As the fuel price rises steadily, it’s quite natural that you become concerned about improving the fuel efficiency of your vehicle. This means, you want to get more bang for your buck when it comes to spending on fuel. While you can’t control the price of fuel, you can adopt simple fuel saving tips that can help you get the most fuel efficiency out of your vehicle.

What is fuel efficiency?

In simple words, “fuel efficiency” refers to how far a vehicle can travel per unit of fuel. In Nepal, this is expressed in kilometers per litre. Improving fuel efficiency  helps cover more distance on less fuel. If correctly implemented, you will cut down fuel cost and save thousands of rupees each year. Furthermore, when you use less fuel, it decreases vehicle emissions, causing less pollution and saves the environment. 

Here are a few simple ways to improve fuel efficiency of your vehicle, some of which may surprise you.

Checking tyres every month

Did you know measuring tyre pressure every month helps to maximize your vehicles’ fuel efficiency?

Low tyre pressure increases rolling resistance that in turn demands more engine power and consumes more fuel. That’s why it is important to keep your tyres inflated at recommended air pressure for your vehicle. Make sure you check tyre pressure every month or before going on a road trip or whenever you service your vehicle.

In addition to this, you can use Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tyres in your vehicle. A report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Transportation Research Board found that doing so could reduce fuel consumption by one to two percent for most vehicles.

Use the right engine oil

Research shows that oil viscosity affects fuel efficiency of a vehicle. When it comes to using vehicle’s motor oil, the best thing you can do to improve fuel efficiency is using the right type of motor oil recommended by your vehicle manufacturer. They will recommend you the type of motor oil specific to your vehicle in order to improve overall performance and fuel mileage. 

Engine oil lubricates moving parts of an engine and increases its life. It helps to avoid tear and friction of engine parts. Using the right type of engine oil reduces the workload of the engine and improves fuel efficiency in your vehicle.  On the other side, not using the right engine oil as per manufacturer recommendation will lower the fuel efficiency of your vehicle. For example, using 10W-40 motor oil in an engine designed to use 5W-30 can lower your fuel efficiency by one to two percent.

Rolling up windows when driving

Most vehicle owners have false belief that keeping the windows open and shutting down the air conditioner when driving increases fuel efficiency.  In fact, this will decrease fuel efficiency as it increases drag (air resistance on vehicle when moving forward). As a result, the engine requires more power to overcome drag and consumes more fuel.

The aerodynamics play an important role in improving fuel efficiency of your vehicle. One of the simplest ways to improve aerodynamics to boost fuel efficiency of your vehicle is rolling up windows when driving at higher speeds generally above 55 Km/hr. In addition to this, you can avoid putting loads on vehicle roof as it increases drag and diminishes fuel efficiency.

Drive sensibly 

In contrast to popular belief, driving in lower speed (below 90 Km/hr) does not improve fuel efficiency of your vehicle. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) most of the car’s fuel peaks at speed from 56 to 96 Km per hour. After 96 Km/hr, the fuel efficiency decreases.

Much more than speed, your driving style (how smoothly you drive) plays an important role in improving fuel efficiency of your vehicle. Studies shows that constantly increasing and decreasing speed, rapid acceleration and braking impact the fuel efficiency and lowers it by 15% to 30%.

And here we recommend you to drive smoothly, avoid jackrabbit start and heavy braking. This way, not only can you improve fuel efficiency but you can also increase the life of your vehicle.

Aside from employing these fuel efficiency improving techniques, certain vehicles are more fuel efficient than others. For example, hatchbacks tend to be the most fuel efficient cars in comparison to SUVs as they weigh less and have smaller engine size. 

BATAS Brothers Private Limited is an automobile dealership in Pokhara, renowned for selling a wide range of Maruti Suzuki cars and Mahindra SUVs in Nepal. Moreover, we provide easy financing and after-sales services for our customers. For more information, contact us or visit our showroom at Nayabazar, Pokhara.