The 10 best ways to cut petrol costs

With the most expensive unleaded petrol now at 116p per litre, many readers will be dreading next Tuesday's 2p increase in fuel duty. 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 9,589 petrol stations and has 8,000 daily updates. The difference between the most expensive and the cheapest price per litre can be more than 15p.

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 7,500 miles. For a diesel engine it is recommended you change the oil every 6 months or 3,000 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

[Laurence]

And of course obtain a 5% CashBack card from UWDC, and receive 5% off your petrol at Sainsbury's

[George Keeler]

..or move to a country that doesn't rip off the motorist using the global warming myth as an excuse.

[Tony]

How many times will these tips be recycled as current news?

[Tony]

Bye bye George, when are you off?

[Np]

Drive off without paying

[Np]

Move to AUS where it's half the price, or the USA where it's a third the price.
Why do we always have to pay top dollar for everything?

[Planet Lover]

Selfish people still driving in 2009 - well aware of the environmental consequences. Sickening!

[Percy]

Am I missing something? How will braking more gently when approaching a set of red traffic lights mean that less fuel is consumed prima facie...?

[Michael Baldwin]

Everyone seems to have missed the obvious.Slipstream coaches on the motorway.I have a 1.6 TDCI Focus.Result 65 MPG at 65MPH or 90 MPG behind a coach at 65 MPH.If it's good enough for F1 then it's good enough for us :-)

[PB]

@Michael Baldwin - Slipstreaming is bloody stupid - DON'T DO IT. It's actually tail-gating and if saving a few pennies is more important to you than your own safety and those in your car and on the road, you have no business behind the steering wheel. Braking distances are not academic - keep a sensible gap between you and the vehicle in front.

Even F1 drivers wouldn't do it on public roads.

[Michael Baldwin]

addendum to my last post below.Do not get to close to the coach or lorry in front.The police take a dim view of it.I think it's called tailgating.Try and pick a Double Deck coach or a large lorry .They punch a bigger hole in the air than the others.Hence you can keep back a bit.You might as well use their Fuel consumption.There thats my contribution to global warming sorted.

[Stephen Gray]

'Affect' on my paintwork? How foppish and contrived does Thompson think my car is?

[Craig Cooper]

How many years ago was it recommended that you change your oil every 6 or 12 months? Buy a diesel Audi and the oil needs changing only every 2 years or 24,000 miles. It's misleading and certainly less economical to suggest changing oil more often than the manufacturer's recommendations.

[Tom]

Or, just don't drive if you can't afford it.

[Tim]

change the oil every 3000 miles on a diesel? Which idiot recommends this?

At £25 a pop for 5 litres of "modern" oil (more from a dealer) plus a further £20+ for an oil filter that costs an additional 1.5p (or more) per MILE to achieve, if you do this yourself, risking warranty issues or a lack of genuine service history. You'd be a fool to do this- do the math;

Given an average of say 40 MPG in a diesel you'd use (3000 miles/ 40 mpg=) 75 gallons to travel 3000 miles. You may get more or less of course, but it's a good all round figure.

75 gallons comprises 341 litres using UK measures (4.55 litres/ gallon).

So you're advocating spending £45 on an every 341 litres of fuel, which is an extra 13p per LITRE used.

Blatantly you will NOT get that back in higher efficiency.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating not having a well maintained car, that would be equally stupid, but this is nonsense and unrealistic. The Times should learn not to trust google for their reporting...

[Garry Williams]

Save much more than 2p by using heating oil in a diesel car. Been doing it for years in vans and cars from vauxhall, BMW up to VW's. Never had any engine trouble and all the rubbish you will hear about clogging up injectors and fuel pumps packing up is a load of rubbish. If you really are that worried the pop in half a tank of diesel now and again. The Gypsies have been doing this for years and years, why do you think they all drive diesel 4x4's. Sure a few people will respond and say it damages the car but then they have never tried it and will continue paying over the top, probably the same people who buy the Ultimate type fuel believing their car runs better.

