FabSwingers.com forum: What changes can you make to your driving style to save petrol?.

By *UNCHBOX OP Man
over a year ago

folkestone

What are the ways that you change the way you drive that will save you the most petrol?.

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By *iewMan
Forum Mod
over a year ago

Angus & Findhorn

leave in garage and get the bus

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

i only use the superbike now and then as i only get around 70 miles out of a full tank.

but the other bike i use all the time and get around 200 miles for my £18.

when i bought the thing last year i could fill it up for £14.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Steal a bus and make a few bob on your way

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By *umpkinMan
over a year ago

near the sounds of the wimborne quarter jack!

[Removed by poster at 11/01/11 20:24:54]

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

dont drive round with a full tank takes more petrol to move also take anything out of boot that you dont need again all extra weight

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Remove Roof racks and Roof Luggage they kill your Fuel consumption

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By *adcowWoman
over a year ago

kirkcaldy

drive in highest gear possible , check tyre pressures are correct, and the obvious - don't welly it

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By *arambarMan
over a year ago

swindon

Don't worry about it - just syphon petrol out of your neighbours' cars in the middle of the night whilst they're asleep and put it into your's.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

limit your speed to say 70 and short shift where possible, ie keep your revs below 2500 rpm when going through the box. also keep tyres at correct pressure.

dont drive to the shops if you can walk.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

love this kind of forum lol - saving money is good - but - how much money did we save burning hours of Elecric on the xmas lights ?? hhmm

please dont do the 50 mph save fuel stuff along the motorway - or im coming around to switch your telly off at 9pm lol xxx

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

walk

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Steal a bus and make a few bob on your way

we tried that but he pinches a 32 and we had to walk miles from the bus stop...he should have pinched an 18!!

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By *urreyfun2008Man
over a year ago

East Grinstead

"please dont do the 50 mph save fuel stuff along the motorway - or im coming around to switch your telly off at 9pm lol xxx

No need can do 65mpg if I hold a steady 70mph.

And no its not a roller skate with a petrol tank.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Steal a bus and make a few bob on your way

we tried that but he pinches a 32 and we had to walk miles from the bus stop...he should have pinched an 18!!"

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"What are the ways that you change the way you drive that will save you the most petrol?. "

swap for a diesel

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Cadge lifts off everyone. Or steal my son's diesel car.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"i only use the superbike now and then as i only get around 70 miles out of a full tank.

but the other bike i use all the time and get around 200 miles for my £18.

when i bought the thing last year i could fill it up for £14.

One of my Bikes does about 22mpg if ridden in Hooligan mode and not much more if riden sensibly and don't get me started on how long the Tyres last, love it though and if I was worried about Fuel I would get a Piggy back off one of the Green Party

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By *heWolfMan
over a year ago

warwickshire

"What are the ways that you change the way you drive that will save you the most petrol?.

swap for a diesel"

And then use Red Diesel because road diesel is dearer at the pump than unleaded.

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By *histler21Man
over a year ago

Ipswich

I've used public transport to get to work and back for the last two and a bit years (~50 miles each way).

Car: stress free in general. Can have the music I like at whatever volume I like. I 'save' 2 hours a day travelling.

Public: It's green-ish. I can claim part of the cost of my fare back when the trains are late. I can hafve a snooze and read my Kindle books.

Overall costs are similar for the car and public transport. My car has done nearly 160k miles - so depreciation isn't an issue.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Don't worry about it - just syphon petrol out of your neighbours' cars in the middle of the night whilst they're asleep and put it into your's."

some wanker was doing that by using a drill to empty peoples tanks.

how dangerous it is to do that. just one spark and the whole lot would have gone up.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Find out at what rev range your car produces most torque and use the gears to sit at around that figure.

My freelander is at around 1800 to 2000 revs, so if I stick to that I get around 40mpg, go to 2500 revs it goes down to around 36.

Anticipate the road ahead, keep a distance from the car infront, means you dont have to brake, slow down as much if they slow down. At red lights, slow down well before the red light, so hopefully your still moving a little as the turn green.

If its a diesel, buy your fuel first thing in the morning when its really cold, you get slightly more for your money (so I read)

Tyre pressures, make sure they are dead on all the time

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By *layfullsamMan
over a year ago

Solihull

only drive to destinations that are down hill and then for the return journey fake a problem with your car and get the recovery services to tow you home

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"What are the ways that you change the way you drive that will save you the most petrol?.

swap for a diesel

And then use Red Diesel because road diesel is dearer at the pump than unleaded."

you get far more miles out of a litre of diesel and in the summer it does not evaporate in the taknk like petrol

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Buy a bicycle

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By *umpkinMan
over a year ago

near the sounds of the wimborne quarter jack!

And then use Red Diesel because road diesel is dearer at the pump than unleaded."

And be prepared for HM C&E to take your wheels off you if they catch you!

