Ten easy ways to drive down your petrol costs

With the most expensive unleaded petrol now at 126.9 pence per litre, many motorists were horrified at how much it cost to fill up their tank this bank holiday. But there are ways of making petrol go further. Here are Times Money's tips on how to cut the cost of fuel:

1. Find your cheapest station. Go to www.petrolprices.com to find the cheapest fuel in your area. It covers 9,704 petrol stations and has 8,000 daily updates. The difference between the most expensive and the cheapest price per litre can be as much as 15 pence.

2. Pump up your tyres. Under-inflated tyres create more rolling resistance and so use more fuel. Go to your local petrol station and use their pump – it is normally free.

3. Lose weight. Every extra 50kg will increase your petrol consumption by an average of 2 per cent, according to www.save-petrol.co.uk. So keep all your golf clubs – or anything else littering your boot – at home.

4. Streamline. Roof racks and bicycle carriers create extra wind resistance and so increase fuel consumption. If you do not need it, take it off.

5. Turn off the air-conditioning. It increases your petrol consumption by as much as 10 per cent – so if it is only mildly warm, put the fans on or wind down your window. That said, if you are travelling over 60mph having the window down increases drag which increases your fuel consumption – so air conditioning would be better.

6. Stick to the limits. The faster you go, the more fuel you use. Driving at 70mph uses up to 9 per cent more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15 per cent more than at 50mph, according to the Department of Transport.

7. Change your oil. Clean oil reduces the wear caused by friction of moving engine parts, helping to improve fuel consumption. You should change the oil in a petrol car once a year or every 7500 miles. For a diesel engine it is recommended you change the oil every 6 months or 3000 miles.

8. Drive Smoothly. Acceleration and deceleration is what uses most fuel – so try to slow down gradually at lights, avoid heavy braking and try not to rev too much.

9. Avoid rough surfaces. Gravel or heavy dirt surfaces can increase your fuel consumption by up to 30 per cent – not to mention the affect on your paintwork. If there is a route involving smooth tarmac, even if it is slightly longer, then take that.

10. Rather obviously… use your car less. Combine short trips – such as buying the paper, dropping-off the recycling, or collecting the kids – rather than making multiple short trips.

By Lauren Thompson

List compiled with the help of www.save-petrol.co.uk and AA

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Comments

[Jon Doe]

Neal Archer speaks the truth, there's only advantages to be gained from riding a bike everywhere. The further the distance the bigger the advantages.

[Alan Riley]

Join a ferocious campaign against the petrol companies (and, implicitly, the government) for the unjustifiable diesel differential - now back up to 15p/gallon (17%)
This time last year was 2p/gallon (2.4%)
Number of diesel cars goes up - fuel companies sell fewer litres - differential stays high.

[mike]

we're all banging on about how much car's use in respect of fossil fuels, why not in some of the lesser required areas remove some traffic lights these can be one of the major causes for stop start congestion. Also iN regard to energy efficency do we really need so many street lights at 2am-5am peronally i am usually up as i work nights but i barely see anyone else on the road even if they only turned off every other one think of the energy that could be saved. car's arent the problem humans are cause we waste so much energy.

[neal archer]

I have ridden a racing pedal cycle for 25 years, 15 miles to work and 15 miles back, saving currently close to £100 / month. I am the perfect weight for height, eat anything I want, am fitter than my teenage sons at 50 and wondering what the petrol price fuss was all about. Get out of your cars people and live longer, healthier and happier lives.

[J]

'6. Stick to the limits... Driving at 70mph uses up to 9 per cent more fuel than at 60mph'... But you get there > 15 per cent faster!

[Erik Kowal]

Use a GPS navigation system to avoid getting lost and thereby wasting both fuel and time.

[Steve]

Use a very 'tall' gear ratio for top gear, with Narrow high pressure tires, Synthetic oil in the engine, electromagnetic bearings, low Cd bodyshell and drive at 56mph (wind resistance/speed threshold).
With the extra £20 you save, you can pay for all the psychotheraphy you'll need.

