The way you drive determines how much petrol your car will consume and in the long run determines the amount of cost incurred in the maintenance of your car. The fact is that when you are driving, there are several habits that can help you to save petrol and if you follow these practices closely, you will start noticing substantial savings in your wallet.
Revving – One of the best practices is to keep your rev counter below 2.5 (or 2,5000rpm) and it has been studied and found that keeping the needle below that mark actually helps you to save up to 20% of your petrol expenditure.
High Gear – When your car is in high gear, it is actually making use of the momentum of the vehicle to drive it forward which means that you naturally do not need to step on the gas as often. As such, it would be good to switch to higher gear as quickly as possible. At low gears, you are straining the gear box and consuming a lot more petrol along the way.
Braking – A lot of Malaysian drivers like to jam on the brakes unnecessarily. This will only waste more energy and fuel. When you are approaching a speed bump on traffic lights, try to allow the car to slow down gradually before stepping on the brakes.
Defensive Driving – This is a good practice which makes you aware of your surroundings when driving. Be aware of what other cars are doing and their behavior and that can help you to save fuel as you can avoid braking unnecessarily or accelerating abruptly.
Engines off – Some new cars have the ‘Stop-Start’ system where the engine shuts off when the car is idle. You can practice this at traffic lights that takes a long time to change. You need to be extra alert though to ensure that your car starts up quick enough before the light turns green again.
Air-conditioning – This practice is simple. When you are cruising, use the air-conditioning. When you are crawling, do not use the air-conditioning. It is a myth that air-conditioning uses more fuel. In fact, if you are on the highway and not in a traffic jam, having your windows down and air-conditioning switched off actually consumes more fuel as the car needs more power due to weaker aerodynamics. So, make sure you know when to use the air-conditioning and when not to and you will be saving a lot more than before.