[Jonathan Hurst]

Every time the price goes up these articles appear for how we can 'save' money! We are not saving money anymore and most ideas are a false economy. Something needs to be done to stop taxing so heavily those things that so many people need.
I live in the US now and to fill up my 25 gallon tank is about $55 compared to more than that in pounds when i was back in the UK earlier in the summer!

[Mord.]

Convert your car to AutoGas and laugh as you drive by everyone else as they queue for petrol at £1.05+/L when you only pay £0.43/L

ok, so the initial install cost is high but you'll save thousands in the long term and you can always have the LPG Conversion kit removed and refitted to your next car in a few years time.

[John, London]

Regarding tailgating, I don't think there are any rules against it anymore.
As far as I can tell, the only things that are illegal in the UK are speeding, driving in bus lanes, and parking incorrectly.

[slc]

Get a bicycle

[Lewis]

Garry: clearly you aren't too clued on on cars / engines.

Some cars do indeed run better on higher octane rated fuels, just because you never have had one of these cars doesn't mean it is a myth.

Go and drive a JDM Impreza mapped to run on 99RON and then try it afterwards with normal unleaded and tell me you can't notice a difference..

[don]

Plce some stones in your petrol tank then it will look full on dial

[ken]

what a countrywe live in now the goverment must sit down and think of ways to punish us every few wks how long do they think we can go on like this keep paying more money out what we havent got is all we are doing is working to pay bills you dont have a quality of life in this country anymore its the pits look at the state of everthink no pride nobody cares no manners crime out of countrol due to are laws soft judges that want sacking for the way they deal with things the door is open in this country for any lier cheat thief to com e in and help is self to what he wants we come second thats the way it is pathecticthe sad thing is the english people are scared to speak up the just put up with it all then moan when somethink goes up a good thing would be to get rid of all the do gooders the ones that have been handid there money on the plate i,m ashamed to call my self english

[Richard Evans]

Good advice in this article generally but you do not need to change the oil in a diesel every 3000 miles or petrol every 7500k. Many modern diesel engines do 18 to 20k between oil changes. The synthetic oil used costs about £45 for 5 litres. The engines go on to do well over 200k miles. Changing every 3k would cost a fortune, make no noticeable difference and will be worse environmentally as all that oil will need disposing of.

[blackporsche911]

Never use supermarket petrol. It may cost a few pence less, but it doesn't go as far, due to it being loaded with additives. I wouldn't dream of putting that garbage in my car. Remember the time when people couldn't drive from Tesco forecourts AFTER filling with their petrol? It was because they had put too much additives in at the refinery and got the mixture wrong.

[Lost Forwards]

Percy.
"How will braking more gently when approaching a set of red traffic lights mean that less fuel is consumed?"
Smooth driving saves fuel. It works, it's called anticipation. If you brake more gently you MUST brake earlier so have you foot on the Accelerator (money) pedal for less time. QED

[Theogar O.]

>>Selfish people still driving in 2009
>>- well aware of the environmental
>>consequences. Sickening!

>>Posted by: Planet Lover

Planet Lover, take your self-righteous douchebaggery and FRO.

[Jim Beaumont]

Come to Venezuela! It is just less than 1p a litre

[Garry Williams]

Lewis

"Go and drive a JDM Impreza mapped to run on 99RON and then try it afterwards with normal unleaded and tell me you can't notice a difference.."

Clearly, you are the one not clued up. Been there done that. It was a Prodrive STX Impreza and it still went like stink on 'normal' fuel. Before you think I'm bluffing, the missus worked at a driving school for years and we had many cars that needed mileage putting on them before being used on track. Tried all the tricks on these supplied cars and all OK.

[Frederick Roots]

Pump up your tyres to the correct pressure and keep them like that. Go easy on the accellerator pedal, change up as soon as you can and anticipate well ahead so you avoid rapid and frequent braking. You will soon see the difference in fuel consumption. Also, and I know this is controversial, coast down hills and then you lose all the engine pumping losses which are huge. Just try turning an engine by hand to see how much energy is needed to keep it running. The laws against coasting were brought in in the 1930s when cable operated brakes hardly worked at all and engine braking was an essential part of driving. On a thirty mile trip on the A69 I can coast safely for five miles at between 60 and 70 miles an hour. I run a VW diesel and I get 68 mpg on a run and 55 mpg around town. I have driven for 12 - 15000 miles a year forty years, have never had an accident and have not had a speeding ticket since 1971.

