The fuel-efficient car is good for both the environment and your pocket. However, you should know your driving style because the most fuel-efficient cars can consume more fuel if it is driven incorrectly. We will discuss driving techniques in order to drive efficiently and get the best mileage of a car on the highway to help you save money on fuels during long distance travelling. As a driver you can change your driving habits in order to achieve better fuel economy. When you drive in a very saddle manner. You can even achieve the top mileage claim of the car.
It is quite obvious that if load lots of stuff in the boot or rear seat of your car, it will become heavy and consume more fuel but this is not new. Also never follow tractor or trailers for great aerodynamics. It’s a dangerous and silly idea. Here are the tips that will focus on practical aspect to get better fuel economy on highways.
Maintain Average Speed
Maintaining average speed on Highway doesn’t mean you should drive below 55 KMPH which is dangerous for other vehicles and also none of us have time for that. There is a major difference in fuel consumption, when you drive at 80 KMPH and at 90 KMPH. Simply reducing 10 KMPH will significantly increase fuel economy. When you drive at 90 KMPH the amount of power that car produces increases exponentially to overcome resistance. There are two resistances that cars need to overcome first is aerodynamics and second is rolling resistance in the tires. Cars need to produce more power to overcome these two resistances and hence fuel consumption will increase. Now let’s discuss the time to reach our destination. If you are required to travel 200 Kms; it takes 2 Hours and 30 minutes to reach your destination when you drive at a speed of 80 KMPH where it takes 2 Hours and 15 Minutes when you drive at 90 KMPH so there will be 15 minutes difference but you may save a significant amount of fuel.
Engine Braking
In modern cars if you let your foot off the throttle and you leave transmission in gear the engine does not inject fuel. You can take advantage of this in different scenarios like approaching traffic signals, approaching a turn ahead.
Don’t keep on accelerating the car when you are driving on twist and turns. It’s better to look ahead of the road. If you can see turn ahead and after some time you anticipate that you need to apply brakes in that situation, always release the accelerator throttle much before the turn. Car will coast. Don’t press the clutch pedal and free the engine in this situation, clutch wear will be more. When you reach the turn and you apply brakes but you are not doing any harsh braking and also you are not using too much fuel while decelerating.
Smooth Gear Shifting
When you drive on the highway, upshift gears when the tachometer is close to the 2000 mark. When you cross the 2000 RPM band you are in a good torque band and you can upshift gear smoothly. In this torque band; car engine can easily shift to top gears and within a few 100 meters you can reach 6th gear. Always maintain speed at 80 KMPH that will not put much stress on the engine and you will get better fuel efficiency. When you change the gears at 2000 RPM mark there will be less engine noise in the cabin and you will feel comfortable during a long-distance journey.
Driving over an elevation change
When elevation changes, the rule is very clear and simple: maintain a constant speed of 40 or 50 KMPH. When elevation changes and you try to maintain constant speed at different elevations, cars will consume more fuel. In normal driving conditions, when you go up the hill you press the accelerator to maintain constant speed and when you come down you use brakes to maintain that speed. There is wastage of energy. In such a scenario, you can take advantage of gravity. The alternative during driving on difference in elevation is when driving up a hill release accelerator in this scenario, you are using engine braking. When you start downhill, press light acceleration and gravity helps you back up the speed. This is the more efficient way of driving over an elevation change. Second advantage of this technique is putting the heat from decelerating into your engine cooling system which is far more capable. It can take a ton of heat versus putting that heat into the brakes so brakes won’t overheat and need replacement of the brake pad.
Never mess with a car’s aerodynamics. People place oversize items on the car roof that will increase drag and ultimately lead to higher fuel consumption.
You should be conscious of the other drivers on the road while you are applying the above driving techniques. Don’t drive in the first lane at slower speed. First lane is meant for overtaking. Also don’t slow down too early on highways. It’s common sense to drive and apply these techniques where they make sense and where you can actually get the benefits from them without annoying other drivers on the road.
Thank you all for reading this article. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comment box below.