Saving money on petrol

Tweet

If you're a car driver, you probably spend hundreds of pounds/dollars/whatever each year just on petrol - I reckon I spend more than a grand a year, typically. So it pays to know a few simple ways of saving fuel. I'm no mechanic, so I can't give any advice on improving your engine's efficiency, but here are some simple tips that should save you a few hundred a year: 1) Check your oil and water every month and top up as necessary, to keep the engine running as well as possible. 2) Also check your tyre pressure every month. Check your car's manual and keep your tyres pressurised to the maximum recommended. This will improve your car's mileage. Don't over-inflate your tyres though, this will shorten their life, causing you to spend more money on new tyres, plus you don't want to risk a blow out on the motorway, do you? 3) Replace the air filter in your engine once a year. This is a really simple job that anyone should be able to do. If you look at your engine, the filter should be in a round, flat compartment that will open up if you undo a couple of screws and/or latches. The air filter is a circular thing made of paper with a rubber seal - I bought a replacement for less than £10 recently. These things get clogged up after a while and the engine doesn't burn petrol as efficiently, so it's definitely worth your while replacing it annually. 4) If you're in a situation where the car is likely to be stationary for a few minutes (picking up friends or waiting at a level crossing etc) you might as well switch the engine off - it's easy to forget, but there's no point it burning up petrol if it's not going anywhere, is there? 5) I've noticed lately that the big supermarkets have lately started selling petrol additives that are supposed to both increase your car's mileage and clean up the engine a bit. You add it to a full tank of petrol. I don't know if these work well enough to be worth the money, but it might be worth a try. Input from anyone who knows more than me about this would be appreciated. Does anyone else have any easy to follow tips that will help save money on petrol and don't involve having a mechanic work on your car?