adminsituation. Follow these tips and you should be able to improve your kilometres per litre. Better fuel economy = more money in your bank account.
It seems obvious but a lot of people just don’t know how to measure their average fuel consumption. Fuel economy is a total mystery to them. So bear with me — I realise to a lot of you this is the age-old adage of teaching you to suck eggs.
So a lot of cars nowadays have a kilometres per litre readout that you can select from their onboard computer. While these are useful, they tend to be a bit optimistic. So how do you measure your average kilometres per litre? It’s easy.
You need to start with a full tank and always fill your tank to the point where the pump cuts off. It’s painful to your wallet, especially at today’s prices, but it’s the best chance you have. So first — fill up. Fill your car to the point where the pump cuts off and zero your trip counter.
Now you know you’re starting from a “full” tank. I say full because each car has a different amount of dead space at the top of the tank and in the fuel filler neck, but if you let the pump cut off on its own each time, it will generally fill to around the same level each time. Next time you fill up, again fill the tank to the pump cut-off and, importantly, make a note of the number of litres you put in, and the trip counter reading.
Divide one by the other and you get km per litre. Zero the trip counter again and keep a note of the calculation. Once you have four or five calculations, you can start to figure out your running average using some simple maths.
These tips are so simple anyone can do it. If you’re caning it away from the traffic lights, you’re wasting petrol and your kilometres per litre will be down. If you’re endurance racing at 120km on the city streets, you’re wasting petrol. Here’s the thing — your fuel mileage can drop off as much as 15 percent between driving at or below 100km/hr and driving above 100km/hour.
Now I love speed as much as the next person but you have to be realistic here — do you want better fuel economy or to get there marginally quicker? I sound like a total wet blanket telling you this of course, but driving slower absolutely will improve your kilometres per litre. Why? Because once you get over about 100km/hr, you’re using more engine power to overcome drag, which means consuming more petrol or diesel to do it.
What about when you’re not on the city streets? Well, consider a little less braking if you can. If you can see the next set of lights ahead of you are red, don’t race up to them and come to a complete stop. Try to moderate your speed a little if you can do it safely. If you can get there as they turn green and the traffic in front begins to move, you’re doing OK. That’s because it takes more energy to get you going from a complete stop than it does from a slow roll. So if you can do this, it will improve your fuel saving.
Check your tyre pressure. This is a total no-brainer. Check your tyre pressures regularly — make it part of your Sunday routine or something. If your tyre pressures are low, you will be increasing the rolling resistance of the tyre on the road and that will be robbing your fuel efficiency — your fuel mileage will be down. So make sure they’re up to manufacturer recommended values (at the very least) and watch your fuel saving get a little better.
You might never have considered this, but manufacturers do make tyres designed for low rolling resistance. This means that there’s less effort required to roll the tyre along the road surface. Less effort means less load on your engine. Less load means better kilometres per litre.
You should also get rid of your roof rack. No need to drive around town with it. You go biking or kumusha at the weekends. Great. When you’re commuting to work, that empty roof rack is adding aerodynamic drag to your car. More drag means more power to overcome it, which means worse mpg. Take it off when you’re not using it. Same goes for those “aerodynamic” roof boxes — if you’re not using it, get rid of it. Yes, they look aerodynamic but the fact of the matter is they do induce drag. And to be honest, they look silly.
I know it means getting up and doing something rather than just routinely getting in your car and driving off but we’re talking about fuel mileage here. Fuel economy. It’s all to do with money. Be lazy? Or save money?
Out of sight, out of mind. I’m guilty of this. Your air filter is what protects your engine from ingesting all the dust, dirt and crap in the air. If it’s doing its job well, it will clog up, much like the bag of a vacuum cleaner. Once it clogs up, your engine has a harder time sucking air through it. To compensate for the reduced airflow, the engine management system will enrichen the mixture, using more petrol to keep the engine running smoothly.
Replace your air filter once a year and you’ll guarantee better fuel mileage.
You need to change your oil and filter often. While you won’t see any massive improvement by changing your oil and filter, you’re ensuring that your engine is keeping its “fresh blood”.
Another effective way of saving fuel is changing your spark plugs. Spark plugs work in an incredibly hostile environment. If you’ve got more than 50 000 kilometres on yours, change them. Fresh plugs that aren’t covered in carbon deposits will certainly help you in your quest to become a fuel miser.
Realistically, if you religiously stick to the above points (from a regime of previously doing nothing special), you should expect to see a km/litre improvement of about 15 percent. Doesn’t sound like a lot? Let me put a number on it, if you spend US$500 per month then you will now be saving about US$75. Food for thought.
Ciao!
- Fact D. Jeke is a motoring enthusiast who has attended auto shows, rallies and has written for various publications in the region for the last decade. She can be contacted via email on [email protected]
Online Reporter