An article about saving fuel and money that’s actually worth reading
The rise and fall of petrol prices appear as volatile as the current state of the crypto markets. One month we’re taking up every opportunity to hit the road and explore hidden gems in our beautiful country, the next we’re contemplating whether or not it’s worth braving the Cape Town winter rain grabbing our groceries by foot to save on juice in the tank. When are we ever going to experience some sort of stability when it comes to our fuel prices?
Unfortunately, we don’t have the answers to that question, but what we do have are some genuine pieces of advice that will help you go a little further with what you’ve got beneath the bonnet. But it’s not uncommon to encounter some piece of content offering you ‘A Quick Hack’ or helpful ‘Tips & Ticks’ to just about anything, every damn day. Don’t get us wrong, we love a helpful ‘How-To’ every now and then but the sheer fact that they exist in the volumes that they do, put us off. Any idiot with access to a smartphone can give advice for free, so it’s becoming more difficult to cut the fat from the meat and find the nutrient dense content or advice online that we’re after.
So here we are… ironically, with our very own Quick Tips To Save Fuel.
Why should you listen to us? Well, two reasons.
We actually do know what we’re talking about.
We’ve operated in, and to a large extent, helped shape the South African automotive space, so when we say we know cars, we really do know cars. But, we also know and understand the market - that’s our edge really - and having a good and clear idea of what it takes to properly maintain and run a vehicle in order to maximise it’s value one day is our bread and butter.
We’re human beings (surprise!)
Like you, we also have daily commutes, have families who enjoy road trips and we definitely all want to save a buck or two where we can. We don’t want to waste our own time pushing out advice we haven’t tried and tested ourselves. Plus, being experts in any industry is for sure a massive advantage but all that insider knowledge means nothing if it can’t be conveyed and shared with others so they can to benefit too.
Right, so let’s jump into things:
1. Travel Light To Travel Tight.
No one enjoys trekking long distances with a heavy backpack on. The extra weight not only slows you down and prolongs time to destination but the overall journey is just a little more unpleasant; things get in the way, you feel out of breath sooner, and you end up focusing on the load you’re carrying rather than the route you’re meant to be embracing.
The same can be said about your car. Pilling in as much as possible into your cabin space causes your car to take on the extra weight and pressure (on top of passengers) and forces its engine to work harder.
It’s a pretty simple equation: The heavier and less aerodynamic the vehicle = the more fuel is required to power the vessel forward.
Of course, when going away on holiday it’s difficult to cut down on what you can and can’t take with you, especially if you’re travelling with family. But for your everyday driving, it really makes a big difference to travel as light as possible.
So when you get back from a weekend away and all you want to do is hop in the shower and ignore the luggage in your boot for a couple days… just do yourself and your fuel tank a favour and offload your cargo straight away. The following small commutes will thank you for the lightened load.
2. Check Your Tyre Pressure
Tyre pressure is essential for overall safety whilst driving. A tyre burst or worn-out tyre tread can put you in harm’s way faster than you can say “XXX”, along with costing you a decent chunk of your salary to replace.
Poor tyre pressure also affects your overall fuel consumption whilst driving. Tyres are designed to operate within certain parameters. If the pressure is too low, an unnecessary amount of the tyre will be in contact with the road surface. Not only is this damaging to the structure of the tyre, but this means your vehicle will need to work harder to compensate for the extra friction - the same way that walking on soft sand requires more energy than walking on hard sand.
By maintaining the proper tyre pressure, you can decrease your vehicle’s fuel consumption by 0.6% - 3%.
3. Combine Commutes
A little goes a long way when you put aside time to plan. Like we mentioned before, we’re also human beings with crazy schedules and demanding professional and personal lives - we get it - finding time to plan or think twice about things sometimes just isn’t on the cards.
We wouldn’t be including this suggestion if we thought it wasn’t worth your time to try it out. We’re all about efficiency and making small changes in your mental planning about your errands is actually a lot less effort than you might think.
Try to buy your groceries for the week in one day. Even if this means that you need to make multiple stops, combining them all on one day you use your car while it is still warm and end up using less fuel.
