What Things Do You Do to Save Fuel?

Goliegosh on 23/05/2022 - 00:07
Last edited 23/05/2022 - 10:26

With the recent increases in fuel prices, I have been actively trying to drive less in order to reduce my car’s fuel consumption.

A couple things that I actively do are:

  • Cycle / Walk / Public Transport when applicable
  • Accelerate slowly (not trying to rev pass 3000rpm at a stand still)
  • Vehicle maintenance / correct tyre pressure (check once a month)
  • Remove all excess mass from the car

Besides from the above, what can you suggest / what do you do to reduce your fuel consumption?

Edit 1: Forgot Public Transport

Automotive Fuel

Comments

  • Clear on 23/05/2022 - 00:15
    +3

    Electric scooter plus a free ferry. Then the scooter is recharged off a portable power station and that's recharged from solar. Big savings for me.

    • Goliegosh on 23/05/2022 - 00:18

      Ah yep! Of course - good one.

      What is the electric scooter? Is there a general consensus around best value for money E-Scooters in the eyes of Ozbargainers?

      • Clear on 23/05/2022 - 00:19

        I covered the best budget electric scooters for off-road a few days ago here. They're good for the road too since they have large batteries and suspension.

        • Goliegosh on 23/05/2022 - 00:21

          Cheers - will have a read!

    • bobbified on 23/05/2022 - 08:54

      The scooter is definitely cheaper, until you come across some cop one day who's having a bad day.. then you can have anywhere between $700-2000 in fines in one hit.

      I would get a scooter any day, but I'm not willing to take that risk.

      • Clear on 23/05/2022 - 09:03
        -2

        Then that cop would be making a big mistake by trying to issue a fine for a legal activity. I don't live in NSW or VIC where they have backwards laws ;)

        • singlemalt72 on 24/05/2022 - 08:25
          -1

          But you have unrestricted your scooter which will get you at least $137 fine if a cop is having a bad day.

          • Clear on 24/05/2022 - 08:31
            +1

            @singlemalt72: The restricted speed is 25km and the fastest I can go on the road is 25km.

  • Understandable on 23/05/2022 - 00:17
    +11

    usually just drive off after putting the fuel in the car

    • Goliegosh on 23/05/2022 - 00:21

      I mean, it saves money right?

      Accelerating hard out of the petrol station probably wouldn’t though

    • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 05:34
      +1

      Siphon from neighbours tanks.

  • SF3 on 23/05/2022 - 00:18
    +1

    WFH.

    (Free) deliveries.

  • Gustavo Fring on 23/05/2022 - 00:27
    +2

    Chopper

  • rektrading on 23/05/2022 - 00:47
    +2

    What Things Do You Do to Save Fuel?

    I quit my job.

  • sharkyoz on 23/05/2022 - 06:48

    ebike for local trips within 15k.

  • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 07:12

    Read the traffic as best possible to maintain momentum. No harsh acceleration, no heavy braking just coast to a stop.

    Use left lane to continue pay a queue and pick a gap to merge back right. Some are going to hate this because ‘YoUrE Pu$h1nG iN’ but when you pick it right you don’t need to slow or accelerate so much and it actually allows more traffic through the lights. It’s why the often out those short left lanes in around a set of lights.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2022 - 07:17
      +1

      save money on proofreading

      • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 08:11
        +1

        Good lord. That’s terrible. Thanks to the power of autocorrect the words do largely belong to the English language, but not in those sentences.

        left lane to continue PAST a queue
        It’s why THEY often PUT those short left lanes in around a set of lights.

        • kyle on 23/05/2022 - 08:21

          Often there's no gap and you're relying on someone creating a gap.

          • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 08:25

            @kyle: If find most of the time there’s enough gap. It only occasionally backfires.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2022 - 07:13

    live as close as you can to work.

    7 eleven fuel choppa

  • Muzeeb on 23/05/2022 - 07:28
    +3

    Accelerate slowly

    Only when there is no one else around right?

    Don't be that guy.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2022 - 07:37
      -2

      the guy who gets angry at other drivers for being too slow? yeah don’t be that guy

      • SnowDragon on 23/05/2022 - 08:45
        +3

        Nothing worse than taking 8 seconds to get to the speed limit instead of 5 seconds! Really rustles my jimmies.

      • Jugganautx on 23/05/2022 - 23:01
        -1

        Don't be that guy that sits 10km under on purpose with 15 cars behind you.

    • Stopback on 23/05/2022 - 09:15
      -2

      Traffic only occurs when people brake too much because they drive too fast. Think about that

  • fredz0r on 23/05/2022 - 07:32

    Drive a Ev.

  • thirtysixd on 23/05/2022 - 07:42
    +1

    Ride my horse to work

  • pegaxs on 23/05/2022 - 07:59

    I use an electric motorcycle for my commute to work. I reset the odometer on the bike every time I fill up the car and it lets me know how many KM I save from each tank of fuel by riding my EV motorcycle to work.

