How to Beat the Fuel Increase
With the increase in fuel this week and another set to take place next month, it’s almost ironic that it’s called a ‘petrol hike’ because it’s starting to look like walking might be the more budget friendly option – but wait – just as things appear to be taking a turn for the worst… Hypermiling swoops in to save the day, or at least the fair amount of it that’s spent in traffic.
What is Hypermiling?
It’s a style of driving you can adopt in order to save money by implementing techniques that help you spend less on fuel. Hello, budget friendly anything! The term was coined by Wayne Gerdes, who is a multiple world record holder for the most fuel-efficient driving… so, you know his advice is gold!
Try these Hypermiling tips from getWorth
- Set your display to show real-time fuel consumption – watching that number fly up when you accelerate is the quickest way to figure out why you are burning fuel
- Inflate your tyres regularly to the upper end of the safe pressure recommended by the manufacturer (the correct tyre pressure will also make your tyres last longer)
- Use the lowest-viscosity (lowest weight) engine oil for your vehicle (the thicker the oil, the harder the engine must work to move its parts)
- Turn off your engine when you’re going to be stopped for more than a minute
- Air-conditioning uses fuel so only so only use when absolutely necessary
- Avoid tail-gating as it is inefficient. Leave a gap of 7 to 10 seconds from the vehicle ahead on the highway and maintain momentum
- Remove dead weight and take anything you don’t need out of the car, as this can save fuel in the long run
Don’t worry too much about driving being less thrilling, but try to focus on the fact that you’ll be cutting costs. In addition to that Hypermiling is mostly used in traffic, where speeding isn’t really an option to begin with. Over and above the very welcome reduction in fuel, the Hypermiling movement is pretty interesting, if you want to read more about it, check out this WikiHow page.