Speed improves our standard of living; stylish, powerful, fun cars improve our lives. If you disagree answer me this; how come the illegal immigrants are coming from Africa into Europe and not from Europe into Africa?

[jimma]

We my need to accept that the key to our energy future may not come from the government or big energy companies, but rather from small research and development companies and individual inventors working on water cars, fuel cells and on board hydrogen fuel generators.

[Wayne Robinson]

Another good way of saving petrol is not to drive when the roads are wet (fuel consumption is higher with loss of traction), although in the UK, you may never be able to use your car.

[dougie]

wrongly claim motability! (many of the good citizens in my city (glasgow) have been aware of this scam for many years - you can get for example a NEW ford focus or zafira etc with met. paint, alloys, a/c. the dealers love this scheme as it keeps them going in our crumbling cities also you dont pay for servicing or tax or parking - fantastic!

[K. Jarrett]

Re. comments about fuel consumption and speed. How many drivers realize how little time they save by driving faster? Seven miles at 60mph takes 7 minutes, at 70mph 6 minutes - a saving of 60 seconds! If you want to risk driving at 80mph you can save a further 45 seconds! Drop your speed to 50mph and your 7 miles will take 8 minutes 24 seconds but will drastically cut your fuel consumption, so unless you are driving hundreds of miles and time is vital - DRIVE MORE SLOWLY!

[christian ambrose]

One idea to save money regarding weight and cutting down fuel consumption could be just to fill the car half full , most of us are doing small trips and dont need the tank filled?Also you feel like your spending less at pump.

[anita]

I found writing my car off on the M6 to be a very fast and effective way of reducing my petrol bill to zero :(

[Balwant Munglani]

Restricted use of cars will have unfortunate adverse impact on the retailing sector and thus deepening the recession further!

[DAVE H]

Drive with windows,sunroof etc shut,use cars own ventilation system,at motorway speed the fan is often not needed.Power for all electrics on your car come from the fueltank via the alternator and battery.Drive gently.I can get 40mpg plus in a 1993 2 litre car with little effort or inconvenience,use common sense.

[dave]

save a load of dosh&pull some sick days this saves the planet.

[C. Baines]

"3500 miles per Oil change? what kind of Oil are you Americans using....all of it by the sound of things....try changing the Oil at 10,000 miles, perhaps the Oil will last longer?

Posted by: paul | 31 May 2008 16:05:48"

I'm not sure how the driving environment is out there, but some people out here commute at least 120-200 miles a day. We drive EVERYWHERE. I blame the suburban sprawl for that. Me for instance, if I want to visit people the town over, I can drive 15mi be there in 20min or ride the bus for 2hrs.

[Alan Digweed]

We can all drive btter and steadier whicch will reduce fuel consumption and perhaps make teh roads safer. Allow time to travel and plan ahead are good starting off points. In all honesty though it is only us motorists who want fuel prices to go down; high fuel prices are great for the fuel companies, Exchequer and stock markets and sadly I fear we cannot do anything to drive down the price other than stop buying completely. How about a "No Car Day?

[Alex]

People who keep buying petrol or diesel and complain about the price are all idiots.
LPG @ 50p/litre.
Okay, cost £2K to convert but I'll make it back after a year & every single mile I'll be saving money. Means more beer for me. eh eh eh.

[Louis]

The nozzle of the pump has a big opening where the liquid comes out & a smaller one where the gasses are sucked up again. This is to eliminate excess gas getting outside, which could be dangerous. The fuel is metered coming out of the pump & you pay for it, but then it is sucked up into the system again. Never deliver the fuel at full speed as the fuel churns up more in your tank which causes more gas to be sucked back in the system.

Also never get fuel when one of the tankers are pumping fuel into the underground tanks as the dirt in the tanks are churned up & can get in your vehicle's system.

[Eric]

not just take the advice above but find the nearest Bio station when doing your shopping and fill up.