    My average it about 200ish extra KM per tank of fuel I add just by using my bike for those KM. My car gets about 9.5km/l, so I am saving about 21 litres of fuel each fuel up, or about $35~40 each refuel by using my ev for the short haul work trips.

    • dogboy on 23/05/2022 - 08:09

      Which electric motorcycle do you have if you don't mind sharing?

      • pegaxs on 23/05/2022 - 09:58
        +4

        I ended up scoring a very very cheap Super Soco cUX. I got it speed unlocked, so it does 60km/h, but my whole commute is in 50km/h zones.

        I think it’s about 6~7km round trip to work and I get about 3 to 4 days of travelling to work before it gets to 50% charge. I can do a whole week most times if I wanted to run the battery right down, but that isn’t good for them, so I get to 50~60% and stick it on the charger.

        It will charge up from 50% to full in about 3 and a bit hours on the charger that came with the bike. From memory, it’s a 72v 10w charger? You can buy faster ones, like 20 and 30w chargers that will charge faster.

        • ItsBatman on 23/05/2022 - 15:49

          Do you need license and rego for this?

          • pegaxs on 23/05/2022 - 16:25
            +1

            @ItsBatman:

            Do you need rego for this?

            Yes, it needs rego, but it is literally pennies to register. In NSW, I think for memory it was $135 for rego and about $74 for CTP. So around $200 to register for a year.

            Do you need a license for this?

            In some states, such as Qld, NT, SA and WA, it is classed as an LA motorcycle (50cc and 50km/h and under/mopeds), that means you can ride it on your car license and do not require a motorcycle license (LC motorcycles require a license. NSW, ACT, VIC, Tas all require a motorcycle license for any motorcycle.)

        • Jason Genova on 23/05/2022 - 16:02
          +2

          charge at work too for max savings

        • dogboy on 23/05/2022 - 16:08

          Thanks for that. Looks really cool!

  • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2022 - 08:22

    nothing, more fuel I use more money I am making, tax deduction and I get the gst back anyway.

    • netjock on 23/05/2022 - 09:18
      +1

      more fuel I use more money I am making, tax deduction and I get the gst back anyway.

      Hope you mean you depend on driving to make money.

      Otherwise you're paying $1 to save at your marginal tax rate. A tax deduction is great when it is necessary. It is like buying a new $1k laptop every year when you just don't have to pay $420 (assume 42% tax rate) in tax. Buying one every 2 years would actually mean more money in your pocket.

      If I didn't buy a laptop I'd have $580 real cash in the back. If I bought the laptop at 30th June I'd have $1k less cash in the bank until when the ATO gives me my refund.

      • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2022 - 10:46

        lol ok

  • SnowDragon on 23/05/2022 - 08:39
    +3

    Spent $900 converting my MTB to an e-bike.

    It's done 420km as of this morning, so that's a tank of fuel saved ($60-70)

  • Jason Genova on 23/05/2022 - 09:02

    WFH

    sell the car

    win win

    saved over 10k since the pandemic - no rego, insurance, servicing, petrol

  • Ryanek on 23/05/2022 - 09:05
    -1

    Costco membership

  • Richmond Tigers on 23/05/2022 - 09:15

    A combination of fare evasion and doing a very long roll into stops.

  • netjock on 23/05/2022 - 09:20

    I usually bundle my trips.

    If I am driving to work on that day I'd do click and collect at stores along the way rather than driving out of the way to collect something. Another example is if I have to pick up my other half at the train station and there is a shopping centre there I'd pick up groceries by going 15 minutes earlier. Sometimes you are inclined to jump in the car to go shopping.

  • Donaldhump on 23/05/2022 - 09:27

    don't drive, don't mow

  • bobbified on 23/05/2022 - 09:37

    Move close to work so you can just walk.

  • seraphim2017 on 23/05/2022 - 09:43
    +2

    Wouldn't you just do those things anyway, whether fuel was $1.00 or $2.00 a litre? Why give more $ to tax and shaft your car by driving without care?

    Drive relaxed, cycle to work (when it's not raining, can't be doing with putting on wet cycling gear after a day of work), keep car maintained and spend more time outdoors and locally, supporting local community. Plan long trips to do double duty i.e picking stuff up/dropping stuff off, or doing all jobs in one trip like shopping/swimming lessons/kids events etc where I can.

    Do around 7k a year or less now and put around 2-3k on the bike each year commuting, saving a bit of money and getting an extra cardio workout so only have to do weights at the gym!

    • Goliegosh on 23/05/2022 - 10:40
      +1

      I have been doing these things since driving - sorry if it was not clear. Trying to reduce the dependency on my car

  • freefall101 on 23/05/2022 - 10:00
    +4

    I sold my car about 6 years ago. Fuel savings have been fantastic.

