8 New Year Brief Tips for Greener Motoring

In order to save money by reducing your fuel consumption, and thereby the amount of CO2 emissions you put into the atmosphere, you may wish to consider buying a greener car this year. In the meantime, you can cheaply do the following:

1.Watch Your Weight

Not your personal weight,of course, but the weight being carried by your car. Everyday, we often carry in our cars items in the boot or backseat (portable cement-mixer, hedge-trimmer,empty suitcase,golf clubs unused forever, you know the things) which have been there for weeks and not thrown away, or not been returned to their proper place in the home or garage.Sometimes we set out on our motoring holidays with this excess weight ,and also too much holiday stuff.
More weight means more cost to move the car. Is our family ,shown above, just taking too much stuff, just in case...?

2.Keep correct tyre pressures

With extra weight your tyre pressures should be increased, in accordance with the manufacturer's manual that was issued for your car. Correct tyre pressures make for better safety, slower tyre wear and tear,and greater fuel efficiency.

3.Go with the Flow

By this ,I mean try to avoid 'drag' caused by interfering with the smooth flow of air over your car when in motion. Baggage piled high on the roof ,with bits hanging off here and there, and out of the boot ,will greatly decrease fuel efficiency(it may even be considered an illegal or unsafe load!)
Open windows (and boot) also result in poor aerodynamics.

4.Turn-off the air-con,and other onboard accessories ...

...when these are not really necessary.Dress for the weather and you may not need the airconditioning which can increase fuel consumption by upto 10%. The impact will be less when travelling at a legal and constant speed on a motorway.Other gear ,like the radio and the rear screen demister, can also markedly sap power.

5.Watch Your Speed

Accelerating gently to a legal maximum speed,as road conditions allow,predicting traffic at junctions braking gently, and when in queues not accelerating and braking harshly, all will help fuel economy, and reduce the rate of brake disc and tyre wear.Driving techniques can affect car fuel efficiency by upto 30 %. Drive smoothly.

6. Stop and Switch-off

You must not do this (when in neutral, or otherwise!) drifting downhill, any saving is negligible and it is highly dangerous. Much the better course is to switch-off your engine when stationary for more than a few minutes. Shorter periods could see an increased rate of fuel consumption because of the fuel required to ignite the engine. The acquired skill is to find the right time and period to do this.

7.Using the right gears

For fuel-efficiency, you should drive in the highest gear possible without labouring the engine.
You can ,for example, use 25% more fuel at 40 mph in third gear than at the same speed in a fifth gear.

8.Drive off promptly

Always try to drive off promptly rather than leave your engine running when stationary which is wasteful in fuel.

After all these simple tips, driving can be safe and fun!

Please look-in here regularly for more and regular news and information on current green cars available in production or being developed, new fuel technologies, designs and other matters related to low emission cars. You can sign-up for regular updates in the opt-in box,top right.
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You can also visit the Green Car Guide website for a wealth of information on environmentally friendly cars ,to help you make an informed choice when buying your next car.

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