Welcome to the Apps Automotive website Fight Against Fuel Price Increase Page.
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Hints for fuel saving. Things you can do. |
Things we can do. (Apps Automotive)
Fight Back Against Fuel Price Increase
Soaring fuel prices.
Recent fuel price increases of 20% in such a short time has made us all more conscious of how much fuel we are all using, and has us all looking for ways of minimising costs. Cheaper options to petrol.
1. We can all run out and trade our larger vehicles in for more cost effective smaller vehicles, such as the extremely economical hybrid electric/fuel cars such as Toyota Prius.
2. Diesel is also an option of a more fuel efficient vehicle, but has its draw back of being much higher maintenance in metropolitan use.
3. Most alternative fuels such as ethanol, etc are still not accepted for common use or classed viable alternatives.
4. Convert your vehicle to LPG. Probably the best readily available fuel alternative at the moment. Attractive cost of around .40c/ litre, with petrol at $1.40/litre, an average conversion on the average 6 cylinder car will pay for itself in 6-9 months (average 20,000kl/year).
Or we fight back with the vehicle we have and think smarter with how we operate our vehicles.
Hints for fuel saving. Things you can do.
Look in your boot, do you need that extra weight, travel light, carrying a couple of chairs, picnic set, etc, things you are not really using on every trip adds weight, this cost you in fuel. Check your tyre pressures, a drop of 2 or 3 psi. can have dramatic effects on friction/drag on the road surface. The manufacturers specified tyre pressure can be found on a placard on your vehicle this is the pressure your tyres should have for optimum safety and tyre wear, a slight increase of 2-3 psi can have an increase in economy with negligible trade off of safety or increased tyre wear. (increases higher than this will have an increasing effect on reducing safety and tyre wear and little further results in economy) Don't leave roof racks on if they can easily be removed, this will also have an effect on vehicle aerodynamics and increase drag. Be efficient, plan your trips, avoid the peak hour, travelling at 60-70kph without stop/starting is far more efficient. Practice light throttle acceleration, only use enough throttle pressure to obtain gentle acceleration. Watch traffic lights ahead, don't keep accelerating up to them once they have turned amber/red. Freeway driving, remember, this has a huge effect on fuel efficiency, from 0-80 km/hr, wind resistance is minimal, from here up to 110 the effect is dramatic, from 70 to 100 km/hr your resistance has almost doubled, however then from 100-110 km/hr that same resistance has doubled again, to reduce your speed from 110 to 100 km/hr on freeways, or even more to the 90 km/hr speed that P plate drivers legally operate at will increase efficiency dramatically, sit back and enjoy the drive and watch people tearing up $20.00 notes as they pass you, at that speed a four hour trip has added less than the time it takes to have a cup of coffee, but now you can probably afford a full meal on the savings. Drive with windows up wherever possible, this also increases aerodynamics and reduces drag, most air conditioner systems will increase fuel consumption, however the increase gained with the windows kept up will in most cases compensate for this.
Things we can do. (Apps Automotive)
Look at the type of engine oil your car is using, manufacturer's list basic oils that
your car will operate on, changing to a full synthetic oil, and possibly the use of
friction modifiers can result in dramatic increases in economy. Results of standard
V6 engines such as Magna and Camry have returned increases from 400km/ tank to
480 km/tank, just from moving from a basic semi synthetic oil such as 15
W50 Grade, to a full synthetic oil suited for your vehicle. (Different grades of synthetic oils
are available to suit most vehicles)
Keep your car well tuned, an inefficient engine will cost you dearly. Without
knowing it, your car can be running 10%-15% under its optimum performance or
economy, if such things as injectors or oxygen sensors have deteriorated slowly over
a period of time, you probably won't notice. Life expectancy of oxygen sensors is
approximately 80,000-90,000klm. Along with an injector service, efficient metering
of fuel can be maintained resulting in increases in economy and performance.
Add all these items together such as weight, wind resistance, tyre pressures, driving habits, tune and oil type and realistically you could have a car that can operate 20%-40% more efficiently than you have at the moment. With average fuel costs now, looking like costing us from $2,000-$5,000/annum, that means you could be saving as much as $2,000 per year, without having to change your vehicle to a fuel saving hybrid.
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Copyright ©: Apps Automotive
Unit 4, 5-7 Ethell Rd Kirrawee, NSW 2232
Ph: (02) 9521-1655,
Fax: (02) 9545-4018
appsauto@tpg.com.au
Website development by Keith Cain. (Email: mrkeithcain@hotmail.com) Last updated: Feb 2007