Fuel Economy

About time we shared tips for reducing fuel emissions on the road to save money considering the ridiculous hike in prices - compared to early last year there has been a rise of around 50%

To start with can anyone answer me this...

- When is the best time to change gear? I normally change at 2000 RPM (when I hear it getting louder). My red zone starts at 3000 RPM but I never go near this, as I am under the impression that the louder the engine the more fuel use.

An interesting tip I heard recently, but not sure if it is worth performing considering the miniscule additional amount of fuel you may get per litre. The idea is you venture out to re-fuel when the temperature is coolest - so say between 9pm to 6am, as the fuel will be denser so you get more for your money.

buy a turbo diesel or hybrid. Cheap tax, decent MPG and with a remap good performance

fill up when its cold

hahaha thats funny, are you really that fucking skint

I have a turbo diesel, and already is a good runner, but just looking 4 ways to fine tune things to save that bit more seeing as I'm always on the road.

Theres other obvious things such as keeping windows shut, keeping tyre pressure high, regular maintenance.

Another question...

- Is it better to run an engine on an empty tank or full tank? I would have said the emptier the better as the load decreases, but I've heard others say when it's full it burns slower?

Ha ha, I'm not that skint but these prices are taking the piss - but as I said it probably does not make that much difference, even if your filling the complete tank?

wack the veg oil or cherry in. fuck em

serves you right if u bought petrol then. I wish i never got rid of my old ford escort van it used to run on 100% veg oil, kwiksave used to do it 30 or 40p a liter about 4 years ago. perfectly legal now too.

Bet that would smell nice!? Mine says about 40mpg on the dash. I try and coast as much as possible too

I wouldn't keep the tyre pressure high. Instead regular monitor the pressure so thats all tyres are set to the manufacturers guidelines. Over inflating your tyres will increase wear in the centre of the tyre. under inflated tyres will wear on the shoulders. You don;t want to be trying to save fuel but then buying tyres more regularly

How old is your car? i thought there was no benefit of coasting with modern cars as fuel and ignition systems are effectively combined and controlled by one Electronic Control Unit (ECU). Take your foot off the accelerator and the ECU cuts the fuel supply to the injectors anyway.

some other tips:

driving smoothly and reading the road in front so the car is constantly moving
use air con as little as possible
avoid short journeys
don't run the engine in idle if stuck in queues

I have a 1997 BMW 2.5 straight 6 which can be a guzzler, but i find round the doors that i can run it at 40mpg & motorways as much as 50.

Round the doors I usually do 1st/2nd gear up to 3000revs (max 7000) then straight into 5th for 40+ mpg @ 30mph.
Motorways are by far the most economical for me though, as that's what the Germans do best.
As conway said, it's better to run a full tank.
Sitting in idle is better than stopping/starting your engine also!

how come? The engines on new cars stop automatically when you stop and then restart when you want to move

I think if your sitting idle for more than aroubd 30 seconds then it's worth switching off

I got no smell internally. But have you ever got in a taxi that stinks like fish and chips... well know i know why.

ps ash. .. what kind of phone do you own?

Samsung Galaxy

I was always told it was cheaper on fuel to sit idle in traffic jams - i stand corrected, i was wrong!

You're right, anything over 30 seconds