more ways to achieve low petrol consumption and better mileage!

During these difficult times, we should all be concerned with rising fuel cost and our fuel consumption becomes a serious issue. This and the increasing awareness of the environmental impact our habits have on our home planet.

In the past I've written about easy ways to achieve low petrol consumption and better mileage (click this link to view my article), but for those of you who felt that those methods outlined didn't have the desired level of effectiveness, here is yet another guide on how to save fuel. These additional tips for fuel saving will definitely benefit you and the environment.

1. eat less, go on a diet, get some exercise and lose some weight. I'm super featherlite, which makes me very good for the environment. Because I don't burn much petrol pulling my weight around.

And if you didn’t already know, losing weight is the answer the all the world’s problems. You want better fuel efficiency? You want to help the environment? Want to stop global warming? Want to put an end to terrorism? Lose weight.

2. Don’t give fat people rides in your car. Fat people should walk and lose some weight. if you want to get in my car, you are required to weigh below 60kg. And my baggage limit is 1 person (not including myself - the driver). Because of this restriction, therefore priority is given to hot chicks.

3. Further to the point above, don't waste petrol giving other guys rides, unless you want something from them or you're that other type of guy. guys are independent and resourceful, they'll manage without your help. For girls reading this, just replace the word "guy" with "girl" and the last sentence which says "are independent and resourceful, they'll manage without your help" with "can just call any guy they know to come pick them up". that is only if they fulfil the requirement in the point above. Girls are welcome to use this method (patent pending) to determine their hotness rating by calculating their percentage of successful attempts.

4. Do not use wide, low profile sport tyres because they have better contact with the road which causes more friction. Sure it helps with the cornering and stopping, but the increased friction will make your fuel consumption go up. Instead, use narrow tyres. Like those on a bicycle. and avoid situations that call for stopping fast and hard cornering.

5. Set the clock in your car slower. When your brain thinks that you have plenty more time to make your appointment, you will find yourself driving at a slower, more leisurely speed. Hey, if it works for getting people to rush, it’ll work for getting people to slow down as well.

6. Wash your car often. and remember to wax (the car). you want to keep your car's surface as smooth as possible to ensure low wind resistance. but don' waste water. wash the car with only a bucket of water and nothing more. and use environmentally friendly detergents.

7. Don’t brake to slow down. Braking to slow down is a waste of energy. The car will actually stop on its own (eventually). You can save a lot of petrol by coasting to every stop. For example, when you see a junction or a red light up ahead, just release the accelerator, shift to neutral and let the car coast. If you find that you have overshot your target stop spot it means you have used too way much petrol. If you have come to a stop too early it means you released the accelerator too early, better luck next time. Don’t bother moving closer to the lights because that’s just a waste of fuel. When you have reached the stop spot you can use the brakes to prevent against unwanted movements.

8. Don’t brake and accelerate over speed bumps. Braking before each bump means that the precious energy that was used for moving your vehicle is wasted. After the bump you accelerate to get back up to speed, fighting against inertia. If you refer to an earlier article (link) you will know that speed bumps are (unfortunately) an unavoidable part of my life. However that has given me invaluable experience and opportunities to carry out studies on this problem. I therefore declare myself an expert in this field.

The correct way to go over speed bumps is to keep the car at 15km/h. Going above that causes the ride to be very uncomfortable and going below that doesn’t give the car enough momentum to go over the nastier bumps. So just keep the car at that speed until you have gone over the very LAST bump on that stretch of road. You can ignore any sign posts that imply speed limits of 40 or 50kmh because there’s no way you are going over any speed bumps at that speed.

9. Don't drive your car. take the bus or other forms of public transportation that is available in your area. Malaysian's are excluded because they won't know what public transportation means since it is almost non-existant in most parts of Malaysia. Not driving your car will GUARANTEE that your car's fuel consumption will be VERY low. about as low as the rate of evaporation of the petrol in your tank.

10. Alternative to the point above, you can drive someone else's car and leave your car at home. Technically, that means that the petrol consumption of your car would also be VERY low.


Disclaimer

The author does not intend to offend any fat people and does not imply that anyone who weighs above 60kg is fat. While they are quite certainly effective in reducing fuel consumption, the author is not responsible for any negative side effects from following the guidelines above.

easy ways to achieve low petrol consumption and better mileage! (part 2)

... continued from easy ways to achieve low petrol consumption and better mileage! (part 1)

6. avoid the jam. sounds like a no brainer, but it does require some planning. for a lot of us, jams are a way of life. still, we should go to lengths to avoid them. save time, save money. save petrol, save money. save petrol, save the planet. to avoid the jam you either pay the toll or travel after the off-peak hours. i do both. tolls are expensive, but so is burning up petrol and going nowhere. i've said before, crude oil is very limited.

7. keep your car well maintained. stick to scheduled maintenance intervals and use a good engine oil. i'm no expert but, most probably if your engine oil hasn't been changed for so long that it has become as thick as high temperature grease, you won't be getting good mileage. i'm just guessing.

