20 Tips to Get Better Fuel Mileage for your car
The cost of fuel is going towards the north and it seems like things would keep going that way.
The fuel prices for April 2022 in UAE were announced and as you might have seen they have been increased by 16% so currently a liter of super can cost your around 3.4 AED.
On the other hand, as your car is getting older, the fuel efficiency is slowly dropping. The prices of fuel are increasing and the mileage of your car is decreasing.
In this blog post, we will share some tips to get better fuel mileage for your car
If you are in a hurry, here’s is the ‘list version’ of things you should do to improve your car’s fuel efficiency:
- Reduce/ remove Unnecessary weight from your car
- Keep a check on tire pressure
- Use Maps to plan your journey and avoid areas with heavy traffic
- Turn off Air Conditioning
- Drive in higher gears
- Be gentle with acceleration and changing gears
- Keep a check on engine oil
- Use engine start and engine off in modern cars
- Don’t drive over the speed limit
- Keep a check on the spark plugs
- Check the Wheel alignment
- Regular and scheduled maintenance helps
- Check if the tire treads are worn out
- Keep a track of mileage
- Avoid aggressive braking
- Turn off the car if it is going to be idle for more than 1 minute
- If you’re going to an area with heavy traffic, park your car in distance and take a walk to your destination instead.
- Check if your car filters are clean
- Check for water pump/coolant
- Keep the windows Shut
Now, Let’s discuss each point separately
List of Things you should do to improve Fuel Efficiency
1. Reduce unnecessary weight from your car
If you think, your car has to carry or move its own weight (including all the interiors) + the weight of passengers + the weight of the luggage + the weight of the accessories attached/ fitted to it
It takes some energy source to pull all this weight on the road, and that source of energy is your engine’s power which is generated by the internal combustion of the fuel i.e. Petrol
So to move more weight, it requires more power, which requires more fuel
The lighter your car is, the better fuel-efficient it will be. With the increase in the weight of the car, the fuel consumption will increase too.
So make sure that you leave the excess stuff from your car at your home.
2. Keep a check on tire pressure
Having your tires at the right pressure as informed by your vehicle’s manufacturer has a huge impact on your fuel efficiency.
Having a lower pressure increases the friction between the tires and the road. Increased friction means more pressure to be applied by the car engine for moving smoother. This means more fuel consumption.
So, please keep a check on the pressure of your tires.
3. Plan your journey ahead
Planning your journey ahead with smart applications like Google Maps or Apple Maps will give you a glimpse of the traffic at the very moment.
You can use these to check the traffic status and avoid getting trapped in the traffic and instead take another route with less traffic.
Riding your car in heavy traffic has a negative impact on your car’s fuel efficiency.
Sometimes, the longer route with less traffic consumes less fuel compared to the shorter route with heavy traffic.
4. Turn off Air Conditioning
There are times when the weather is just right.
You don’t necessarily need to switch on the air conditioning. But, you still use it out of a regular habit. If you want to save some fuel, turn off the air conditioner.
This applies in both scenarios: While driving or While the car is idle.
5. Drive in higher gears
Lower gears mean more fuel, When we change the car gears to higher, the fuel required is less.
It is recommended to change to gear to higher early in the driving process to save some fuel.
6. Be gentle with acceleration and changing gears
Please avoid aggressive acceleration or hurried acceleration of your car.
Go easy on the pedal. When the acceleration is used aggressively, the fuel is injected into the engine or more, resulting in the consumption of fuel for no good reason.
7. Keep a check on engine oil
Engine oil is an important element to keep the engine running smoothly.
If the engine oil levels are as required, the lubrication in the engine is proper and the engine takes up the proper amount of fuel that drives the engine.
But when the engine oil levels are low, the friction inside the engine increases, and there are other problems too. These problems result in reducing fuel efficiency.
8. Use engine start and engine off in modern cars
The modern cars come with a button by the steering, near the dashboard, through this button, it is possible to immediately turn off and turn on the engine.
Use this whenever you feel like there is not enough requirement of the engine and save fuel.