[Tulio]

1_buy a 1970s car, a Golf 1 GTI is half the weight of the modern one (who needs all those electric windows, warmed seats and rain detection sensors) and is faster and more economical.

[kh]

Andrew Pittman, I think your assumption is wrong. It's not engine speed that determines fuel usage, but the amount of work it's doing. Or to put it another way, at a given throttle setting, engine speed will depend on the load. So a car in 5th will use more fuel at the same RPM because the air resistance will be higher at the higher speed. If you were correct, then your vehicle would not need any more fuel to go uphill at 50MPH than to travel on a level road at that speed, since the engine RPM would be the same.

Joe Scholle, some manufacturers recommend 7500 miles between oil changes. I think it's mostly businesses making money on oil changes that recommend a shorter interval.

[P Croft]

How about no.11: trade in or sell your 4 litre thirsty 4WD or "family barge" and buy something more fuel efficient with a smaller engine. This will also save you money on insurance, tyres, servicing & road tax. No brainer really.

[Roger Johnson]

Thousands of people worldwide have now succesfully added on hydroxy gas (HHO) systems to their cars and trucks. These are simple, cheap ($60+) and can be home made. People are seeing fuel efficiency gains of 20% - 70%. Despite spurious claims to the contrary these systems are proven and not a scam. Google search water4gas for example but there are others based on the same principles, and they DO work.

[John]

Fit the narrowest tyres allowed for your car. You'll generally find that on anything other than base models fatter tyres than necessary are fitted in the interests of style. Anyone who has ever pedalled a mountain bike will know the effort required by fat tyres. Wide tyres also encourage aqua-planing. Your power steering will last longer too.

[Eddie]

No 18. Run behind a bus on the way to work -save £3.50

No 19. Run behind a taxi on the way home and save £20.

[Luke]

One thing that might want to be added, and only applies to Rotary Engine. DO REV your car, or sell it and get something else, not reving your engine often in a rotary will carbon it up and kill it eventually (within 30,000 miles)

[Dutchess]

I care for the environment (and for my own economy) and will do as much as possible to reduce petrol use. But with all the violence, abuse and bullying going on I prefer to drive my children to and from where they want and need to be. And they're still slim, fit and healthy.

[paul]

3500 miles per Oil change? what kind of Oil are you Americans using....all of it by the sound of things....try changing the Oil at 10,000 miles, perhaps the Oil will last longer?

[James]

John Amendall, phasing out 2 litre plus cars is a ridiculous idea. Whilst I don't agree with clogging up our cities with 4x4s there is nothing wrong with wanting to own a vehicle with a bit of performance. The world would be a very boring place if we all drove around in one litre micro cars. Besides, if you travel the world you'll see there is no point in being environmentally friendly. Any concern for the environment in most continents is purely a token gesture. Europe seems to be the only place that takes the subject even slightly seriously. Most of us humans simply don't care.

[daught]

with 39 million vehicles on your roads - can you not do without one of them? Think of your children's health, and future generations. Don't take the kids to school, make them walk. In the 50s and 60s we walked miles to school, then got a bus. Take a good look at the fat, yes unhealthy, ugly, fat kids around Britain. Make them walk to school, to the cinema, to what ever they want to do, make them use their legs!

[Howard]

Buy a Skoda Octavia 1.9Tdi with 60mpg and 20,000 mile oil changes!!!

[John, Nottingham]

only half-fill your tank each time,petrol is heavy!

[Matt]

OMG "John Amendall"!!! Are you serious!?!?!?! GAH! That's awful!

[Sue]

Get your company to sign up for the cycle to work scheme, so you can buy a cycle at virtually half price ie free of personal tax, NI and VAT. You don't have to cycle to work (no-one checks up), but stop using the car for those relatively expensive short journeys, ie getting the newspaper, milk, posting a letter, and use the cycle. My fuel consumption has dropped by a surprising amount.

