Posted on Thursday, 24 February 2022 by CarTakeBack

9 Fuel Saving Tips

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.

1. Drive less

Let's start with an obvious one, drive less! You might need to dash out for the milk, but do you really need to take the car? 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 milk on the way - then you're making one journey instead of two.

2. Miss rush hour

None of us like to be stuck in traffic but unfortunately it can be an inevitable part of our day. If you can avoid driving during rush hour and eating the extra fuel, then do, but if you 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.

3. Don't carry extra weight

Cars use more fuel the more weight they carry. So, take all of the stuff out of your boot that you don't really need and leave it at home. That also applies to the amount of fuel the car is carrying - that liquid is heavy stuff! So, it's best not to drive around with a full tank of fuel if you don't need it. If you have a roof rack, as well as adding extra weight, it makes your car less aerodynamic, so in between long trips, when you don't need it, take it off.

4. Close your windows

This one is for when you're out of the city and driving more quickly. It may not seem like a significant issue, but having the windows open makes the car less aerodynamic, which means more drag on the car and more fuel used.

5. Turn off the air-conditioning

Air-con is a useful and necessary gadget in our modern cars, but it also uses up a lot of your fuel. Although you should continue to use it when temperatures are high, try to get in the habit of turning it off when you don't really need it.

6. Check your tyres

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 and you're not wasting fuel unnecessarily.

7. Don't speed

You shouldn't be ignoring the speed limit whatever the reason for your journey, but if you think you're saving time going faster, you won't be saving fuel. Simply put, driving faster uses more fuel, so you might make it to your destination a little quicker, but you'll need to fill your car up sooner.

8. Choose the right gear

If you push the accelerator down too far to avoid changing into a lower gear, then you're actually using more fuel than it would 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!

9. Check the prices

As well as getting into the habit of doing all of these things, you can also save some cash by using an app to find the cheapest fuel in your area, or simply keep an eye on local offers. While all prices tend to increase and decrease at the same time, there are still stations where there is better value to be had and even small savings add up when you are filling up your tank.