7 Ways To Reduce Your Car Fuel Costs
Struggling to keep on top of your fuel costs? Fortunately
, here are several points that you can take into consideration to ensure you get the most fuel for your money.
1. Stop braking so harshly - to achieve the best miles per gallon ratio (and therefore the lowest fuel costs possible), cars need to be working at a steady pace in all respects.
If you're the type of person to leave braking to the last minute, ease off the middle pedal a little and try and slow down naturally where possible. The harsher you brake, the harder your engine has to work and the higher your fuel consumption will be.
2. Start accelerating steadily - like braking, harsh acceleration can lead to high fuel costs and therefore rather than flooring the accelerator and speeding away from traffic lights, think back to how you were driving when you were first learning, as this is the ideal way to accelerate.
3. Remove any unnecessary weight - the heavier your car is, the more weight the engine has to pull (or push) and therefore the more fuel it consumes. Remove any unnecessary weight from your car (including unused roof rack boxes) - not forgetting to check your boot - and you'll help lower your fuel costs considerably.
4. Make sure your tyres are correctly inflated - according to ECO Drive, if your tyre pressure is lower than it should be by 25 percent, your fuel consumption will reduce by 2 percent. Check your tyres every 4 weeks to ensure they're at the correctly inflated level (details of which can be found in the owner's manual).
5. Turn off the air conditioning - once an added luxury, air conditioning now comes as standard in most cars and in the summer months in particular, it can be tempting to leave it on low at all times.
Unfortunately, it has been found in some instances that fuel consumption can increase by 20 percent (data provided by ECO Drive) and therefore unless you feel the real need to use it, it's advised to refrain from doing so.
6. Have a garage look at your car - fortunately, most high fuel cost problems can be resolved by looking at the points mentioned above. If you're doing these already and you're still suffering from high fuel costs (and your car hasn't got a particularly low MPG), consider taking it to a garage for them to check over.
If it's an old car, they'll take a look inside the engine and look for any faulty parts that could be harming your fuel consumption. If it's new, however, they're likely to hook it up to their computer and see if any errors are reported.
It will cost you an hour or two of the mechanic's time, but if there is a fault and they find it, it will save you money in the long run.
7. Get yourself a hybrid car - it might be a bit of a drastic measure, but if you're really suffering from poor fuel consumption, it's advised to buy a hybrid car.
Head to Toyota dealers, for example and you'll be able to purchase a Toyota Prius, the world's first mass produced hybrid car. The latest model, which has been available in Toyota dealers since 2009, can achieve a 63.6 MPG and due to the fact it has a particularly low CO2 emission figure (it's reportedly 89 g/km), there is no vehicle tax to pay, either.
by: Steve Carr
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