1. Change
gear early
Change gear early - around 2500rpm for a petrol-engined car and
2000rpm for a diesel - which saves revving the engine too hard,
reducing emissions and fuel consumption. But do not labour the
engine by selecting a higher gear too early - that wastes fuel and
increases engine strain.
2. Read the road
Try to read the road, anticipating obstacles so that you can avoid
heavy braking - that wastes momentum and therefore fuel - and
avoid unnecessarily sharp acceleration too. Reading the road well
can also prevent accidents.
3. Cut the air con
Use your car's air conditioning system sparingly - it's not often
needed in the spring and autumn, and it can knock between one and
three mpg off your fuel consumption, usefully reducing CO2
emissions too. Do run the system occasionally though - prolonged
non-usage can eventually damage the compressor. Check that the
heated rear window switch is not on unnecessarily too it's quite a
consumer of power.
4. Get going
quickly
Drive away as soon as possible once you have started the engine
from cold - it warms up more quickly, reducing consumption,
emissions and engine wear. But don't rev the car excessively when
it's cold either - that's bad for engine wear (because the cold
oil won't be circulating fully), as well as consumption and
emissions.
5. Don't ruin the
aerodynamics
Always remove roof-racks, bicycle racks and ski-boxes when they're
not in use - they increase aerodynamic drag considerably,
especially at speed, lifting CO2 emissions and knocking fuel
consumption. Driving with the car's windows and sunroof open also
increases drag, especially at speed.
6. Avoid short
journeys
Avoid trips of only a few miles - fuel consumption and emissions
output heighten considerably during the warm-up period, and a
petrol-engined car's catalytic convertor, which cleans the exhaust
of nitrogen oxides, particulates and other pollutants, is less
effective too.
7. Cruise
moderately
Consider your cruising speed on motorways - travelling at 65mph
rather than 70mph can reduce consumption and emissions by as much
as 25 percent.
8. Don't get lost
Plan your journey - going the long way round, getting lost and
running into roadworks can increase your journey's emissions
considerably. Buying a satellite navigation system - the add-on
systems are now relatively cheap - can help here.
9. Check your
tyres
Check your tyre pressures regularly. Running them under-inflated
can increase fuel consumption and emissions by three percent,
apart from being dangerous - under-inflated tyres can overheat at
speed, risking a blow-out.
10. Don't be an
idler
If you're stuck in a traffic jam, switch the engine off - apart
from reducing CO2 output, and saving fuel, you'll be cutting the
output of other pollutants.
11. Remove
unnecessary weight
It's amazing how many people use their car as a mobile
office/store/room/junk room, and end up carrying kilos of
additional weight. Carrying 10 kilos worth of office accounts
around will have a real effect on your fuel consumption,
especially in stop/start traffic - because you're repeatedly
accelerating and decelerating a dead weight - and it's the same
story with the fishing gear/sports kit/hamster cage that you've
been carting about for the past few months too. Remove it all, and
save.
12. Don't coast in
neutral
Coasting in neutral could save you money with old cars fitted with
carburettors, but modern fuel injection systems cut the fuel
supply off altogether as you slow to a stop, saving a surprising
amount, especially in stop/start driving. And coasting in neutral,
or with the clutch depressed, is potentially dangerous too,
because you have no engine braking, and can't suddenly accelerate
out of danger.