[Piggy Kruger]

The usual oft-repeated tips. Try this method: trade in your present car and buy one of the battery-electric vehicles now available. An overnight electrical charge-up will save you perhaps £45-48 of the normal £50 spent on petrol or diesel. Try and remember to travel within your new car"s 100-120 mile range.

[Tom Taylor-Duxbury]

I can't see how deceleration uses fuel! Most car brains cut the injectors off or reduce to nil.5f it's hot I trip the aircon on when off the throttle going downhill (still awaiting the designers to do that in the software - it would work!) this helps retard & costs nil too. If you have a sophisticated brain in the car use higher octane fuels they really are more efficient if you have a decent engine (SAAB Honda Beemer etc)
Don't buy a smugmobile: hibrids are only good in towns.

[Joe Scholle]

Tip number 7 to change your oil is always a good idea. BUT, 7,500 miles? What kind of oil do you have in the UK? No mechanic here in the USA would endorse that long an interval. 3,000 miles between oil changes is much more the norm here, except if you use synthetic oil.

[richard]

Sensible precautions, to which should be added: Change your air filter.

A possibility worth research is that high-performance fuels may now be worth buying if they result in a performance improvement greater than the proportional cost differential per litre.

The largest single gain would be if government made the national speed limit 60 instead of 70 mph and enforced it. I keep being passed by SUVs doing a ton on the M25 - that can't be very efficient.

[Andrew Pittman]

Drive slower say the DOT.Well they would wouldn't they.It's engine speed not road speed that determines fuel used.A car doing 3000rpm in 1st.gear will use the same as one doing 3000rpm in 5th..but for a much longer period of time therefore using more fuel.Plus it's stop-start driving that uses most petrol and that's exactly what this lot have created with all their traffic calming schemes and forests of traffic lights.

[Tim Marks]

Everytime you break you are throwing away energy. In traffic, by leaving a good distance from the car in front and slowing down gently by using the engine will improve fuel economy and have less wear on yor brake pads. However, accelerating gently and short shifting (changing quickly to a higher gear) will give the greatest improvemnt.

[Fatbelly Jones]

No 15. Cold engines use more fuel than warm ones, so avoid wasting fuel by not turning the engine off!

No 16. Save an absolute fortune, cut down on CO2 emissions and lose weight all at the same time - by not starting your engine. Instead, push your car everywhere. To lose even more weight, keep the handbrake on!

No 17. Set up a "lose weight fast" scam and get other people to push your car for you. If you can get 10 people to pay you £7 per hour each, you could also be a millionaire in no time, get others fit and healthy AND do your bit for the environment, thus qualifying for a life-peerage and all-in expenses!

[chaz chance]

Work from home.

I have got my company to agree to me working from home for one day a week. That is going to reduce my car journeys by 2,000 miles per year, and give me up to two hours extra free time. It would save me three and a half hours if I used public transport, and even more money than the reduction in fuel use gives.

Beat that by pumping up your tires or driving an extra ten miles to save a penny on your petrol!

[David in Chicago]

Proper tire (tyre as you misspell it in Britain :)) inflation made an extraordinary difference for my Toyota Avalon. Went from 29 to over 35 miles per gallon (U.S. not Imperial) by doing this recently.

[the artfull dodger]

just cypher it from other cars, i havent bought any petrol since november or use red diesel its alot cheaper cuz there isnt any tax on it

[MCS]

If you live in town, how about selling your car and using public transport and/or walking?

[Oggy]

Select neutral and freewheel when approaching junctions and going downhill.

[Geoffrey K Nathan]

I had installed LPG on my second hand SAAB 9-5 estate. It costs about £2,000 and the last time I bought LPG it cost 56p per litre. It goes a bit farther as well!

[Dan]

No 13. After filling your car, simply drive straight off the forecourt without paying the cashier. Saves a bundle.

No 14. Don't buy road tax. If you ever get caught, the fine is unlikely to be greater than the price of a year's tax.