How to save petrol???

[Gslin]

Hi,

I would appreciate advice on this topic.....my ride is a 1.5 manual.....100km daily....sweating....

[Ace_t]

all depends on how much you want to save on petrol.

 

keep car in tip top condition.

keep tyres at optimum pressure

reduce unnecessary braking

avoid jack-rabbit launches

keep RPM constant arn 2000-2500.

cut down use of aircon

keep speed to arn 80-90km/h (most cars use min petrol at these speeds)

avoid keeping car on idle for too long

keep loads in your car to a minimum

for manual cars, maximise rolling speeds (can be dangerous on an inclined road or heavy traffic)

pump cheap petrol (RON 92 or go JB)

invest in fuel saving technology and mods (can be expensive)

 

the list is only a basic one.. could be more.

 

hope it helps.

[Yansen]

remove front n rear passenger seats, remove spare tyre, remove door panels etc to reduce weight.

[Parkwalker]

Useful article from AAS...

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Fuel economy hints from an expert

Riding with John Taylor from Singapore to Genting Highlands is certainly an eye-opening experience. This man currently holds the world record for economy driving over 2,300km on a single tank 70-litre of diesel in a Peugeot 406 HDi. I was privileged to ride with Taylor on his recent Shell Better Mileage drive up to Genting Highlands. He proved that driving all the way from Singapore to Genting Highlands and back on a single tank of fuel is indeed very possible. The 1.6-litre Subaru Impreza we took with him was filled to its 50-litre capacity at the start and returned from its 838.5 kilometre trek with 7.75 litres of fuel remaining. We managed to get some helpful hints on how to drive economically:

a. Fill up at night
Taylor recommends filling up at a petrol station in low humidity and low heat conditions, which means at night. Petrol evaporates very fast, and more petrol is lost through evaporation when refuelling when its hot and sunny at mid-day than when its cool at night.

b. Drive at a constant engine speed
Engines burn up more petrol when they are pushed during acceleration than at any other time. Taylor tries to maintain a steady engine speed when he is on a fuel economy run, and for the drive up to Genting in a Subaru Impreza, this meant keeping the engine speed at a steady 2000 rpm. This means even when moving off in 1st and 2nd gear, he tries to keep the revs under 2000rpm.

c. Drive with the windows up
If one is driving at speeds beyond 80km/h, the windows should be closed as a car with good aerodynamics can have its fuel consumption improved by up to 5 percent. Having a window open at these speeds acts like a parachute creating unnecessary drag and wind resistance.

d. Drive with the windows down
On the other hand, if one is driving below 80kmh, and it is not too hot and humid, Taylor recommends driving without air conditioning and with the windows down. The air conditioner's compressor puts a load on the engine, increasing fuel consumption. For seven hour our drive up to Genting, we travelled at a constant 70km/h, and did not use the air conditioner. There was a constant breeze, and it was not as uncomfortable at all.

e. Feel the engine
In most instances, Taylor feels that driving at a steady 80km/h will yield the most efficient petrol consumption, but it does vary from car to car. Taylor also uses the feedback from a car's engine continually during the drive. On a downward slope for example, he allows momentum to gather and the car to gain speed. This inertia will see the car up the following slope, and only when one starts to loose steam, does Taylor change to a lower gear.

f. Plan your route
Planning your drive when traffic is moving well will greatly help to reduce fuel consumption as it is when a car is idling in a traffic jam that it gets zero km per litre. This means avoiding rush hour and other peak travel times. With less traffic, you will also be able to maintain a constant cruising speed.

g. Relax - enjoy the drive
The most important thing I realised when I rode with John Taylor was that he was absolutely relaxed when he drove. Sure, he kept an eye on the revs, and made sure they did not rise above 2,000rpm, but other than that he was quite unconcerned that we were being overtaken by practically everyone on the North-South highway. Having a cool head is definitely necessary to get good fuel consumption from your car.

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Can coasting in neutral help fuel economy?
For some manual cars, it may help to save fuel but it is minimal. The AA's technical experts strongly advise against coasting in neutral as it is not safe driving. You should always engage a gear when you drive. It is especially dangerous when you are going down slope. In an emergency braking situation, a car in neutral gear may not slow down as fast as a car that is engaged in gear.