[Angry Bob]

Car nuts like Gary Williams make me laugh. If your Subaru won't run on ordinary supermarket petrol, then it's pants mate. GROW UP and stop fantasising that you're a racing driver. Drive the damned car to work, the shops, your grandma's and shut up about your chipped, messed up car. Better still, drive it to the Bore Centre, and get a personality transplant...

[Angry Bob]

Michael Baldwin (the tailgater).

Why not carry chains and grappling hooks and attach yourself to the double deck coaches and lorries instead of just tailgating? That way you could switch off the engine altogether and travel free. Simply engage a passenger to stand up with his head and shoulders through the sunroof and sling your hooks and chain at the rear of the target vehicle and hey presto - you are part of a perpetual motion machine.

[Angry Bob]

Garry Williams advocates using heating il in your diesel car. I can not vouch for that, but highly recommend rendered down obese people. The free oil so provided can easily be converted into bio diesel of very high quality. A nineteen stone woman can be converted into enough diesel to take the average VW TDI over a thousand miles! I base this calculation on a notional yield of one gallon of bio-diesel for every stone of obese woman rendered down, and an average of 55mpg.

[Garry Williams]

Big Bob.

You have it all wrong. I'm not the car nut, I'm with you on this one. It's the kids like Lewis that think the fuel makes a difference to their penis extensions. I just had to use lots of different cars and was not falling for the premium fuel con.

PS. You are a bit angry aint ya.

[Angry Bob]

Hey Gary - you're right. I'm sorry. I was just so mad that I missed the fact that it was Lewis that was drivelling on about his chipped Subaru and the 'special' petrol that it requires. If it does, this is probably because he has chosen to have his engine computer re-programmed with inappropriate values so he can make more smoke and get another two miles an hour out of his car to impress his girlfriend if he has one. I bet he has a loud exhaust on it too, just so he can make more of an impression. Obviously, Lewis Tinytodger knows better how to programme a Suberu ECU than the engineers who made the car.

Please accept my apology for suggesting you get a personality transplant.

[Paul S]

Make your own biodiesel.
No tax, no VAT, costs about 40p/litre and a machine to brew the diesel is under £1000.
Contact me on Paul@transitionnc.org for more info

[MichaelH]

"not to mention the affect on your paintwork" - Even a Times journalist ought to know the difference between 'affect' and 'effect' as a substantive.

[Obama]

PLANET LOVER: are you must be a complete idiot - have you not seen the latest research that CO2 does NOT cause Global Warming.. Its a result of Global Warming which is a myth anyway as we are well within normal historical records of warming and cooling.. Do research before you preach!

[soldierf]

Unfortunately Gary Williams, its illegal to use heating oil as a motor fuel, its marked and can be detected even if mixed with DERV!
Use straight waste vegetable oil, finely filtered and a small modifiction to the deisel engine and mix in a bit of DERV and you are running for about 30p per litre, and its legal! up to 2500 litres per year.

[Gary Williams]

SOLDIERF, Thanks for that. I wouldn't want to do anything illegal!

[jeffery]

angry bob subEru is a well good car isn't... and you fool a re-map which i'm guessing is what he has done on a small engine car can add up to 20 bhp on a scooby that can be increasing to 30 which is proabably why hes got the girlfriend to impress and you've got well erm nothing really do you, appart from of course your tree hugger comments which are definatly going to get you laid some time, keep it up buddy.

[David]

Jeffery, What?

[ANGRY BOB]

Yes Jeffery, WTF are you on about?

[Fraser]

Harness a horse to the front of your car and get towed

[Neil Brown]

Fill up in Livigno

0.64 Euros per litre Diesel
(that's about 55pence today...)

[Neil Brown]

BTW...

