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Managed to save £12/week average on fuel.
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WatchenDasBlinkenLichten
Posts: 5 Forumite
in Motoring
I thought I'd share some of the cost cutting methods I've recently attempted in order to reduce my weekly petrol bills.
I travel on average 370 miles per week by car, driving a 1600cc petrol Vauxhall Astra, at which I calculated was returning 37.5mpg (calculation based on 4 weeks of normal driving in the month of April). My weekly fuel bill during this month was always between £47 and £50, where I'd fill up the car at the same petrol station and at the same time every week.
After speaking about trying to reduce fuel costs with a friend, we came up with the idea of trying a new economy experiment every week in order to determine the potential savings that could be made with each progressive measure, here are my findings:
Week 1: Reducing motorway speeds.
My daily commute to work is a 70 mile round trip, which is 90% motorway miles. My usual driving habit was to cruise at between 80 and 85mph, perhaps the average motorway speed for a lot of us. My limit for the first week was to be the actual speed limit of 70mph, which I managed to stick to probably 95% of the time (occassionally straying over, but not by far).
The result of this was a fuel bill of just £45, which arguably maybe coincidental due to other factors, but it was however the lowest bill I'd had for several weeks, and other factors such as distances travelled etc, were pretty much the same as most weeks on the road.
Week 2: Reducing urban speeds and heavy acceleration/deceleration
Attempting to drive in a more economical style, as in planning ahead, not needlessly accelerating between red lights etc, not revving engine over 3000rpm, always trying to drive in highest gear possible + all the other economy driving styles you care to think of.
Result, combined with Week1 method, was a fuel bill of £43, (Another £2 saving, despite a litre of petol going up 2p that week!)
Week 3: Emptying car of unnecessary weight
Yet another obvious method we hear of. When it came to emptying my car, it was carrying 2 squash rackets, a snooker cue, heavy road atlas, sports bag and a few autotrader magazines. The combined weight was quite a bit more than I thought it would be, so of course all these items had to go, leaving my boot completely empty, which in turn made me think, parcel shelf....don't require that either, must weigh a few kilos.
Anyway, combined with the Week1 and Week2 methods, the next fuel bill was £41, this was however a week where I drove about 5 miles less than the previous week, however I like to think the weight saving contributed to the lower price
Week 4: Inflate tires to their correct levels
So after my £41 weekly fill up, I used the tire inflator machine at the petrol station (which cost a whole 10p, so much for free air!). Only one of my tires was more than 3 psi under the recommended level as mentioned in my car manual, however all were slightly under inflated.
I was hoping that the next fuel bill would go under the £40 target I was aiming for, and to my delight it did by a whole £2!!!. So already I'd reduced my weekly bill my approximately a tenner, from £47+ down to £38, things were going well, considering over the four week period fuel prices had risen a few pence per litre.
Week 5: Reduce unnecessary milage
I came up with two journeys I would reguarly make every week by car, that could infact be made by bike or walking, the first was a 2 mile round trip to a football centre (journey made once per week), and the other was the journey from work to the gym, approx 1 mile round trip (journey made twice per week).
Week 5, these journeys were made by walking instead of using the car, luckily the weather was great :cool:
My actual milage was 15 miles less than the previous week, this was a combination of the journeys mentioned above and other errands that were possible to do without the car. Fuel bill for this week, using all economy saving methods mentioned was £36!!!
This weeks experiment is slip-streaming
This weeks experiment is to follow those big articulated lorries on the motorway, to see if the reduction in air resistance will make any significant differences. Also of course, the speeds will be reduced down to 60mph or less which I've learnt is the optimum speed to travel regarding mpg.
Conclusion.
Over the past 2 weeks, my bill has on average been £12 less than before starting the experiments (despite price per litre increases), this could amount to at least a £500 per annum saving. My friend who has been doing the same and similar experiments has had greater success, he has been saving around £17 per week (he drives about 30% more miles than myself).
More money saving ideas with respect to car fuel economy can be found all over the internet. Try looking at http://www.petrolprices.com for more ideas on fuel savings, this website includes a list of local petrol stations to your postcode, listing the cheapest places etc.
Any of you guys got anymore ideas, other than getting a more economical car???
I travel on average 370 miles per week by car, driving a 1600cc petrol Vauxhall Astra, at which I calculated was returning 37.5mpg (calculation based on 4 weeks of normal driving in the month of April). My weekly fuel bill during this month was always between £47 and £50, where I'd fill up the car at the same petrol station and at the same time every week.
After speaking about trying to reduce fuel costs with a friend, we came up with the idea of trying a new economy experiment every week in order to determine the potential savings that could be made with each progressive measure, here are my findings:
Week 1: Reducing motorway speeds.
My daily commute to work is a 70 mile round trip, which is 90% motorway miles. My usual driving habit was to cruise at between 80 and 85mph, perhaps the average motorway speed for a lot of us. My limit for the first week was to be the actual speed limit of 70mph, which I managed to stick to probably 95% of the time (occassionally straying over, but not by far).