  • Some Human on 23/05/2022 - 10:23

    I buy it at the low point of the cycle and hoard it. Then you don’t have to worry so much about saving the fuel. I’d rather get home a few minutes earlier, than drive 20km under the speed limit all the way home to save a few cents on fuel. My car doesn’t drink much.

    • capslock on 23/05/2022 - 10:34
      -1

      Evaporation?

    • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 12:26

      Low point of the cycle? What’s that? Prices are just stupid high all the time.

  • brendanm on 23/05/2022 - 10:46

    Nothing.

  • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 12:28

    Don’t forget to purchase only the cheapest fuel that will run your car. E10, ULP not premium and there’s nothing wrong with the cheap brand servos as long as they sell enough to keep their stock fresh.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2022 - 12:37

      e10 gives worse mileage you don’t save anything

      • pegaxs on 23/05/2022 - 16:12

        Basically this. If the price of E10 is within about 5% of that of 91, dont use E10. E10 is better as a replacement for 95, as there is often more than 10% difference in price.

      • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 16:50

        Are you sure? I’ve experimented with e10, ULP and premium and found negligible difference with measured consumption in the same car.

        I don’t have a petrol car right now, but if i did I’d be checking again for sure.

        • brendanm on 23/05/2022 - 17:25

          It's a chemical certainty, ethanol has less energy density.

          • Euphemistic on 23/05/2022 - 18:27

            @brendanm: I get that it’s a ‘chemical certainty’ but it’s worth testing in your own vehicle with your own driving style. Run about 3 tanks of each and check your own consumption, actually recording litres and kms not just guessing based on kms per tank.

            My experience calculating every tank of fuel was that the max and min on ULP was in the same range as E10 with a 2003 forester. Driving conditions seemed to make more difference than the fuel.

            • pegaxs on 25/05/2022 - 22:29

              @Euphemistic: E10 is about 97 to 95% the energy density of 91. Most people would not know the difference, but there is a slight difference in these fuel types.

              In a standard car that runs 91, the price of E10 needs to less than the price of 91 by quite an amount or it is just not worth it. Most of the time, I see E10 at 1 or 2¢/l cheaper than regular unleaded, and at that gap, it’s just not economical. To break even, the price gap would need to be about 5%. To make it economically viable, 10% cheaper would make E10 the better choice.

              This is why E10 is a better substitute for 95, as the price difference there is often 15~20% between the two fuels.

  • JIMB0 on 23/05/2022 - 13:04

    Only drive downhill so you never have to run the engine. Just be careful as the steering and brakes are harder to operate.

  • Stopback on 23/05/2022 - 14:16
    +1

    Remove spare tyre - remove back seats - helium ballons in car - low rolling resitance tyres - plan driving days - more efficent - park 500 meters away from home/work -

    • forged on 23/05/2022 - 14:22
      +1

      Helium balloons in car, LOL

  • forged on 23/05/2022 - 14:21
    +1

    Remove all excess mass from the car.

    Stereo system, unneeded trim pieces, spare wheel, seats (I guess you can keep the drivers seat), carpets, centre console, dashboard.

    If your journey is at low speed, then you can save a lot more by removing unnecessary parts such as body panels, windows, headlights, etc.

    This will lead to the lowest fuel consumption and the highest efficiency possible. Hope this helps

    • Muzeeb on 23/05/2022 - 15:14

      Sounds exactly like my son's paddock basher.

      But we live on the redline in that so it's not fuel efficient at all 😉

    • poboy on 23/05/2022 - 19:17

      How is your mum?

      • forged on 23/05/2022 - 19:54

        In my quest for fuel efficiency, she's been removed from the car.

  • rektrading on 24/05/2022 - 11:10
    +1

    Get ready.

    https://twitter.com/jakecoco/status/1528497271247093761
    Gas was $7.29 in Los Angeles today. https://t.co/h6EEFcC9Lg

    • Jason Genova on 24/05/2022 - 11:49
      +1

      approaching ATH soon

    • Goliegosh on 24/05/2022 - 11:54
      +1

      Sheesh! That’s like 2.50 AUD a litre

    • capslock on 24/05/2022 - 12:25
      +1

      I can't believe they still use fractions.

      • Euphemistic on 24/05/2022 - 15:03

        I can’t believe we still use 0.9c on the end of the price either. Virtually no one would notice if the put the price up by 0.1c and saved the electricity of running all those signs with an extra digit lit up.

  • rektrading on 24/05/2022 - 18:15

    Things are getting heated up over energy costs in Europe.

    https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1528928856274509824
    "It's Sick": Polish PM Says Norway Should Share "Gigantic" Oil & Gas Profits https://t.co/tO5Mf4LYFD

    Could this be the start of an energy war in Europe?

  • Toph Beifong on 25/05/2022 - 21:34

    Maybe stop accelerating when approaching a red light or stop sign?

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