8. don't always fill the tank full. I always fill the tank half full each time. hey, every bit lighter your car gets, the less weight it needs to pull, the lower the petrol consumption.

one day i'll try some of those fuel saving things. i've read about magnetic thingies that go around the fuel lines, fuel catalysts that you install, and boosters or sorts. when i do i'll share my experience. i'm quite curious about the pivot spark kit. anybody want to give me some free testers? :-)

if you have any experience with modifications that improved fuel efficiency, i'm interested to hear your comments!

update
in Malaysia we were recently forced fed RON95 petrol. There are mixed responses to this but i think generally it gives the same or better mileage. i'm still getting about the same 10-11km per litre.

easy ways to achieve low petrol consumption and better mileage! (part 1)

i don't mean to brag but, I usually get pretty good mileage from the cars that I drive.

I'm not really sure what it is but it's probably a gift or a special mutant ability of some sort. ok, yeah i'm bragging!

I never really thought much about it until a friend of mine told me about his experience driving the same car I'm currently driving.

I own a Hyundai Getz 1.3 auto which I bought about 5 years ago. no major modifications except a k&n drop in air filter, which i've used since day 1, a pivot volt stabilizer with earthing kit recommended by a friend and a lightweight cam pulley. no special spark plugs or cables, no ECU tuning, no fuel saving gadget or fancy gizmo. just the standard 14-inch rims and tyres (japan made dunlops - really great tyres).

my friend gets only about 280km on a full tank and I've been told by a couple of people driving many different auto makes that they get between 350km and 400km per full tank. these aren't people driving those super fuel efficient Honda city's or toyota's. it's other cars. I guess you could call them normal cars.

I consistently get about 11km per liter of petrol which is about 450km - 480km per full tank of petrol (40-45 litre).

I don't do any crazy stuff or use extreme techniques. I don't turn my engine off whenever I stop. I don't turn off my radio, aircond or lights to reduce the loading on my alternator.

In fact, I always drive with the aircond on. I don't understand how anyone can drive around without their aircond on. not even early in the morning or at night. whenever I see people driving around with one arm
hanging outside their window I think 2 things. they are either retarded or their aircond is broken. observing how they drive eventually answers my question. most of them are retarded.

well, to be fair I normally manage to fit 45 litres into that tank. it's a small car with a surprisingly large tank. and I usually drive until the low petrol warning light has been on for so long that it starts burning the static image to the back of my skull.

when i notice the occasional passenger in my car getting worried and showing symptoms of imminent anxiety attacks I just put them at ease by telling them it's ok, my car doesn't need petrol to continue running. just the smell or the fumes left behind by the petrol is enough. for quite a long distance, in fact. I've tried.

anyway back on topic. I've got a couple of theories why my petrol consumption is lower than others. i would like to share this information with everyone else with hopes that it can help everyone reduce petrol usage and produce less CO2 and pollution. save the planet, people! (yes, i'm still in my green revolution phase)

here they are in no particular sequence.

1. I'm a pretty steady driver, if I may say so myself. I very rarely do sudden overtaking manoeuvres. I must admit that getting provoked to do it is a very common occurence. it is a daily test of patience because of the driver who plods along the freeway at 40kmh in on the fast lane, the typical Malaysian driver who merges blindly into your lane (totally oblivious to their surroundings as though they were in some sort of hypnotic trance). The worst thing is that they don't even bother to follow the speed of the traffic they merge into and force the drivers who have the right of way to brake hard! and speedbumps, man don't get me started on speedbumps! (read my earlier post about speed bumps)
anyway cruising at constant speed is guaranteed to get you good mileage. stopping and accelerating is bad. those who have those fancy news cars with the high tech instrument panels should have an instrument that shows the fuel consumption per km or mile. practicing good driving habits is key!

2. I drive for greater comfort, not greater speed. I don't like sudden acceleration and braking. I don't do high G force manuevers. let me clarify that I don't drive slow. I just don't see the smarts in doing a 0-60 under 5 seconds each time the red light turns green. I know, my car couldn't do it anyway. Go on, rub it in.
Increase speed gradually and allow the car to gain momentum. there is also less strain on the car therefore lower maintenance cost.

3. I like to coast to a stop. i think it is moronic to continue speeding towards the red light. it's not like you are trying to get less penalty points or someting. you're gonna have to stop anyway and you'll just end up using more brakes.
when coasting to a stop I like to shift to neutral. some people may cry out abuse and accuse me of doing unforgivable damage to my car but it doesn't seem to have caused me any problems in all the years I've done it. heck if I could do it I would turn my engine off when coasting to a stop but my steering and brakes won't work.  anyway my aircond must NEVER be off.

4. i make sure my tyres are always properly inflated. Remember those times when cycling was your only means of transport? i'm sure you noticed how much harder it was to cycle when the tires were flat. you can't really tell when driving a car because it doesn't use more of your energy to step on the gas pedal when the tire pressure is low. this so important yet so often overlooked. for me, I have these neat little tyre valve caps that indicate yellow when the tyre pressure is low and red when I should really really do something about the tire pressure. its pretty cool. i don't have to wonder whether my tires are a little under, or when was the last time i pumped them because i can just look at the valve caps and know that my tyre pressure is alright. I highly recommend it to everyone!

5. My aircond temperature is never set to max. at the most it is on 3/4 to the max. normally its only at about 1/4 coolness. feels comfortable enough for me. sure as hell beats driving without aircond and with the window down. i'm not sure exactly how much can be saved but I do know the aircond uses up precious horsepower which your car automatically compensates for by increasing the engine RPM. and here's a tip - vkool. can't do without it. under our sun, going without it is insanity. by keeping heat out your aircond does a bit less work.

to be continued...