Photo: Fuel economy (Getty Images) Author: Konstantin Shirokun
With the arrival of spring, Ukrainian drivers began to drive more – despite the fact that they did not have more money for fuel. Automobile journalists from rbc.ua remind us of the basic rules for saving gasoline and diesel fuel in a family car.
Read about five basic rules for saving fuel while traveling in the RBC-Ukraine article.
Even if a car manufacturer claims impressive fuel economy figures, in the hands of a particular owner, the car may have a considerable appetite. To reduce fuel consumption to the lowest possible level, you don’t need to do anything special.
Technical condition
No matter how hard the driver tries, the car will not demonstrate the passport characteristics of efficiency if it is faulty. Therefore, it is necessary to inspect the fuel system, ignition system (for gasoline cars) and chassis.
In both petrol and diesel engines, you need to make sure that the fuel injectors are clean, because clogged or damaged injectors create an incorrect spray cone and overdose fuel. Spark plugs must be clean, have the correct electrode gap and unbroken insulators. In principle, you can inspect and clean the spark plugs yourself, without the help of service station technicians. At the same time, it is advisable to check the high-voltage wires and coils – individual or one common one.
Check whether the wheel hubs are overheating – if so, it means that the brake mechanisms are not fully released, and excess fuel is consumed to overcome this resistance. The solution to the problem is to clean the wheel mechanisms from rust, dirt and wear products of the pads.
Correct wheel alignment angles are important for fuel consumption. Checking the wheel alignment will help to determine whether some of the fuel is being consumed to overcome the resistance of incorrectly oriented wheels. Roughly speaking, problems with the angles will be indicated by “eaten” tire tread.
Understated style
A restrained driving style is at least half the success for a driver concerned about fuel economy. In a car with a manual transmission, there is no need to rev the engine to high speeds; 2000 – 3000 rpm is enough to shift up. Of course, when the car is loaded or climbing, higher speeds are needed. In cars with an automatic transmission, do not press the accelerator to the floor and accelerate smoothly so that the electronics do not allow the engine to gain high speeds.
In city traffic, do not accelerate in vain if you see a traffic light or intersection ahead where you will have to brake. When it is possible to coast the car, release the gas without disengaging the gears and clutch – the fuel supply to the engine is then cut off. A thrifty driver outside the city should not accelerate faster than 80 – 90 km / h, although it is more advisable to focus on the tachometer: the most economical speed of a typical modern engine is 2000 – 3000 rpm. In addition, at speeds over 50 – 60 km / h, aerodynamic resistance begins to significantly affect fuel consumption.
Rational routes
When you need to save fuel, think through your routes, especially when it comes to city trips. Understand the main thing: on a straight and level road, with constant engine speed and in one gear, the car consumes less fuel. Therefore, it is sometimes more profitable to make a detour of several kilometers along a street free of traffic than to “push” on a short route in traffic jams. Regarding traffic jams: when stopping for more than 20 – 30 seconds, it is more profitable to turn off the engine each time than to wait for the engine to idle.
Nothing extra
From an engineering point of view, every extra kilogram of a car's weight is extra grams of wasted fuel. Especially if the car is mainly used in the city. Therefore, if the car's appetite is a matter of principle for you, free the car from all the ballast that we often carry in the trunk out of habit. A canister of engine oil, a supply of fuel and water, a folding shovel… You can even add a full-size spare tire to this list – heavy and bulky. And the tradition of always keeping the fuel tank full also does not contribute to saving on fuel – especially if the car has LPG and there are practically two such tanks. Each of the mentioned items does not weigh down the car with a noticeable mass, but in total a noticeable weight accumulates, which the engine feels every time it starts moving from a place and at a traffic light.
In brief
Please note that above we are not talking about various additional measures to improve the fuel efficiency of the car – such as chip tuning, switching to special types of oils and tires. That is, we want to emphasize once again that the average motorist can achieve significant savings on fuel using only accessible methods. Although this will still require some effort.
In preparing this article, materials from Autobild and Autocentre were used.
Let us recall that RBC-Ukraine recently reported why pedestrians are not always right.