With prices at the pumps putting a strain on our bank balances, we thought we’d take a look at how to save yourself needing to fill up as frequently, with some fuel saving tips.
Let’s start with an obvious one, drive less! You need to dash out for a loaf of bread, do you really need to take the car though? Save yourself some money by leaving the car at home and walking instead. Or if you’re going to pick up your kids from school, combine your errands into one trip, get the bread on the way, then you’re making one journey instead of two.
None of us like to be stuck in traffic but unfortunately it’s sometimes an inevitable part of our day. If you can miss driving during rush hour then do, for those that can’t, think about how you drive. Stopping and starting in first gear through traffic uses a lot of fuel. Instead of braking and accelerating try and move at a steady slow speed instead.
Cars needs more fuel to carry more weight. So take all of the stuff out of your boot that you don’t need and leave it at home. If you have a roof rack, as well as adding extra weight, it makes your car less aerodynamic, so in between trips when you don’t need it, take it off.
This is one for when you’re out of the city and driving more quickly. Having the windows open makes the car less aerodynamic so there is more drag on the car, meaning you’ll be using more fuel.
Air-con is a useful gadget in a car, it keeps us cool in the summer and stops your windows misting up in the winter. Using the air-con in your car uses a fair bit of fuel though, best to turn it off unless you really need it to cool yourself down.
The lower the pressure of your tyres the more fuel your car needs to use to get it moving. So check your tyre pressure every few weeks to make sure they’re at the correct level.
You shouldn’t be ignoring the speed limit anyway but whilst you might think you’re saving time, you aren’t saving fuel. Driving faster uses more fuel, so you might make your journey quicker, but it’ll mean you need to fill your car up sooner.
If you push the accelerator down too far to avoid changing into a lower gear, then you’re actually using more fuel than it’d take to change down a gear. Obviously if you’re driving an automatic you’ve no need to worry, it’ll choose the right gear for you!
As well as getting into the habit of doing all this, another thing to help you save a bit of cash on your fuel is by using an app to find the cheapest fuel in your area.
