15 Car Mileage Tips: How To Improve A Car's Mileage

The next section begins on the following slide:

Slow down!

Most cars are at their fuel-efficient best between 60-80 km/h, so try not to drive too much over or below these speeds if possible. Going over 80-90 km/h on the highway drops your car's mileage down drastically, so keep that lead foot in check. Also, don't try to constantly close gaps in traffic, but instead maintain a constant speed for as long as possible.

Keep it smooth

Possibly the most effective way to save gas is to be smooth with your throttle inputs and gear changes. A trick is to pretend there's an egg on the accelerator, and then drive. Your throttle inputs will automatically become much smoother. Also, look farther ahead and anticipate early. When you see a red light approaching, start slowing down well in advance with your foot off the gas pedal, instead of keeping the accelerator pinned for the distance and then having to brake hard at the lights.

Use the gears correctly

To get the most mileage out of your vehicle, it is a well known fact that you have to shift gears early, as this is our natural driving style here. But some of us make the mistake of never using low gears at all. If you stand on the side of the road in our country and listen to cars going uphill or over a large speedbreaker, you will hear the sounds of engine knocking from several of them. This is because the drivers are (lazily or unknowingly) not downshifting correctly, and actually end up using more fuel instead of saving it. The other downside is they are damaging the car in the long-term. So, if it calls for first gear, use it sparingly, but use it.

Turn off at the lights

As a general rule, turn off your car if you're stopping for longer than 30 seconds. Don't turn it off otherwise because the car will require more fuel to start again. Since this is something we Indians already do well, we won't dwell on this point.

Turn off the AC when you can

We are aware that conditions in our country don't allow us the freedom to keep the windows open any longer - pollution and higher temperatures mean that nowadays the air-con is constantly on. But the AC does consume a lot of power and fuel to run, so try turning it off when the weather is bearable. Also, if the air con system in your car comes with climate control, you can turn it off ‘Auto' mode and keep it in a low blower mode to use less fuel, since the AC won't have to kick in as many times to maintain the specified interior temperature. But keep the AC on and the windows up on the highway where speeds are higher, since you can actually save gas because of reduced aerodynamic drag.

Maintain correct tyre pressure and choose the right tyres

This is critical. Maintaining the recommended tyre pressure can boost your car's mileage by little over 3 percent. Might sound trivial, but it all adds up in the long run. Also, try and install tyres with lower rolling resistance that minimise wasted energy. If you have installed alloy wheels with low-profile tyres, try and switch back to the regular tyres for your long trips if you want to save fuel. This is because these high-performance tyres, while providing higher levels of grip and handling, also have higher rolling resistance, which would be detrimental to the car's fuel economy.

Keep your car regularly serviced

Make no mistake, a car that's been lousily maintained will not give you good fuel economy figures. Make sure you regularly service your car - get the air filter, fuel filter and spark plugs checked habitually. In addition, have the car's oxygen sensor checked every 60,000 km or so, since a faulty sensor could drop your car's mileage by almost 20 percent. The oxygen sensor, a part of the emissions control system, helps the engine run as efficiently as possible by determining if the fuel mixture is lean or rich, and accordingly adjusting the amount of fuel entering the engine.

Keep the car light

The heavier a car is, the more fuel it uses. So rid your car of any accumulated junk or unnecessary luggage. Apart from saving gas, your car would become become a much nicer place to be in.

Cold fuel and closed caps

Since fuel is denser when cold, it is worth it to wake up early and fill in gas. The pump measures fuel by volume, so you actually get more fuel for your money. During the hot season, fill up early mornings if possible. But remember to always check the fuel cap whenever you tank up, because evaporating fuel is obviously not going to be kind to your car's mileage.

Plan trips in advance

How many times do you set out with the Missus for weekly grocery shopping and end up doing circles? Try keeping stops to a minimum, and combine jobs to do at places like malls, etc. which allow you to finish various kinds of errands in one place. Apart from keeping tempers cool, mapping out your route on GPS will help you avoid traffic jams, and most importantly, save you significant amounts of fuel.

Use recommended fuels and lubricants

While oil companies might claim better power, mileage and efficiency from their ‘special' fuels, switching your car to higher octane fuel, for example, will not make a difference to your fuel economy because your car engine may not have been designed to run on it. So instead of saving money, your fuel costs actually increase, because of the generally higher prices of these fuel variants. Also, only use the manufacturer-recommended engine oil and your car will perform efficiently.

Drive your automatic car in manual mode if possible

Most auto ‘boxes are designed not to upshift before a particular speed. The upside of this is that it generates sufficient torque for the shift, and optimises fuel economy of the upshift as well. However, an automatic gearbox is generally not able to differentiate situations where less torque is required and as a result, often holds the engine in a lower gear than necessary, thereby consuming more fuel. Thus, if your gearbox has a manual option, switch to manual mode and make the gear changes yourself to improve mileage.

Follow large vehicles

If you're not in a hurry to get to your destination, try this out. Following large vehicles can actually be a very stress-free way to drive, since they generally make smoother lane changes and can usually gauge the quickest route (for them) through traffic or out on the highway. Slipstreaming a truck or bus from a safe distance will help you save fuel since the strain on your car engine is much less, but we understand it's not always possible.

Get ready to drive before you start

If you notice, we generally tend to start the car and only then do the mandatories - slip on sunglasses, fasten seatbelt, lock doors, adjust mirrors, etc. If we get these things out of the way first, one or two minutes of idling fuel can be saved every day.

Reverse park at home

When you get home after work every day, make the effort to reverse park your car into your garage. This of course applies to only those with a flat, easy-to-access driveway. You can save precious fuel every day, since you would not have to spend time reversing and manoeuvering when the engine is cold.

Fender ender

We trust that you found these tips useful, and hope that it saves you money as well. It's heartening to know that these tips can be easily followed, but still produce significant results, especially in the long run.

If you feel we've omitted a trick or two that you may have learned from your driving experience, or if you did indeed find this information useful, do write in and let us know. Here's to saving precious bucks!