5 Ways You Can Improve Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency
Key Takeaways
- Fuel efficiency is important for a vehicle’s overall performance and driving costs.
- Cars with higher fuel efficiency retain their value, have low carbon emissions and help you save on fuel costs.
- Routine engine and tire maintenance can improve a vehicle’s fuel efficiency.
- Driving within speed limits and maintaining constant speeds without hard braking also increases fuel efficiency.
A car’s fuel efficiency refers to how good its fuel consumption is. Better fuel efficiency means you can travel longer distances with less fuel consumed. It can lead to cost savings, lower carbon emissions, and overall better vehicle performance.
Although different cars have varying fuel efficiency estimates, there are some basic tips to keep in mind to maximize fuel consumption. Routine maintenance, avoiding rash driving, and using high-quality fuel are some ways you can improve your vehicle’s fuel efficiency.
Read on to know more about why your car’s fuel efficiency matters and how to improve it.
Why is Fuel Efficiency Important?
Your vehicle’s fuel efficiency, calculated by the EPA, is one of the most important things to consider when buying a car. This is because your car’s fuel consumption can impact its performance and your overall driving experience. So, a vehicle with a higher fuel efficiency can yield various benefits.
Firstly, you’ll save a lot on fuel costs. It may seem insignificant in the short term, but savings on fuel are substantial in the long run. Today, automakers are increasingly striving to launch fuel-efficient cars that provide high performance with less money spent on fuel.
In addition, a fuel-efficient car will have a high resale value in the market. Since customers seek fuel efficiency before anything else, you may sell your used car for a good price if it has low fuel consumption.
Lastly, fuel-efficient cars are environmentally friendly. Due to the global focus on the importance of climate change, automakers now produce cars with higher fuel averages for lower carbon emissions. For instance, electric vehicles (EVs) have become popular due to their low carbon footprint and high fuel efficiency.
5 Ways You Can Improve Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency
You can take several measures to improve your car’s fuel efficiency. They include:
-
Engine Maintenance
Proper engine maintenance will lead to efficient engine performance, ultimately improving your car’s fuel efficiency. Regular engine tuning allows your car to operate optimally, thus not wasting fuel.
Also, regular car inspections can help identify any issues or problems affecting your engine’s fuel efficiency. Therefore, it’s recommended to observe regular engine tune-ups and maintenance every 10,000 km or less, depending on your car.
Furthermore, changing your engine oil and lubricating its moving parts ensures it performs smoothly and efficiently. A regular oil change can improve the engine’s combustion process and help reduce engine drag. This will consequently improve your car’s fuel efficiency.
-
Avoid Rapid Acceleration and Braking
Driving patterns and conditions also affect your vehicle’s fuel consumption. For instance, aggressive driving is the most prominent cause of lower fuel efficiency. Moreover, it was found that rapid acceleration, speeding and hard braking can reduce your car’s fuel efficiency by 40%.
Furthermore, instant acceleration after braking causes your engine to use more power to increase speed quickly, consuming more fuel. Similarly, overspeeding consumes more fuel as the engine constantly uses more power to maintain high speeds. In addition, braking frequently and suddenly burns more fuel than necessary, lowering your car’s fuel efficiency.
Driving gently, at lower and constant speeds without hard braking will help improve your car’s fuel efficiency.
-
Maintain Proper Tire Pressure
If you don’t check your car’s tire pressure regularly, you may be driving with under-inflated tires. A drop in tire pressure can significantly increase fuel consumption; the same is true for over-inflated tires. Improper tire pressure creates more friction between the ground and tires, causing more resistance to movement and consuming more fuel.
Therefore, it’s important to regularly check and maintain the proper tire pressure recommended by your manufacturer. It will also improve your vehicle’s handling and stability while maximizing fuel efficiency.
-
Travel Light
Having additional weight in your vehicle offers resistance to movement, making the engine consume more power to move the car. This significantly increases fuel consumption, as for every 100 lbs added, fuel efficiency decreases by 2%.
In order to cut fuel costs, remove any unnecessary weight from the car and keep the luggage to a minimum. Moreover, traveling light over long distances will increase fuel efficiency due to the higher fuel average on highways.
-
Buy High-Quality Fuel
Poor-quality fuels contain impurities and aren’t properly refined. More importantly, using poor-quality fuel can lower your engine’s performance and efficiency of the combustion process. It also causes wear and tear inside the engine, all of which lowers the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.
Therefore, you must avoid going to low-rated fuel stations and only fill your tanks from trusted and properly maintained gas stations. Trusted stations like Shell offer a higher fuel quality that won’t compromise the performance or efficiency of your engine.
Conclusion
A car’s fuel efficiency is one of the most important aspects of its performance and quality. Although acquiring fuel-efficient vehicles may prove costly, there are several ways whereby you can increase your own car’s fuel efficiency. Fuel maximization is easily achieved through regular engine and tire maintenance, adjusting driving patterns and buying higher-quality fuels.
At Auffenberg of Carbondale, we offer the best collection of new and pre-owned Buick and GMC vehicles. Visit our dealership at 1015 E Walnut Street, Carbondale, Illinois, for the best auto repair services at competitive prices. We also offer high-quality authentic parts and special deals on our services. For more information, you can contact us or visit our website to book a service appointment online.