Switching to a cheaper fuel grade
A fuel's 'anti-knocking' ability is expressed in terms of its octane rating. The higher the octane number of the fuel, the better an engine can resist knocking. So long as the petrol you are using is of the octane rating recommended by your car manufacturer, there should be no damage to the engine. If you are contemplating on switching petrol to that of a lower octane rating, make sure it is still within the rating that is recommended by your car manufacturer. Using an octane rating that's lower than the car manufacturer's recommendation may cause loss of engine power or cause engine knocking, which could lead to serious engine damage

[Hoppe]

after reading the article, been trying to maintain 2Krpm since.

this morning, a car behind me pissed. My car moving slowly due to low rpm...

But as article indicated, I maintained "patience"

[Qr25vet]

nope....dun EVER pump RON92....it'll damage yr engine in the long run and it does not burn that well...and yr FC will suffer believe me....cos back then i was working at shell and I chatted with the proserv mechanics very often.....thats what they told me...they even showed my a damaged piston caused by knocking...that happens when u pump the wrong fuel(RON92 when yr Min octane is RON95)got a large crater in the center...so if u want yr engine 2 have that then by all means go ahead

[Qr25vet]

oh and abt the switching 2 a cheaper fuel grade....i noticed that he pumped RON98 all the way....so it kinda contradicts....

[Genie47]

As usual check the manual. Most economy/budget cars can use RON92 gas. The CR is a dead give-away. Usually 9.5:1 but at sustained high speeds, RON95 is preferred by such cars. RON98 is just plain waste of money for most street going NA cars.

[Qr25vet]

not true lar....for those cars which displacement is less than 1.3L then its okay lar....

[Genie47]

Actually it holds quite true. Any IL4 up to 1.6L with a CR of 9.5:1 can take RON92 just that they complain when you push them at NSH speeds. The Optra's 1.6L engine is actually the Nubira's engine with a VIS. Manual suggests RON91 minimum but of course RON95 would be nice. For the cars with high CR like 10 and above, RON95 for IL4. A V6 definitely takes RON95 minimum. FI cars no need to say. RON98 exclusively.

 

There are some G9 Corolla owners who use RON92. Just that they don't push their cars hard when in Singapore.

 

But looking at the petrol prices now. One year ago, it will definitely save you heaps to pump RON92. SPC is selling it at 1.1xxx/L. Couple that with the discount, all I can say is wow! The difference between RON92 and RON95 is quite great but not so now. It makes more sense to pump RON95 now. The difference between RON92 and RON95 isn't that great. With discounts, about SGD1.00 difference for 36L.

[Qr25vet]

oh and one of the best ways 2 save petrol....get a manual....

[Esky]

If the engine's not knocking with RON 92, then it's ok, no damage will be done. But then again, u may not be getting the latest in fuel additivies as petrol companies put in less effort into these fuel as the demand is lower. They tend to concentrate on their premium/popular stuff.

 

My trick to maintain low FC is to drive with minimal change in momentum, i.e. minimal acceleration and braking, and also minimal speed reduction when cornering! Ok, this is not the safest way of driving, but it's ok with routes you're familiar with and when the traffic's not heavy. U get the momentum by burning fuel, so try not to waste it by tail-gating, where u need to brake a lot. As much as possible, use the throttle to control the speed, not the brakes.

[Viz88]

May I know what is engine knocking ?

 

You mean can hear a sound from engine ?

 

[Aspri]

Using petrol that has an octane rating below the suitable and recommended from the manufacturer can cause the fuel in the cylinder to ignite prematurely and quickly before the optimum moment during the compression phrase of the 4-stroke cylinder. The resulting shockwave creates the metallic pinging sound called knocking. It can cause vibration and damage to your engine so always use at least the recommended octane rating in your user manual.

[Genie47]

OK engine knocking sounds like marbles being thrown around in the engine. You can hear it and it is unmistakable. Click-click-clack-clack like marbles thrown on the floor. Usually when you evident when you accelerate hard under WOT.

[Genie47]

Yeah. RTFM. Best info from the mfr. If their info c0ck up, can sue them.

[Jiayong]

Hi,

I would appreciate advice on this topic.....my ride is a 1.5 manual.....100km daily....sweating....

 

hmm..how about switching to taxi...if u calculate the costs of COE, Road Tax, Insurance parking blah blah blah...booking a cab everytime u want to go out and take cab all the time is actually cheaper..

 

The only con is that the taxi cant run as fast as u want it to go..heh

[Liang]

As long as you don't hog the right lane, should be OK. The guy behind can overtake on the right. But don't overdo it lah, if u are moving much slower than everyone else, maybe increase to 2500. A big difference in speed can result in accidents.