If you drive economically, the Oil company profits reduce, so they have to pjut up prices to ensure that the share price remains high to pay ever bigger dividends to fat cats, and ensure the survival of the company.
Is it really worth it?

[Anthony]

Who cares if petrol has gone up 2 pence. Hardly like the British people can't afford it. I've got loads of 2 pence pieces kicking around everywhere.

Anthony

[John]

Hi. I have used LP GAS for fuel for 20 years. It is by far the best way to save money. I have saved at least £10,000 over those 20 years. Those who say they cant afford to convert their car can't really afford a car. I do not see it makes sense paying over £1.00 for petrol or diesel.
I pay 44p a litre for Liquid Petroleum Gas, a full tank cost me £19.75p, which will take me 240 miles.

It is 90 % cleaner than petrol and especially diesel, creates less carbon emmisson, less carbon monoxide, the oil is cleaner, lasts longer. There is less vibration in the engine, lower temperature burn, higher power and less servicing.
What more could you want. I tell people regularly it is the best thing for your pocket, the environment and the best way to reduce your mortgage.

So the 2p rise in fuel has not worried me yet.

Give LPG A TRY, you will definetly save money.

[Michael]

Regarding point 6, while it makes sense from a safety point of view, the numbers don't seek to make sense from an economic point of view if the goal is to save fuel. Obviously going faster requires more fuel, but it also means that I get to my destination quicker, so spend less time consuming fuel. if I drive at 70 rather than 60 then I get to my destination 16.7% faster, but only use 9% more fuel while driving, if these figures are correct. In comparison with driving at 50, I get there 40% faster and only use 15% more fuel. Maybe, I'm missing something here, but it sounds much more economic (at least at these speeds) to drive faster since these figures suggest that I'd be using less fuel over all to get my destination as the higher fuel consumption is more than offset by my spending less time consuming fuel.

[Michael]

sorry, meant to write "seem", not "seek" in the first sentence of m previous comment...

[paulc]

anyone slipstreams me gets brake checked...

[Adam Juniper]

The 'affect' on your paintwork?

[Okonomiyaki]

This is a deadly serious post. Super unleaded does make a difference, at least in my father's 2CV (I jest not). After 150,000 miles, it had a top-end re-build with high compression pistons fitted, and it knocks like a woodpecker if you put regular in it.

[Dave Hale]

2CV? Twit.

[Tom Watson]

I have never seen so much drivel in some of these comments. Some cars will not run on cooking oil and who pays for a new fuel injection pump at £1,000 for a Mondeo, plus new injectors. And modern diesel cars need oil changes every 20,000 miles, not 3,000 - poor research.

Some of the best advice is provided in the tips, and plan your journeys to avoid rush hour jams.

As the meerkat say, Simple.

[Sam Ronell]

UK exorbitant taxes get more so: VAT, council tax, petrol tax, income tax, corporate tax, etc.

Wonder what our dear government does with all this tax-revenue. I personally don't see any benefits, services, or improvements.

Time to move to the U.S.

[Chris]

Michael, driving faster uses more fuel largely due to the increased power that is needed to overcome drag. The exact speed at which a vehicle becomes dramatically more inefficient will vary from vehicle to vehicle but it's probably safe to say it's more efficient driving slowly rather than faster. The most efficient speed for an 1980s delivery van it's probably 30 mph. For a normal sedan it's probably more like 50mph. That's why our cars have a top speed at all. It's the point where drag equals all the power the vehicle has available to it.

[Pete]

Easy, call sick once a month, thereby using less petrol, and also earning slightly less, offsetting income tax too. I would regularly call sick when I lived in the UK and would often end up financially better off for it.

[PB]

"anyone slipstreams me gets brake checked...

Posted by: paulc"

Someone's managed to out-stupid the slipstreamer.

[Sally Halls]

Oh Tony, you are a hoot.

