zero
- Next time you fill the car up with petrol (filling the tank until the petrol bowsers pump cut off), take a note of the number of litres you have put in and the trip counter reading
- Divide the distance travelled (in kilometres) since the last fill up by 100
L/100km = Litres / (Kilometres / 100)
- Then divide the number of litres used to fill up the car by the number you calculated in #3 above and you have a true figure for L/100km
- Reset the trip computer again to zero and log somewhere convenient the L/100km calculation
This process should be repeated at least five (5) times and the average then calculated. This should give an accurate reading to start with and initial figure to compare future results. This process can be performed consistently or periodically such as every 3, 6, 9 or 12 months and compared to a previous result.
Now, to follow are 12 important hints that can assist in improving your fuel economy and save you money.
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