The price of fuel has skyrocketed yet again this past weekend, and we’re all in shock as to how our paychecks are going to survive this steep increase. This is why The Daily crisp had to step in and make you a list of things to do to conserve fuel to save money as much as possible on your daily commute.
1. Make your car more Aerodynamic.
This is an obvious one, but not everyone knows that you should roll up your windows (and sunroof if you have one) while driving. This will help the air glide along the body of the car instead of slowing it down by getting inside it and causing drag. You need the car to be as sleek as possible so it doesn’t cause any “drag” and consume more fuel. This also means removing the roof rack (if you have one) or anything that’s on the car roof, This will cause a lot of resistance which again will need more fuel.
2. Clean out your trunk.
Another obvious one, but the more additional weight you add to the car, the faster it’s going to use up fuel. Approximately, every 90 extra kilos removes about 1.6 km of fuel efficiency. So, give the trunk of your car a good thorough tidying and remove anything you don’t need (that doesn’t include the first aid kit or fire hydrant of course), but that box of unwanted of junk you’ve been hoarding since you first got the car washed in 2015 needs to go.
3. If you can, avoid traffic as much as possible, especially if you’re driving stick.
I know we all hate traffic almost more than we hate this constant inflation of prices, and we’d avoid it if we can, but now you have one more reason to try your best to not get stuck in traffic. Every time that you stop and start in traffic, your car needs first gear and a huge amount of fuel to get moving again, even if you start on second gear, it’s still not that much better. Also, turning off the engine and starting it again is not a better option since your car uses about the same amount of fuel to start up again it would have if you’d stayed still in traffic for 30 seconds. Automatic cars know which gear is better for your car, so you won’t worry about this as much, so maybe this will be another reason why you should invest in an automatic.
4. Pretend you’re NOT driving in Eygpt.
If you’ve ever experienced driving or being a car anywhere else in the world you’ll realize that people can drive without overtaking the car in front of them. Driving actually at a steady pace is the best thing you can do for your fuel efficiency. If you just respect the road law’s and drive to speed limits, your fuel won’t go to waste trying to accelerate quickly trying to get one spot ahead in traffic, it honestly won’t make a difference except in your fuel bill.
6. Accelerate the right way.
Most people will be surprised to know that how you accelerate will affect your fuel consumption a great deal. Actually, not accelerating aggressively can save up to 20% in fuel economy. Anticipating traffic conditions, especially in Stop-and-Go traffic jams, looking at two or more vehicles ahead of you will allow you enough time to accelerate and decelerate smoothly and gradually, without having to go really fast and stop suddenly. When you being aware of an upcoming stop sign, or the need to slow down for any reason, you’ll help you reduce brake use. So you’ll be saving gas and increasing your brakes longevity.
Tip: When accelerating, pretend you have a fresh egg underneath your right foot (the one on the accelerator pad). This way you’ll help your leg give a light steady pressure on the accelerator to lessen fuel consumption.