Hi everyone, Rob Newhouse here with Rob’s Import Repair. Improving your European car’s fuel economy has so many benefits, from increasing your car’s mileage to saving you extra money. That’s why today, I’m going to be sharing with you some of the most effective ways to improve your fuel economy. You may not know it, but the extent to which you consume fuel in your car depends on how you drive and how you pay attention to it. Curious about what to do? Read further;
Inflate Your Tires Regularly
About 1.25 billion gallons of gas get wasted annually due to under-inflated tires. According to the United States Department of Energy, that’s about 1% of what the country consumes. When you have under-inflated tires the rolling resistance increases, causing your engine to work harder and increase fuel consumption.
Every month, one tire naturally loses about 2 pounds psi (per square inch) of inflation, which means all four tires lose at least 10 pounds psi every month. Tires under-inflated by 10 pounds will cause your car to use an extra 10% above the regular volume of fuel it naturally needs to function.
This decreases your fuel economy and causes you to spend more money on gas. To prevent this, check your tire pressure regularly and schedule a visit to the repair shop to have your tires properly gauged.
Take out Unnecessary Weight
Extra weight from loads in your car can increase your car’s fuel consumption. Before you go out, remove everything that you don’t need in the car to keep weight at the barest minimum. For every 100 pounds of extra weight you carry, you’ll use an extra one gallon of fuel to drive.
The smaller your vehicle, the more this weight-to-gas ratio applies. Extra weight in your car reduces your gas mileage by at least 1%, so offload any unnecessary items before you drive.
Keep Up with Maintenance
A regular maintenance check will not only help you tackle unforeseen problems in your European car, but it will also help to improve your fuel economy. How? During maintenance checks, everything from tires to the engine will be checked and the necessary fixes will be recommended.
Sometimes, nothing massively wrong would be found but little anomalies like a corroded battery cable could be causing you to consume more fuel than you should. Auto Maintenance checks help to sort out the hidden little things that may be causing you to spend more on gas.
Don’t Accelerate Rapidly when Driving
If you want to accelerate while you drive, the best way is to ease into it. Rather than hitting your accelerator once, press it slowly to increase speed gradually. That helps to conserve your fuel more than you know. Revving your engine just before you switch it off is also another way to unnecessarily waste fuel in your car. It also dries up the walls of your cylinder and might lead to issues the next time you try to start your engine.
These are some of the things you can do to improve your fuel economy and save yourself some extra cash. Need to learn more about your cars? Check out my other posts from Rob Talks Cars as I’ve been working on European cars for years. If you know your vehicle is due for a check, we offer the best auto repair services in Wisconsin and we are available to serve you! Schedule a visit with us and get the best out of your European car.