Don`t think you can get away with chemicals that remove the colour because the same chemicals don`t remove the carrier that the colour needs and this can still be detected!

Also, red diesel actually has a lower cetane value to regular diesel and has less lubricating qualities too! It is simply not white diesel with some colour added, it is an inferior fuel

I had huge problems with a tractor fitted with common rail injection equipment. When used on red diesel, it would get a regular missfire and needed an additive to stop it.

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By *bfoxxxMan
over a year ago

Crete or LANCASTER

Sell it and get a diesel. 50mpg no problem.

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By *bfoxxxMan
over a year ago

Crete or LANCASTER

Hello, hello, hello!

Seem to know a lot about it . . .

Or do you ?

Given that any plant or machinery can legally use red, as can motor boats and yachts, why should it be in any way inferior ?

You could spend £1-10 million on a Sunseeker, or hundreds of thousands on diggers, cranes, tractors, you are not going f*** up the engine by saving e few pence a liter on fuel. Some of the big stuff can burn £5grands worth a day at full speed.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

buy fuel in the morning the molecular structure of the fuel is "tighter" therefore u get more fuel for ur money if u have cruise control or speed limiters use them to as far as possible, u can always cut into the fuel like and make a copp;er coil wrapped round the rad pipe to preheatthe fuel thus expanding the molecules this shud give u as above an extra 10 miles to the gallon approx mail me if u want to kno more lol

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By *athnBobCouple
over a year ago

sandwell

Buy an older diesel and run it on veg oil/biodiesel. Currently about 90p a litre

Even better if you know a chip shop owner make your own Bio. If you get the oil for free its about 10p/ltr

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By *-and-KCouple
over a year ago

Back of Beyond

I must be the king of fuel economy. Last summer managed to drive from Paris to Hull on one tank of fuel 450 miles.

Mind you the Picasso was sort of running on thin air when we got home

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By *harpDressed ManMan
over a year ago

Here occasionally, but mostly somewhere else

It's known as "hypermiling" and there are websites dedicated to it. From what I remember....

- accelerate gently.

- anticipate the need to slow down and do it by not accelerating, as opposed to braking, wherever possible.

- coast down hills

- drive along the white lines (they're less resistant than the road surface.

- make your car as aerodynamic as possible.

- make your car as light as possible (drive naked!)

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By *urreyfun2008Man
over a year ago

East Grinstead

Turn the air conditioner off, and reduce drag by having windows closed.

On the coasting - on modern cars if coasting the full supply is effectively cut off from the engine, i.e. in gear but no input from accelerator, the momentum down the hill keeps the engine turning.

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By *etillanteWoman
over a year ago

My car has the facility to show how many miles you can do on the amount of petrol you have in the tank.

When I fill up it usually says around 350. But after driving carefully and making use of the cruise control I can get around 500 miles. It's good fun watching the mileage creep up

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I dont worry about I just drive it.. As the car I have at minute does over 25mpg I dont worry about it to much.

I think my driving style doesnt suit conserving fuel.. lol

I know that being smooth with driving is meant to help.. I do try to never actually come to a complete standstill.

Mpg doesnt really worry me though..

Katie.x

ps to those getting 500 miles to a tank.. what are you driving.. lol I vary from 300-350 and its only a zafira. ( I got about 200-250 out the scooby or v6 alfa, or less if erm driving enthusiastically)

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"What are the ways that you change the way you drive that will save you the most petrol?. "

Slow down, break as little as possible but still stay safe so leave bigger gaps and be light with the right pedal.

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By *eppersCouple
over a year ago

telford

And the one thing I've not read so far is have your cars tracking done regularly, you can lose 10- 15 miles per gallon by your tracking being 1 degree out,not to mention tyre wear.

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By *umpkinMan
over a year ago

near the sounds of the wimborne quarter jack!

"Hello, hello, hello!

Seem to know a lot about it . . .

Or do you ?

Given that any plant or machinery can legally use red, as can motor boats and yachts, why should it be in any way inferior ?

Because there was hundreds of complaints from British farmers getting back to John Deere in Germany when common rail engines were introduced. The reason John Deere got into this problem was because gas oil is not used as an engine fuel in Germany. Even a female landscaping student my firm employed told me what the answer was when I told her I was having problems. Also, plant engines generally tend to run at much lower speeds than automotive engines so the reduction in speed is less of an issue on the lubrication front.

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By *urreyfun2008Man
over a year ago

East Grinstead

"ps to those getting 500 miles to a tank.. what are you driving.. lol I vary from 300-350 and its only a zafira. ( I got about 200-250 out the scooby or v6 alfa, or less if erm driving enthusiastically)"

Previous 1.6 petrol Golf got 550 to a tank, the Audi A3 1.9 TDI manages 800 to a tank. On a longer journey with steady motorway speeds can rise to 900 miles on a tank. Oh and only £35 a year road tax. The range is not due to a massive tank it is 55 litre (12 gallon)

The same engine is available without audi pricing on Polo/Golf (Bluemotion range).

