Looks like my problem with coping with fuel hikes goes hand in hand with driving green. I found a few related articles on TreeHugger.
Proper Tire Pressure For Better Mileage
New Cars to Check Tire Pressure Automatically
Green Your Drive Without a Hybrid
1. Reduce your air conditioning
2. Change your filters at scheduled intervals
3. Check your tire pressure regularly
4. Use a fuel additive in each fill-up to increase engine performance
5. Get fuel injectors cleaned
Tony’s Guide to Fuel saving seems to have a lot of useful information, thanks JL.
Ooh, I’d be very worried about point 4. In the real world there are very few scenarios where you’d be putting anything other than fuel in your fuel tank. For “enhancing performance” the only thing you’d use is an octane booster… and only if you’ve got a very high performance car. Anything less than a 2-Litre Turbo with an output of less than 250bhp shouldn’t need it. Technically, an octane booster doesn’t enhance performance; it just reduces detonation or “pinging”… I’ve digressed.
All other fuel additives are almost always either minimally effective or just downright scams. They may improve your performance slightly but fuel consumption isn’t determined by what’s in the tank. It’s determined by how hard you press down on the accelerator and how your carburetor / fuel management computer is set up. You can find more information at the fuelsaving.info page on fuel additives.
thanks for info
A few thoughts:
Re tyre pressures, in countries with decent roads, you can run your tyres at optimal pressures. I run mine in SL a PSI or two below the recommendation on the door frame, as it makes for a smoother ride, what with all the potholes and bumps in our roads. Running you tyres hard is better for the engine and for tyre wear, but more uncomfortable on bumpy roads.
Re fuel saving, one thing I do is to minimise A/C usage (as mentioned in Tony’s article). I’ve run a full tank without using A/C at all and got about 15km/L in Colombo. With A/C on all the time, it’s about 9 or 10. I suggest turning the A/C thermostat on the dash to the minimum temp, to minimise the A/C usage, and also to run with shutters down in the evenings and nights, when it’s a bit cooler.
Also, as Tony’s guide says, try to stay at constant speeds and in high gears. Less revs means less fuel.
Thanks Yo. I should reduce my tire pressure a bit. The roads in Colombo are getting worse by the day.