Carpooling is cool. If you’ve got kids, we’re certain that a combined school run will make your life easier. If you aren’t in that stage of life, chat to your colleagues and organise a work lift club (even if it’s just two or three times a week).
For both, all you have to do is pick your people and send a quick message to get the ball rolling. It’s a lot less of a mission than you think.
4. Keep your windows up
It’s common knowledge that there is just something special about driving with the windows down belting out your favourite song with friends (or alone…)
We love the wind blowing through our hair on a hot summer’s day and feeling like we’re staring in our own life’s movie, just as much as the next person. But what we don’t love is getting home and looking at our dashboard after that wondrous trip and finding our petrol tank on reserve.
Driving with the windows down creates a drag on the forward movement of your car. Your vehicle has to work significantly harder to move forward against the wind inside its cabin. A similar equation as Point 1 comes into play; the harder your car has to work, the more power and petrol is required to move forward.
For sure, this is a small tip to consider, and we acknowledge that sometimes the joy we feel on a Sunday afternoon drive is worth those extra km being stolen from our tank.
5. Avoid excessive idling
Some vehicles, especially older, well used models or bakkies need to be idled to stay warm and run smoothly. But this isn’t necessary for extended lengths of time.
Yes, we know that it’s easier to just keep things running but we’re after energy saving efficient in this particular instance, not comfort driving.
Most of us know that when you idle, your car has to use energy (petrol) to keep it running. The more you idle, the more energy is used, and the petrol required is essentially wasted to fuel an engine that doesn’t need to be running at that moment.
Some vehicles have a switch you can flip that shuts off the engine when your car comes to a complete stop; at robots, in heavy traffic or even whilst double parking, this is an accessory that just makes sense when it comes to saving fuel.
So rather keep the idling to a minimum - preferably just to warm up the vehicle before hitting the road. Anything longer than that is money down the drain.
6. Use your A/C sparingly
Although this isn’t a drastic measure we’re suggesting you make, it’s still worth mentioning.
Fact: using your air conditioner does use your vehicle’s fuel. Sometimes it can increase your fuel consumption by 20%!
How? The fuel is used to power the mechanics of the aircon to give you cool air or provide comforting heat on those icy days.
It is however, still more fuel efficient to drive with your aircon on than to drive with your windows down. So we stand by Point 4 - keep your windows up and your aircon down.
7. Downshift to decelerate
Breaking whilst you’re driving is an inevitable part of the journey. But what is controllable is how we choose to stop. Sometimes our minds are in other places (the news on the radio, our upcoming tasks for the day, etc) and we don’t realise we need to stop until the last minute - forcing us to hit the brakes and snap back to the present.
Staying focused on the road is important for much more than just fuel consumption. But looking at how jarring halts affect our petrol gauge, there’s even more reason to keep your eyes and mind awake and aware of the road ahead.
Brakes generate a lot of heat; and the hotter they get, the less effective they become. On long downhill sections, engine braking can be a good way to preserve your brakes and assist with maintaining a steady speed. When rolling towards a stop street / traffic light / intersection; gently shifting back down through the gears rather than popping it into neutral and pumping the brakes is also good practice
Besides, no driver or passenger enjoys aggressively slamming brakes.
8. Maintain a steady speed
Constant fluctuations in your speed significantly affect your fuel consumption.
By pushing down hard on the accelerator and then subsequently the brakes is just unnecessary and fuel and finances down the drain. We should always aim to keep a relatively similar speed whilst driving - this is easier on highways where there is less congestion and no traffic lights.
Driving ergonomically is a sign of a good driver, so this is a skill you should practice regardless!
As mentioned in the beginning, we know that there is no shortage of fuel saving tips on the internet. But we also know that quantity doesn’t always = quality. Some advice doesn’t actually tell you anything at all… Don’t take advice online as gospel, try it out for yourself - even what try and test what we’re saying here.We want you to enjoy your time in your car and letting petrol prices get in the way of this is a real tragedy many people are facing. Hopefully, if you’ve got to this point of the article, you’ll take away more than just the titles of our 8 Quick Fuel Saving Tips. We hope that you’ve learnt more on how your car’s engine and fuel tank will be positively effected by adopting these driving habits so you can drive further and learn to love your car despite what the petrol meter tells you.
