Save money by driving fuel efficiently!

Trivia Thursday! Thursday Thrift Tips! Thursday Ten!

Hubbs and I have this mini competition going on... do you know what is it about? It's to see who can stretch our petrol litre the longest way!  That way, we save petrol, save money, and save the earth!

We averaged 14.7km per litre of petrol for almost an entire tank!

Well, okay, so it is not exactly a competition... But, you see, Hubbs has perfected the art of driving in a certain manner so as to maximise the mileage, the distance per litre of petrol. He has gone as high as 15km per litre on our 3 year old Honda Freed. But he admits that he could achieve that coz he drove without the aircon on. 

Previously, I was not as conscious about the way I drove. As a result, I was unnecessarily heavy footed and this resulted in an average of about 12km per litre of petrol for our tank of petrol, despite hubbs' best efforts to raise the average when he drove.

Lately, as I am behind the wheel more often now, I began to realise that hubbs' driving habits truly, effectively contributed to the car having better mileage and improved fuel consumption. (I thought he was just taking the mickey outta me for constantly ribbing me on how fast I drove.) So I started to observe how hubbs drove. I also started to take note of that "km/l" fuel consumption line while I drove, so I could observe how our car behaved in relation to the fuel consumption at that time, and how hard I was pressing on the fuel pedal...

After much trial and error and putting into practice the things I have observed... I am proud to announce that I have gotten the knack of driving in an fuel-economy way! So it became quite common for me to ask hubbs to look at the fuel efficiency figure at the end of a day if I had increased it that day. This picture above is the result of my hard work last week: I manage to obtain an average of 14.7km per litre for almost our entire 40 litre tank of petrol! This was quite an achievement! 

So! Do you wanna know how we did it? Here's a Thursday Ten on how to drive in such a way as to have better fuel economy for your car!

1. There's no need to speed to the red light, nor when you're going downhill... Once you see the light turn red, lift your foot from the accelerator and let the car cruise...Similarly, when you're on a downward slope, you can lift your foot from the accelerator a little... For contrary to popular belief, your car doesn't just run on fuel, it also runs on momentum and gravity as well!
2.  Accelerate slowly... I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it's not. Okay, maybe I should say "accelerate constantly" - just depress the accelerator up to 1500 rpm and keep it there, the car is gaining speed slowly but surely, with much better fuel economy than just depressing the accelerator pedal as hard as you can go...
3. Observe your car's fuel consumption line/meter. Different cars probably behave differently. For our car, I observed that driving at the speeds between 70 to 90km/h is the most fuel efficient - the meter goes up 20 - 30 km/l. So when I drive on highways, I slowly accelerate up to a speed of 90km/h and stay at that speed on the middle lane.
4. Change your mindset. I used to think hubbs is wasting time coz he drove so slowly. But now, on hindsight, you really don't save a lot of time by speeding to the red light. Occasionally, we do miss a green light, yes, but that'd delay you by... 5 minutes, at most?
5. Adjust accordingly. Okay, so you know you might take a slightly longer time on the roads, so, leave home 5 minutes earlier. And if you aren't gonna be the speed demon you were before - do get used to driving on the middle lane or even the extreme left lane...
6. Plan your route. Going up steep slopes tend to suck fuel like crazy. So if we have an alternative route to take that has less slopes, we'd take it. Similarly, if there is a carpark lot on the ground floor, just park there rather than driving up a few floors at the multi-story carpark.Fuel consumption is greatest when trying to get a car moving from a complete stop - so, avoid routes with lots of traffic lights!
7. Switch off the aircon... Hubbs does this. But personally, I don't coz I hate the wind mussing up my hair and some days are just too hot to bear, and oh, I hate exhaust fumes. But yes, apparently switching off the aircon does save fuel, so if you don't mind, you could try it too.
8. Be selective. Try to make this your new driving habit so that you can achieve fuel efficiency, yes. But if you're traveling in a convoy (wedding? traveling in groups overseas?), do stay close to the car you're supposed to follow and not lag too far behind. Or if it's an emergency, just speed away (with care!).
9. Don't take it personally... when other drivers start to overtake your car - especially while you cruise to the red traffic light. You are the one saving petrol. They are the ones wasting petrol when they accelerate quickly in order to overtake you just so they could be the car before you, at the red light. So ignore unsavoury characters on the road who glare at you, high-beam you, finger you (erm, that sounds quite wrong) for not burning fuel as quickly as they are doing....
10. Be conscious of how you drive. Practice practice practice!As you know, practice makes perfect!  After a few weeks of practice, it will come naturally. Nowadays, I realise that I do not have to be so conscious and aware about it anymore, and yet still drive fuel efficiently automatically

There you go! Drive your way to using less fuel! Petrol is so expensive nowadays! Save money! =)

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