The result of this was a fuel bill of just £45, which arguably maybe coincidental due to other factors, but it was however the lowest bill I'd had for several weeks, and other factors such as distances travelled etc, were pretty much the same as most weeks on the road.
Week 2: Reducing urban speeds and heavy acceleration/deceleration
Attempting to drive in a more economical style, as in planning ahead, not needlessly accelerating between red lights etc, not revving engine over 3000rpm, always trying to drive in highest gear possible + all the other economy driving styles you care to think of.
Result, combined with Week1 method, was a fuel bill of £43, (Another £2 saving, despite a litre of petol going up 2p that week!)
Week 3: Emptying car of unnecessary weight
Yet another obvious method we hear of. When it came to emptying my car, it was carrying 2 squash rackets, a snooker cue, heavy road atlas, sports bag and a few autotrader magazines. The combined weight was quite a bit more than I thought it would be, so of course all these items had to go, leaving my boot completely empty, which in turn made me think, parcel shelf....don't require that either, must weigh a few kilos.
Anyway, combined with the Week1 and Week2 methods, the next fuel bill was £41, this was however a week where I drove about 5 miles less than the previous week, however I like to think the weight saving contributed to the lower price
Week 4: Inflate tires to their correct levels
So after my £41 weekly fill up, I used the tire inflator machine at the petrol station (which cost a whole 10p, so much for free air!). Only one of my tires was more than 3 psi under the recommended level as mentioned in my car manual, however all were slightly under inflated.
I was hoping that the next fuel bill would go under the £40 target I was aiming for, and to my delight it did by a whole £2!!!. So already I'd reduced my weekly bill my approximately a tenner, from £47+ down to £38, things were going well, considering over the four week period fuel prices had risen a few pence per litre.
Week 5: Reduce unnecessary milage
I came up with two journeys I would reguarly make every week by car, that could infact be made by bike or walking, the first was a 2 mile round trip to a football centre (journey made once per week), and the other was the journey from work to the gym, approx 1 mile round trip (journey made twice per week).
Week 5, these journeys were made by walking instead of using the car, luckily the weather was great :cool:
My actual milage was 15 miles less than the previous week, this was a combination of the journeys mentioned above and other errands that were possible to do without the car. Fuel bill for this week, using all economy saving methods mentioned was £36!!!
This weeks experiment is slip-streaming
This weeks experiment is to follow those big articulated lorries on the motorway, to see if the reduction in air resistance will make any significant differences. Also of course, the speeds will be reduced down to 60mph or less which I've learnt is the optimum speed to travel regarding mpg.
Conclusion.
Over the past 2 weeks, my bill has on average been £12 less than before starting the experiments (despite price per litre increases), this could amount to at least a £500 per annum saving. My friend who has been doing the same and similar experiments has had greater success, he has been saving around £17 per week (he drives about 30% more miles than myself).
More money saving ideas with respect to car fuel economy can be found all over the internet. Try looking at http://www.petrolprices.com for more ideas on fuel savings, this website includes a list of local petrol stations to your postcode, listing the cheapest places etc.
Any of you guys got anymore ideas, other than getting a more economical car???
Matt. :money:
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Comments
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WatchenDasBlinkenLichten wrote: »This weeks experiment is slip-streaming
This weeks experiment is to follow those big articulated lorries on the motorway, to see if the reduction in air resistance will make any significant differences. Also of course, the speeds will be reduced down to 60mph or less which I've learnt is the optimum speed to travel regarding mpg.
One comment on an otherwise very useful post: I'd advise some caution with slipstreaming - I tried it a good few years ago. It works (very well), but you have to get uncomfortably close to the truck in front. Your view ahead is seriously restricted, and you don't have enough braking distance. Combine this with the fact that you've probably got another truck right behind you, it's not a place you want to be if there's an accident.
If you further reduce your speed from 70 to 60, that will make a significant dent in the fuel bill, whilst still keeping you ahead of anything limited to 56mph.
If you lend someone a tenner and never see them again, it was probably worth it.0 -
I'm with mrbadexample, slipstreaming is incredibly dangerous. You'll save plenty if you just cut your speed to 60mph instead of 70mph.It's my problem, it's my problem
If I feel the need to hide
And it's my problem if I have no friends
And feel I want to die0 -
The problem with driving at 60 is that whenever you overtake the lorries it will take longer to get past them. Which means that you'll have a stream of cars tailgating you. You will then feel obliged to move back to lane 1 as soon as you've passed the lorry and this means that the lorry will be slipstreaming/tailgating you for longer than you may think. Many drivers incorrectly believe that the 2 second gap is regained in a few seconds. Also the speed differential is not big enough to make up for this lack of 2 second gap.
So is it best to speed up to 70 for the overtakes then slow back down to 60, or is it best to drive at 70 all the time?0 -
you could try a couple of psi over the minimum tyre pressure setting...ive seen sites that suggest using 80% of the fully loaded pressure
ive been considering leaving the spare wheel at home for local trips , could save a fair amount of weight that way, as long as you have family that could bring the spare out if you get a flat0 -
I think you have done very well there and I don't think you will improve by much more.
