Tyre Pressure – Believe it or not but if you maintain proper air pressure in your tyres then it will go a balanced ride and that will help you achieve a better fuel mileage. Normally it is preferred to keep air pressure between 28 – 30 psi in a normal passenger car however car’s manual can be referred to in order to find out about the preferred tyre pressure of a certain car.
Wheel Alignment and Balancing – If your wheels are aligned and balanced properly then there will be lesser drag which means your car will move properly and will give you better fuel average.
Timely Maintenance – People say that oil needs to be changed every 5,000 kms which however is not the case for big cities with frequent traffic jams; the oil is changed on average number of hours it was burned running in engine not on kilometers driven which means when you are stuck in traffic for 30 mins then your engine burned oil for the next 25 kms that you could’ve covered if you were driving for those 30 mins. So in my opinion Engine oil needs to be changed every 3,500 kms and why I say it is important to get better fuel average is because if the Engine oil doesn’t have required lubrication and thickness then your car’s engine will not perform to its optimum efficiency.
After Engine Oil we come to the filters related to it; which are Oil Filter; Air Filter & Fuel Filter; we all know what they do so I will not go into the details but the reason they are advised to be changed on time & only genuine filters need to be replaced is because the thickness of filter paper does matter; if the paper is thick (either after excessive usage or a non-genuine paper) then it’ll need more pressure to do its work and the engine won’t get the required amount of air, oil or fuel which means the engine will not be able to perform as per the need.
Last thing is spark plugs which you need to change (ideally) or clean (not preferred) whenever they stop performing and we all know why that is required.
Engine Warm up – If the car is started when it’s cold then it’s advisable to let the Engine run for 2 – 3 minutes idle before you move the car so your engine warms up properly to perform properly as per its full efficiency.
Acceleration – We notice some drivers accelerate the car all of a sudden and try to achieve a certain speed as soon as possible, please remember daily driving is not drag racing and if you’ll push the car’s accelerator all of a sudden then the car’s engine will be required to do some extra work which won’t be good for fuel average; on the other hand when the accelerator is pressed with light foot then the car will achieve the same speed but it’ll take more time however your car and pocket will be happier that way.
Efficient Speed – A car drives its best when it’s in the lower rpm range which means high gear with a lower speed is what you need to get most efficient speed; now the speed can vary between different cars however try to maintain your rpm in the range of 2500 when cruising so you can achieve best fuel average. Also try driving your car at a constant speed; if you’re constantly increasing or decreasing your speed then your car will not give you good fuel average.
Gear Change (Manual Transmission) – The speeds you change your gear also matters; It’s not good if it’s too soon or too late; it’s advisable to change the gear before it hits the rpm mark of 3500 however there’s another way which is a very simple logic for most of the cars to get proper speed which is you shift from first gear to second when you’re at 20 km / hr, second to third gear at 40 km / hr and third to fourth at 60 km / hr and then drive at a constant speed.
Braking – When you need to apply brakes then just like acceleration if you will apply sudden brakes then it will give you bad fuel average because the engine was running and you made it stop suddenly however if you apply brakes slowly then the engine gets time to reduce speed gradually which means it’ll not need to work extra in order to make the car stop. If you see a traffic light or a traffic jam at 200 meters distance then stop accelerating and let the engine reduce its speed and when you go near then just apply brakes with light pressure and the car will stop. That’s the ideal way to stop a car.
Choosing your route – When you are driving from destination A to destination B then it is always advisable to take a road with less traffic and less traffic lights over the shorter distance in terms of kilometers; because with my examples above it is clear that your car consumes fuel on the number of hours engine is running over the kilometers its driven which means if you take a shorter route where you get stuck in traffic and doing a start stop traffic will cost you more fuel over the longer route where you’re driving on a constant speed.
Where to Park – Believe it or not but if you park your car in sunny area whole day then your car will consume more fuel compared to when it’s parked in shade; do you know why? The answer lies in two words, Fuel Evaporation. That is exactly why it is advisable to go for refiling either in the evening or early morning so the heat doesn't evaporate petrol.
Some people also say that gliding is a good way to save fuel however I do disagree to that; gliding is a term where after achieving a certain speed you put your car in neutral and let it glide with the wind in the motion it is driving. That may work for them but on the other hand your engine is taking a lot of load that the car would’ve shared if it were in a gear and if you need to apply brakes suddenly then the car will only relay on brakes not the gear and engine which also helps in stopping the car when its being driven in a normal gear so I would advise everyone to not try gliding. Gliding is also illegal in a few countries based on its dangerous side.
Happy Saving
OA
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