1. Plan your trip
A well planned trip will allow you to reach your destination in the fastest, easiest and safest way, and therefore make driving more efficient by saving fuel.
Extending only ten minutes the trip of 1 hour causes an increase in consumption in gasoline or diesel of 14 percent.
2. Check the tires pressure
The tires must be inflated to the pressure indicated by the manufacturer and according to the weather conditions. In addition to taking care of our safety will allow us a more efficient driving. Driving using tires with a pressure of 0.5 bar less than the correct one reduces fuel efficiency by 2 and 4 percent in urban and suburban areas, respectively.
3. Reduce unnecessary loads
Before starting the journey, more if it is a trip, we must rationalize the volume and the distribution of the load. Not only is it a matter of space, driving with 100 kilos of unnecessary weight on board causes fuel consumption, in a medium-sized car, to shoot 6 percent.
4. Start-up and go
Start the engine of the car without stepping on the accelerator (in the gasoline engines you can start the engine immediately after starting, in the diesel engines, wait a few seconds before starting to move).
Use the first gear just to start. It changes to second speed at 2 seconds or 6 meters approximately.
Start driving slowly (20 km / h in 5 seconds to save 11 percent fuel) and avoid abrupt acceleration.
5. Keep uniform speed
Keep the speed as even as possible, look for fluidity in the circulation, avoiding unnecessary braking, acceleration and shifts. To decelerate, lift the foot of the accelerator and let the vehicle roll with the gear in that moment. It brakes smoothly with the brake pedal and reduces gear as late as possible, with special attention to the downhill.
Driving at more than 20 km / h with an inserted gear, if you do not step on the throttle, the fuel consumption is zero. Instead, at idle, the car consumes between 0.5 and 0.7 liters / hour.
6. Do not keep engine idle
At long stops, it is advisable to switch off the engine. An idling engine for 10 minutes (in neutral and with the air conditioner disconnected) consumes 0.13 l / 100 km of gasoline.
7. A/C use
Use the air conditioner only when necessary.
When the outside temperature is 25º C, air conditioning reduces gas consumption by 12 percent. In the city, opening the windows (when doing so is safe) is more efficient than using the air conditioning.
However, the opposite occurs when driving at higher speeds, due to the higher air resistance.
8. Use engine braking
If you release the accelerator when you realize that you have to brake, the fuel supply stops, resulting in a 2 percent increase in fuel efficiency.
Always drive with an adequate safety distance and a wide field of vision that allows you to see two or three vehicles ahead.
9. Gear shift at low revs
Optimizes gear shifting as much as possible. Circulate as long as possible in the longest relationships and at low revolutions (in the city, whenever possible, use the 4th or 5th gear, respecting speed limits).
On paper, the torque of a diesel car advises to change gears between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm. In the case of gasoline the optimal moment is between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm. If your car does not have rev counter, speed can serve as a reference. Thus, we will insert the third speed from 30 km / h, the fourth when we reach 40 km / h, the fifth when driving at 50 km / h and the sixth speed, in case the car has it, from the 60 km / h.
10. Take advantage from the descents
The descents allow you to take advantage of them to save on gasoline consumption. Take advantage of the inertia to advance the gearshift at low revs.
In the climbs, it delays to the maximum reduction of gear, increasing the pressure on the accelerator, although never treading thoroughly.
