Optimize Driving
Fuel-Efficient Driving Techniques
- Accelerate gently. Take 5 seconds to go from 0 to 20 km/h
- Maintain a steady speed. Varying your speed up and down between 75 and 85 km per hour every 18 seconds can increase your fuel use by 20%.
- Learn to use cruise control while highway driving.
- For optimal results, allow speed to drop when going uphill, and regain momentum going downhill. Use gravity
- Brake early when approaching a red light, so that you don't have to come to a complete stop if the light turns green. Also helps reduce wear on brake pads.
- Use a big buffer between your car and the car in front. If you need to slow down, you can just ease off the gas instead of pumping the brakes.
- Drag forces scale with velocity-squared.
- For example, at 120 km per hour, a vehicle uses about 20% more fuel than at 100 km per hour. On a 25-km trip, this spike in speed – and fuel consumption – would cut just two minutes from your travel time.
- Avoid idling. 30 minutes of idling = 1L of fuel
- Keep tires inflated to the correct pressure. Under-filled tires increase rolling resistance. Up to 5% increase in fuel costs for being 8psi below rated pressure.
- Avoid carrying unnecessary weight. Keep the trunk empty. Extra 1% more consumption for ever 25kg of items in the car.
- Air conditioning can increase fuel use by up to 20%. Open windows when city driving. AC on the highway.
- Drive less. When you walk or bike, you get exercise, and it is free!
Parking in Winter
When the sun rises in the morning, if it's a clear day, it will melt the frost off car windows. Park your car in such a way that the windshield is facing the direction that the sun rises from, so that it melts the frost off your windshield, and reduces the amount of car warming and window scraping you need to do in the morning.