The fact that the cost of fuel is rapidly increasing means that drivers now have to be very careful to avoid spending too much money on fuel. Most people think that to reduce fuel consumption, you only need to buy a new car that has better economy ratings. While this may help, you will find that simply changing your driving habits is likely to have a greater impact than buying a new car in most cases. This means that if you are interested in keeping the cost of running your car down, you should think about how to change your driving habits to suit this rather than to get a new car, which may be unnecessarily expensive.
One of the habits you will need to get rid of is aggressive driving. Normally when you accelerate and brake too rapidly, most of the energy developed by the engine gets converted into heat, and is therefore wasted. This means that if you are to reduce how much fuel your car uses up, you will need to learn how to be smooth on the accelerator and brake. This is a habit that may take some time to master if you are used to aggressive driving, but it’s always worth it since it saves you a lot of fuel. On the same vein, it is also very important that you learn how to drive at a more or less constant speed on the highway, rather than having to keep changing speeds too much. You are more likely to save fuel if you drive at a steady 55 mph rather than having to change from 45 to 70 mph through constant braking and accelerating. In such cases, your cruise control will come in handy, since it maintains a certain speed automatically.
Another tip that you are likely to find very handy is making sure that your tires are always well inflated. This is something that many drivers ignore, but which can end up costing you as much as 10% increase in fuel consumption. This means that by simply checking your car’s tire pressure regularly, you are likely to end up saving a lot of money as fuel in the long term. This is an issue that you should therefore not overlook at all.
You should also keep an eye on the use of electronics in your car when driving, especially when you have an older car. A prime example of this is the use of an air conditioner, which can sap as much as 10% of the engine’s power. Remember, all the power that comes from the engine is derived from the fuel. This means that when anything else draws power from it, it would essentially be consuming fuel. By reducing your dependence on electronics such as your air conditioner, you can easily reduce the amount of fuel that the car consumes.
These are just a few things you can do to keep your fuel consumption low. To get more comprehensive information about the issue, you can always go to My Driving School Edinburgh who have an emphasis on fuel saving measures.