9. Don’t drive over the speed limit
Video Credits: Infographic Paradise Design
When you drive your car at a speed higher than recommended, you are putting your car under the radar of over-performing.
This has a negative influence on the mileage of your car. Driving at higher speeds is found to consume approx 20% more fuel.
So drive in prescribed speed limits to get better fuel mileage for your car
10. Keep a check on the spark plugs
The energy efficiency department in the US found that if the spark plugs are not functioning properly, there is an impact of around 30% of the fuel efficiency.
Sometimes, your car mileage drops suddenly, if this happens the first thing you should check is the misfiring of the spark plug.
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11. Check the Wheel alignment
Misaligned tires can cause two problems for your car. One is associated with wearing off of the tires before the expected time.
And the other is on fuel efficiency. It was found that it made approx 10% increase in the fuel consumption.
12. Regular and scheduled maintenance
This goes without saying, when you have your car checked and regularly maintained, the mechanics will ensure there are no problems in your car. This means a regular check of the auto spare parts of your car.
If your car parts are not functioning properly, it is recommended to replace them or repair them immediately. Ignoring minor problems with your car will result in major problems later on.
13. Check if the tire treads are worn out
The tire threads are meant to improve the friction and the grip of the tire on the road.
If the tire tread is worn out, there will be problems in the smooth driving of the car, this is similar to the problem caused by the reduction in the air pressure of the tire.
14. Keep a track of mileage
This tip might take some of your time and energy but the fruits will be sweeter. Keep a manual track of the mileage of your car, by noting down the fuel you added to the car and km(or miles).
This tracking will help you determine when your car is low on mileage and alert you when there is something problematic, so you could get your car checked.
15. Avoid aggressive braking
It was found that aggressive braking increases fuel consumption by a whooping 40%!
Ensure that you press your car brake gently.
Well, actually, if you drive the car at recommended speed and avoid rash driving, you might never have to go on the path of using the brake aggressively.
16. Turn off the car When Idle to get better fuel mileage for your car
If you are understanding that you will have to keep the vehicle idle for more than one minute, you should turn off the engine.
The energy used to turn off and turn on the engine is less than the energy used to keep the engine running for more than one minute.
If you keep a note of the time your engine is left running – idle, you will soon realize it is a lot of time. The energy is simply being wasted.
17. Take a walk in case of heavy traffic near the destination.
When you are about to arrive at your destination, and you see heavy traffic along the path.
You could easily look for a good parking spot, some distance from your destination, and park it there.
The remaining distance coils are covered by a walk. When your car is trapped in heavy traffic the amount of fuel used is more than normal.
18. Check if your car filters are clean
Check the air filter and the oil filter of your car. If the air filter and oil filter of your car are dirty and clogged up, the flow of air to the engine will not be smooth and the lubrication in the engine will not be as expected, respectively.
Keeping a regular check on the filters of your car will help you in maintaining the fuel efficiency of your car.
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19. Check for water pump/coolant
The engine has a cooling system attached to it. If the cooling system is ignored, the engine might overheat. Overheating the engine will cause improper usage of fuel. So it is recommended that you ensure that the engine is not overheated.
To ensure this, keep a check on the level of coolant in your car.
20. Keep the windows Shut to get better fuel mileage for your car
This is a hack established from aerodynamics principles. When your car is running at a speed and the windows are open the force applied against it is more. On the contrary, when the windows are closed the ride is smoother against the wind. This has an impact on fuel efficiency as well.
So keep your windows closed while driving to make your car more fuel-efficient.
Wrapping up
These were the different tips to get better fuel mileage for your car that can be implemented to make your car more fuel-efficient
We hope that you try these out and save some fuel (and money).
Car Parts in detail:
Where can you purchase auto spare parts in Dubai?
There are many suppliers and dealers of auto spare parts in Dubai. Noorhan is amongst the leading brands that deal with genuine auto spare parts and aftermarket parts for different car brands, including Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Jeep, Ford, and other Japanese, American and European brands.
If you’re looking to replace your car spare parts with high-quality aftermarket parts or genuine auto parts in Dubai, Noorhan can help you.