[Ian]

vote brown and darling out at next election

[Anthony M]

In the USA they say to change your oil every 3000 miles which I could never understand after living in the UK were I would change it about every 10K. I still change it at about 8K and guess what no problems.
Another thing that I wonder about is the fact that driving at 70 mph uses 15% more fuel than at 50mph.
What if you are driving 140 miles?
At 70 mph you will be there in 2 hours whereas at 50mph you will be driving nearly 3 hours.
Surely driving at 70mph must balance out if not outweigh driving an extra hour at 50mph.

[Sam]

Leave the car at home and use a bike.
or if your juorney is too long for that, bike the last bit. Less chance of having a heart attack too, everyone is a winner.

[Jane K]

Sam, move with the times. Bikes are for vegies and poofs.

[Hickrs]

Where do all these 2 p's go to help reduce Co2? I dont see any mass planting of trees along the higways to soak up the Co2, neither do I see trees planted around airports where I have been charged some extortionat tax just to fly out of the country. It is clearly simply a tax to prop up the governments high expenditure on there pet projects.
Just a thought Diesel in France cost between 85p and 90pence a litre which is just about the amount of Tax we pay in the UK. Of course before Gordon Mucked up the exchange rate it was even less.

[BenMcC]

Regarding coasting downhill - this uses more fuel than leaving the car in gear. Modern engines will stop fuel ignition entirely when the accelerator is not pressed, whereas a coasting engine uses a small amount of fuel to maintain minimum revs. Furthermore the inertia of the engine being driven by the wheels helps control descent speed and saves the brakes from getting too hot on a long steep hill. Not hitting the brake pedal all the time will also stop drivers behind you from also braking in anticipation, good road manners.

[Peter Storm]

An even better way to save fuel is to install an electrolyzer that make hydroxy gas (hydrogen and oxygen in mixture 66:33). The gas allows your engine to run a lot leaner than otherwise possible. It can run on an air:fuel ratio of 30:1 compared to the normal 14.7:1.

Normally the engine would overheat and stall but with hydroxy in the mixture the engine keeps cool and purrs like a kitten.

The savings are from 30 - 40 % in diesels and 40 - 50 % in petrol cars.

Please go to www.hyway1.com for more info

[Steve]

Use diesel meant for farm vehicles, it's cheaper might pollute a bit more, but much less than all the hot air coming from peoples mouths nowadays.

[peter dite]

am in oz atm and the fuel is half the price of the UK

[Andy Davids]

Lets not forget that 12 months ago when the VAT rate was dropped to 15% Darling said a rise in the fuel duty was necessary for the status quo. He will of course be reversing that fuel duty rise then VAT returns to 17.5%, or was that designed as just another stealth tax?

[iain carstairs]

I have some advice: drive behind large square HGVs on long motorway trips. They make a huge hole in the air which saves your engine having to do it!

On a recent 200 mile round trip I tried 50 miles behind such a vehicle, and 50 miles in the open, both at speeds of 65 mph.

Behind the HGV, the dashboard indicated I was generating an extra 30% miles before refueling! In the 50 miles, the total MBR + miles travelled went up by 15 miles!

[Josh]

Fuel is denser at lower temperatures so fill up when it is colder instead of the middle of the day to get more fuel for your money!

[Tel Boy]

Josh, you do talk a load of Tosh.

[Lobby Ludd]

Josh is correct. Basic Physics...(do they still teach this in schools ?)liquids are denser i.e. heavier when cold. The colder your fuel is when you buy it the more you get for your money !

[sabcarrera]

Fuel in petrol stations is kept underground so it is at a fairly constant all the time. Also liquids vary little in density with temperature
Methane is a cheaper fuel and there the temperature makes a greater difference.

If you choose a heavy vehicle to slipstream it can be safe as that will be the slowest to brake in an accident.

[Tel Boy]

Lobby, the tiny amount of extra fuel is not worth a gnats fart. Total Tosh.

[jim Ballantyne]

It is surprising that this list has not yet been deleted.
It is misleading the public, at best.
Please remove it.
If not I will make a formal complaint to the EU "Misleading Rubbish In The Papers Tzar". Mr Itpt.