I would be interested to see what happens if you use 98 RON super unleaded or something like BP Ultimate. Most cars self adjust for up to 98 RON fuel which should result in better MPG, but the higher cost of the fuel may mean you either break even or loose out. Since you interested in experimenting it is something else you could try out.
In the winter I found parking the car in the garage over night (if you can) improved mpg by a significant 5% over a 35 minute commute on my diesel (takes longer to warm up than a petrol) because the engine and oil starts out warmer (and therefore the oil thinner) so gets up to operating temperature sooner using less fuel. This also reduces engine wear a little.0 -
Thats some interesting info. Could I suggest one improvement though - it might be better to measure how many litres of fuel you used rather than how much you spent. Petrol seems to go up weekly so you might have actually made more savings in terms of the amount of petrol used then the weekly spend suggests.0
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That's a good point about the garage. Mine however, is full of stuff....!
But it will make a good difference. I noticed something similar, but it only became apparent when I converted to LPG. Over winter, I was driving the same journeys' as now, but I was putting in far more petrol in Jan / feb to April / May / June.
The car starts in petrol mode and goes across to gas at a set temparature. The difference has been quite surprising and shows just how much more fuel is used on auto choke on those cold mornings.
It's almost a good enough incentive to de-clutter!!0 -
I agree with most of what the OP has written, and also agree that weight is the enemy of performance and economy.
How much do you think that lot weighted? Say it was 20KG and an Astra is about 1,100KG. You've removed 2% of the weight of the car and I'd not expect economy to improve by any more than that, which is about £1 on £50.it was carrying 2 squash rackets, a snooker cue, heavy road atlas, sports
bag and a few autotrader magazines.
So, your prinicple is correct, but I'd say the apparent improvement seen is because there will be a spread on your experimental results due to loads of other factors.
Anyway, reducing cruise speed will improve mpg. Personally I'm a big advocate of not using the brakes and planning ahead so that you can pretty much slow down just by using engine overrun.Happy chappy0 -
how about finding what oil it has in it? using the thinnest oil the handbook reccomends might offer some savings?0
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mrbadexample wrote: »One comment on an otherwise very useful post: I'd advise some caution with slipstreaming - I tried it a good few years ago. It works (very well), but you have to get uncomfortably close to the truck in front. Your view ahead is seriously restricted, and you don't have enough braking distance. Combine this with the fact that you've probably got another truck right behind you, it's not a place you want to be if there's an accident.
Yeah I totally agree with that opinion, I probably exaggerated the fact that I have been "slip-streaming", I've only really been following at a timed gap of between 1.5 - 2 seconds, however the driving experience for me is not very nice, just staring at a big truck and as you mentioned the lack of visibility, I much prefer having a more open view of the road, so what I plan to do is to continue until my weekly fuel fill on Tuesday, just to see the results of the test, then I shall almost certainly go back to driving in the open.steveo3002 wrote: »ive been considering leaving the spare wheel at home for local trips , could save a fair amount of weight that way, as long as you have family that could bring the spare out if you get a flat
Yeah, I was also considering leaving the spare wheel out of the car, it must weigh at least 25 kilos, however it is reassuring to me knowing it is in the car if I do get a puncture, the idea of being stranded somewhere with a flat isn't a nice one!I think you have done very well there and I don't think you will improve by much more.
I would be interested to see what happens if you use 98 RON super unleaded or something like BP Ultimate
I was always under the impression that those fuels were really meant for performance engines, not for run of the mill Astra type engines, but I would be interested to see if the improved mpg would result in a saving, although somehow I doubt it, I think the super unleaded at the Morrisons petrol station that I use is about 15p per litre more than standard unleaded. Also, interesting point about keeping a diesel car in the garage over Winter, I'll remember that tip when I get my next diesel car.tomstickland wrote: »How much do you think that lot weighted? Say it was 20KG and an Astra is about 1,100KG. You've removed 2% of the weight of the car and I'd not expect economy to improve by any more than that, which is about £1 on £50.
Anyway, reducing cruise speed will improve mpg. Personally I'm a big advocate of not using the brakes and planning ahead so that you can pretty much slow down just by using engine overrun.
I should think that 20 kilos is about right, the heaviest item was obviously the parcel shelf which in itself probably weighed 5-10 kilos. The fact that most of the items are needlessly there on some of the trips definitely means that it makes perfect sense to remove them when necessary.
Yeah, the past few years I've been driving with the style of planning ahead, not to use the brakes until absolutely required philosophy (when in traffic), however until recently if I wasn't in traffic I'd be driving too fast and accelerating quickly to a point that was totally uneconomical, I suppose it's because I have a low boredom threshold and I enjoy the open road etc etc. I try and play the brake game in traffic and on the motorway, if you brake you lose, crashing is somewhat more likely though :rotfl:steveo3002 wrote: »how about finding what oil it has in it? using the thinnest oil the handbook reccomends might offer some savings?
Hmmm, come to think of it, I put some real cheap oil in, think maybe Tescos' own brand, I'll ask my Uncle about this, he's a mechanic.Matt. :money:0
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