Tips For Save Petrol

1.Pump petrol in the morning when the ground temperature is still cold. The reason is the colder the ground is, the more dense the petrol is! When the ground gets warmer petrol expands,so buying in the afternoon or in the evening returns lesser litre you are buying.

2. Fill up when your tank is HALF FULL. The more fuel you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

3. Do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode when you are filling up petrol. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.Make everydrop counts - don't pump until the tank overflows; you pay for the petrol.  Always tell the attendant to set the pump to auto-stop.

4. Do not fill up, if there is a fuel truck pumping into the storage tanks; The petrol will be stirred up, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

5. The pricing structure is rather confusing.  Price can be before discount, after discount, and a free gift if you spend certain amount within the specific period. Even different credit cards will enjoy different discount rates and repayment period.  So you have to do some homework to find out which station gives you the best deal. (Newly opened station may have promotional campaign to attract customers at a better price).  Everything being equal; buy from a busy station - the quality of petrol will be better.  

Save Petrol Tips - Before driving

1. Parking. Always try to park in the shade, as it will take less time to cool down the car once you
start driving again.

2. Can you work from home - is the trip to the office necessary? Walk to your neighbourhood shops? - maybe you need the exercise.  Arrange for car pooling - if your colleague is staying somewhere nearby?  Get a lift from other tennis players? -save parking fee as well.

3.  Before you start your journey you need to plan your route (better still if you have a gps).  You should find alternative routes to avoid jam or rough road.  Try to arrange for trip to be multitasking - doing many things on a single trip.



4.  Buy a car with better mileage if you are changing your car.

5. Regular maintenance

• Maintenance. You must maintain the engine in good condition. A bad engine can cut the car's mileage by as much as 20 per cent. The spark plugs must be checked regulary. The engine oil should be checked and used according to the car  manual  specifications. Regular maintenance and servicing your car is very essential. Always keep you vehicle clean. A clean car offers less wind resistance
• Lubricants. Change the lubricant at regular intervals. Use only branded oil recommended by the manufacturer. It is also advisable to use an engine flush before changing the oil to remove dirt in the engine.
• Handbrake. It is always better to use the handbrake than the clutch and accelerator when you want to halt for a little while.
• Clutch. Avoid driving with your foot on the clutch, it leads to more fuel consumption. Use the clutch carefully only when changing gears.
• filter  Clean the air-filter regularly.   Clogged air filters increase fuel consumption by restricting airflow to the engine, and thus should be cleaned/replaced when necessary. Clogged air filters can increase fuel consumption by up to 10%.

Visit your mechanic to check if your car is properly in tune and that there are no major mechanical problems detracting from your petrol mileage. Ignore the hype about additives — from chemical mixes to mothballs — that claim to boost mileage. They're not worth the money and may even damage your engine.

6.  Tyres

• Use thinner tyres .Tyres with thick width will improve the handling of your car. However,  it will also increase your car's fuel consumption. Thicker tyres mean more rolling resistance! And thus will consume more fuel.

• Pump up your tyres. Keeping your tyres inflated is one of the easiest and most important things. If a range is recommended by the manufacturer, the higher pressure should be used to maximize fuel efficiency. Deflated tyres run hot and jeopardize safety. It will also cause the tyres to wear out prematurely, affect the vehicles adversely, and hurt the fuel economy by increasing the rolling resistance.Tyres lose about 1 psi pressure per month due to air loss caused by the tyre hitting holes, bumps and kerbs. Therefore, the tyres should be checked at least once a month. Just 1 tyre deflated by 2 psi will result in a 1% increase in fuel consumption. Also check the alignment of tyres regualarly.

7. Weight   Travel light -Avoid carrying any unnecessary weight in your car. On the average, every 50kg added load in your car will increase fuel consumption by 2%.

8 Minimise aerodynamic drag

Additional parts on the exterior of a vehicle such as roof racks and spoilers, or having the window open, Roof racks are bad for fuel economy increases air resistance and fuel consumption, in some cases by over 20%.
Roll up your windows. It may seem odd, but you'll get better summer mileage by cranking the A/C on the highway, since open windows create drag at high speeds. (If you're just running errands around town, fresh air is best.)

Maintain a sleek profile. Avoid accessories like luggage racks, which increase drag, and keep your tailgate upright. Fix any dents, especially to the front of the car. A high-gloss finish won't help your mileage much, but keeping the body straight will.

 Save Petrol Tips - While driving (Your driving habits!)

• Don't let your engine idle  Minimize fuel wasted in idling by stopping the engine whenever your car is stopped or held up for an extended period of time. Idling more than a minute consumes much more fuel than restarting the  engine. By having the engine switched off, you will save more fuel than is lost from the burst of fuel involved in restarting the engine. The net increased wear and tear from this practice is negligible.

• air con  Don't use air con where possible. Air conditioners can use about 10 per cent extra fuel when operating. However, at speeds of over 80 km/h, use of air conditioning is better for fuel economy than an open window.

• Start up the car properly. With today's cars, it is not necessary to prime the engine first by pumping the accelerator pedal repeatedly.Do not crank the engine excessively This only wastes fuel.When starting the engine, idle it no more than 30 seconds to warm it up. An engine will warm up faster on the road. However, avoid sudden acceleration before the engine has warmed up sufficiently.

• momentum  Rules at traffic signal. When you are nearing a traffic signal, slow down gradually. When you start, avoid accelerating immediately. Always switch off the engine while waiting for the light to turn green. Waiting with the engine on for more than a minute means more fuel consumption. Comparatively, the engine uses lesser fuel to restart.

• Drive at moderate speed -don't floor the pedal.

Avoiding  high speeds on open roads. In highway driving, over 50% of the power produced by the engine is used to overcome erodynamic drag. Drag and thus fuel consumption increases rapidly at speeds above 90km/h. On the average, a car uses about 15% more fuel at 100km/h, and 25% more fuel at 110km/h compared to when it is doing only 90km/h.

However, this should not lead one to conclude that the lower the speed, the better the fuel economy - because it is not. The fuel consumption of an average car increases sharply at speeds below 50km/h.

Drive in high gear (overdrive)
The engine runs most efficiently between around 1,500 and 2,500 rpm. To maintain these low revs you should change up through the gears as soon as practical and before the revs reach 2500 rpm.

For automatic transmission cars, you should always switch on your overdrive to help save fuel. Overdrive will allow your engine to change gears at lower revs. It also puts your transmission into an "economy" mode and lets it engage the final "overdrive" gear when cruising to ! keep the rpms extra low, thereby increasing fuel economy.
nticipate traffic ahead. A driver can reduce fuel consumption by up to 10% by anticipating traffic conditions ahead and adjusting the speed accordingly, and avoiding tailgating and thus unnecessary braking and acceleration.

Accelerations and decelerations waste fuel. Braking and abrupt stops can be minimized by not following too closely and slowing down gradually when approaching a red light. It takes up to six times as much fuel to move a car from a dead stop than it does for one moving at just a few km/h.

• Gears. You also have to be very careful about changing gears. A higher gear at low speed and vice versa will lead to loss of more fuel. You must shift gears carefully and according to the desired speed. This will cause less strain on your engine.

Posted in: Awareness Post