With the inflation on the rise, and the turbulence we’ve witnessed in our economy in the recent past, particularly due to COVID-19 ripples, you might be interested in smart ways on how to save on fuel costs. Fuel costs are forever fluctuating, shifting from one price to another. As a car owner, you may have noticed that fuel costs have steadily risen over the years. If you still owned a car about 10 to 15 years ago, you can attest to that fuel prices were considerably friendly at the time. One liter of gas was enough to drive for over two kilometres.

Times are different now and the new car owners in town rarely understand what it felt like to buy a liter of diesel at Ksh 70. In the recent past, motorists have paid as high as Ksh 112 per liter of diesel. Unfortunately, if you still want to play the game, you have to stick to the rules. If you want to stay on the road, you have to able to afford fuel for your car.

Here are some tips you can follow on how to save on fuel costs for your car.

  1. Avoid taking unnecessary trips. If there nowhere important you need to be, you don’t have to drive your car. When you drive your car less, the fuel consumption is also low.  I get you need to go work. That okay. But if you want to walk a few meters around the neighborhood, you don’t have to use your car.
  2. Is the gas cap tight? Many times motorists don’t know that they lose a lot of fuel through evaporation. To avoid this happening to you, ensure the gas cap is tight.
  3. Don’t always overload your car. It sounds absurd, but overloading your vehicle also consumes more fuel. Check what you can remove to reduce excess weight. Perhaps you have overloaded the boot with a lot garbage or you don’t need the roof rack – try what works for you.
  4. Always inflate tires to the recommended pressure. Inflating tires to the recommended pressure will help avoid unnecessary drag on the wheels, thereby reducing the fuel consumption.
  5. Look out for cashback rebates and vouchers. With most petrol stations and supermarket outlets, they will offer customers cashback rebates or discounts on fuel prices. Stay alert for such promotions as you will be able to cut back on fuel spending, especially if you shop using credit cards.
  6. Avoid rapid acceleration. Practicing gentle acceleration is another tip that will save you the amount you spend on either petrol or diesel. Whenever you want to accelerate, maintain a smooth, gentle drive while engaging the highest safe gear – your fuel consumption will be less.
  7. Switch off your engine when in traffic. With some modern cars, the drivers have an option where they can switch off the engine by engaging the engine’s start/stop system. Say you are stuck in traffic and you have your foot still fixated on the clutch, your engine is still consuming fuel. If the traffic is slow and tight, you can always switch off the engine. It may look like an insignificant improvement but try and evaluate how much petrol or diesel you spend along Jogoo Road or Thika Road Superhighway when there is a snail traffic jam.
  8. Avoid coasting. Coasting is another behavior that consumes fuel but often drivers are unaware because most believe they are saving fuel. Coasting is when drivers let the car drive downhill with the clutch depressed or with the neutral gear engaged (Sometimes it can be both. The truth is that when a driver is coasting, the engine is still consuming fuel in the same way it would do when idle. Keep in mind: coasting can be risky as the driver has less control of the car.
  9. Track your spending on fuel. This point should be at the top of the list. Nevertheless, the first step to cutting down on your fuel costs is determine how much you spend on fuel. They are plenty of online calculators to help you with that. Alternatively, you can create a Word Spreadsheet, where you track all your spending every time you visit the petrol station.

Final Thoughts on How To Save On Fuel Costs

There you have it – 9 smart ways you can save on fuel costs. Sometimes it’s adopting the small strategies that often leads to big wins. These tips may not save you a huge costs on the go, but over the long run, you will notice significant reduction in your fuel consumption. Isn’t that the goal, after all?

Next read: Do you know everything there is to about brakes? 

 

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