If you’ve landed here, then you must be looking to find out how you can improve your fuel economy. Thanks to the rise in fuel costs, now is the perfect time to begin looking for ways for you can improve your car’s mpg performance.
Save money and drive further with our expert top tips!
1. Take it easy on the pedals
Let’s face it, we’ve all unleashed our demons at some point and thought that we were the next F1 racing driver, but truth is, this isn’t going to help with your mpg. Speeding, braking, and rapid acceleration are not going to do you any favours when it comes to saving on fuel. In fact, this will waste fuel.
Depending on the vehicle you have, poor driving habits could have a really negative impact on your fuel economy. Driving like a race car driver will mean that your engine has to work faster and burn more fuel, which is not what you want. It’s simple really. The faster you go, the more the drag is that your car will have to work on, so go easy on the pedal.
2. Top up your tyres
A little bit of maintenance on your car every now and then can really go a long way in helping you to improve your mpg. Your tyres should definitely be part of that maintenance too. Choosing the right tyres for your car and keeping them in mint condition will help you get the most out of your mpg. If you have under-inflated tyres, let’s say all four were under-inflated, imagine how much this would be reducing your fuels economy and adding more to the cost per gallon.
The key is the narrower the build of your tyres, the less it will contribute to the drag and a lower rate of fuel consumption. Not sure which tyres would be best suited for your car? Check out your vehicle’s owner’s manual to help you find the perfect tyres for your car’s personal needs.
3. Lighten the load
We’ve probably all been guilty of this at some point. How many times have you gone on a staycation and you’ve turned your car into cargo, packing as much luggage that you can squeeze into the boot? This does you no favours when it comes to saving on fuel. In fact, you’ll be burning more. The heavier the car, the more fuel you will use.
Think about it, by doing this you’ll increase the weight of your car, which means it puts more strain on the engine and it has to work harder to get you to where you need to be. Don’t believe us? Think of it like this, imagine if you were carrying an extra load up a hill. You’d probably be able to carry them but no doubt you’ll be having to work harder.
4. Slow down, don’t idle
While going slow is definitely recommended, under 50mph where you can, it’s not a good idea to have your engine running at idle. If your engine is running at idle, this can actually eat more of your fuel, roughly about half a gallon to a gallon every half hour. Thanks to modern cars these days, you could find yourself burning fewer thanks to stop/start engines, which are a game changer!
Most of us probably think we’re doing our car a favour too when we rev it up in the morning to warm it up when actually we’re doing the opposite. This just burns more fuel and you’ll be doing yourself no favours. Letting it run for about 20 seconds or so should do it.
5. Cruise control
Where you can, it’s a good idea to use cruise control, especially on the motorway as it can work wonders and potentially help you to save up to 6% of your fuel. Word on the street is that by using cruising control, where appropriate, you can massively help to improve your fuel economy up to around 15%, imagine that!
The bottom line
At the end of the day, one of the main things that will help us improve our mpg is by reducing the amount of driving that we do all together. By changing our driving habits, we can work together to take steps to help improve our fuel efficiency and guzzling fuel habits. Improving your mpg is good for you, good for your car and good for the environment. It’s a win-win all around.