There is even a BMW with 2.0l that does 0-60 in under 10sec, but better consumption than my car. BMW 320ED retain price is a little high and don't need a car that size.

The current efficient diesel engines mean good economy does not have to mean a dinky car.

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By *etillanteWoman
over a year ago

Err I drive a Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 and regularly get 500 miles to the tank

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By *urreyfun2008Man
over a year ago

East Grinstead

Err I drive a Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 and regularly get 500 miles to the tank"

And tank size is?

With the cost of fuel, it is almost worth re-costing the weekly shop, i.e. do a big one less often, and pick up little bits from local shops, saving on petrol. Even better if you can walk to the corner shop, 10p extra on a pint of milk is nothing compared to cost of driving for even just 2 miles.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Err I drive a Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 and regularly get 500 miles to the tank"

we drive a 2litre diesel vectra and get over 500 miles on a tankfull,one of the most economic cars we have ever driven hence keeping it for another year!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

[Removed by poster at 12/01/11 18:17:44]

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By *eppersCouple
over a year ago

telford

We got 1.6hdi diesel citreon c4 grand picasso, never filled the tank in it, as have had no need yet but reqularly get 55mpg we go to N.Wales alot 120mile there and back on 20quid of diesel, shame it won't run on bioderv as with all new german models.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

got "pug 3008 crossover"

hubby gets 50-60 miles to the gallon - and his foot is not very light - especially when every time he has to overtake someone trying to break the world record for fuel efficent driving..

why is now common to get stuck behind someone doing 45 in a 60 zone !!!!

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By *umourCouple
over a year ago

Rushden

"There is even a BMW with 2.0D that does 0-60 in under 10sec, but better consumption than my car. BMW 320ED retain price is a little high and don't need a car that size."

We have one of those and the actual stated 0-62 is 7.8sec. But if we use cruise control and fill the tank, we can drive from Calais to Cap D'Agde on one tank (about 650 miles)and use about 12 gallons! That is at 130kph (81mph) At 70, we can get around 58

It is more expensive to buy, but retains way more of it's value than the normal fare after 3 years

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"What are the ways that you change the way you drive that will save you the most petrol?. "

By ditching the car all together and getting a bike

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By *umourCouple
over a year ago

Rushden

Actaully, many years ago when we all used to fit aftermarket parts to our cars, I fitted a vaccuum gauge. It was marked with a red, orange and green section. Red was bad consumption and green was good. It was fantastic for driving economically.

Mrs R has a Beemer and they still fit vaccuum gauges as a rough guide to fuel economy alongside the electronic computer. When I drive her car, I find myself trying to keep the needle as far up the scale as possible.

Believe me, when you see the guage go right down to almost zero on acceleration, it kinda focuses the mind a bit! (That and 9 points!)

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By *icknDeeCouple
over a year ago

hartlepool

lol, I don't even think about how many (few) miles to the gallon my car does.

On the trip from Hartlepool to Aberdeen (260 miles) one tank gets me to Dundee, then I have to fill up again. That gets me from Dundee to Aberdeen and back, then another fill up for Dundee to Hartlepool.

3 Tank fulls to do 520 miles

Still, wouldn't like to walk.

Dees car on the other hand will go there and back and still have 1/3 tank of diesel left.

Mike

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

See...

If all you drivers had got a reliant robin...you wouldnt be having this debate about expensive cars to run..

And...

You would have dont your bit to keep the factory open.

Tamworths never been the same without them

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By *ashful BazMan
over a year ago

poole dorset

"See...

If all you drivers had got a reliant robin...you wouldnt be having this debate about expensive cars to run..

And...

You would have dont your bit to keep the factory open.

Tamworths never been the same without them

Lol

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By *stwoCouple
over a year ago

anywhere

wont change anything.we dont do a big mileage.

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By *umourCouple
over a year ago

Rushden

"wont change anything.we dont do a big mileage."

Perfectly understandable attitude to take. I on the other hand do quite big mileage. My business involves about 35000 miles a year and we also travel by car to the South of France at least once a year, so anything I can do to save money pays a big bonus.

That is one of the reasons we got rid of our other motors and bought two diesel cars. Yes we could get one of those tin boxes like a Yaris or one of those peugot things, but to be honest, it just aint worth it for a real time extra 4 to 8 mpg, coupled with having to drive long distances in a cramped and uncomfortable car.

Like everything in life, if you do everything to a price rather than what you want, whether it is food, transport or call girls, it just doesn't work!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"What are the ways that you change the way you drive that will save you the most petrol?. "

Ride a bike.

Tony

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By *ezebelWoman
over a year ago

North of The Wall - youll need your vest

In India Ive regularly been in taxis where they turn the headlights off at night to save fuel

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