Automobile Association of Malaysia

STRIVING FOR GREATER MILEAGE

SLOW DOWN
One of the best ways to save petrol is to reduce your speed. As speed increases, fuel economy
decreases exponentially.

CHECK YOUR TYRE PRESSURE
Under-inflated tyres are one of the most commonly ignored causes of crummy mileage. Tyres lose air due to time (about 1 psi per month) and temperature (1 psi for every 10 degree drop); under-inflated tyres have more rolling resistance, which means you need to burn fuel to keep your car moving. Buy a reliable tyre pressure gauge and check your tyres at least once a month. Be sure to check them when they are cold, since driving the car warms up the tyres along with the air inside them, which increases pressure and gives a falsely high reading. Use the inflation pressures shown in the owner’s manual or on the data plate at the driver’s door area.

CHECK YOUR AIR FILTER
A dirty air filter restricts the flow of air into the engine, which harms performance and economy. Air filters are easy to check and change; remove the filter and hold it up to the sun. If you can’t see light coming through it, you need a new one. Consider a permanent or washable filter which is cleaned rather than changed; they are much less restrictive than throw-away paper filters, plus they’re better for the environment. Clogged air filters can cause up to a 10 percent increase in fuel consumption.

ACCELERATE WITH CARE
Jack-rabbit starts are an obvious fuel-waster - but that doesn’t mean you should crawl away from every light. If you drive an automatic, accelerate moderately so the transmission can shift up into the higher gears. Stick-shifters should shift early to keep the revs down, but don’t lug the engine - downshift if you need to accelerate.

HANG WITH THE TRUCKS
Ever notice how, in bad traffic jams, cars seem to constantly speed up and slow down, while trucks tend to roll along at the same leisurely pace? A constant speed keeps shifting to a minimum -- important to those who have to wrangle with those ten-speed truck transmissions -- but it also aids economy, as

PACE YOUR DRIVING
It takes much more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving. Keep an eye well down the road for potential slowdowns. If you accelerate to speed then have to brake right away, that’s wasted fuel.

GET BACK TO NATURE
Consider shutting off the air conditioner, opening the windows and enjoying the breeze. It may be slightly warmer, but at lower speeds you’ll save fuel.

WINDOWS UP
Having the windows down at high speeds creates aerodynamic drag that causes an engine to work harder. On the highway, this can decrease fuel economy by up to 10 percent.

WHEEL & TYRE SIZES
New wheels and tyres may look cool, and they can certainly improve handling. But if they are wider than the stock tyres, chances are they’ll create more rolling resistance and decrease fuel economy. If you upgrade your wheels and tyres, keep the old ones. For long road trips, the stock wheels give a smoother ride and better economy.

CLEAN OUT YOUR CAR
Go through your car and remove excess weight or items that you don’t require having in the vehicle. The more weight your car has to lug around, the more fuel it burns. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk reduces a typical car’s fuel economy by one to two percent

DOWNSIZE
If you’re shopping for a new car, it’s time to reevaluate how much car you really need. Smaller cars are inherently more fuel-efficient, and today’s small cars are roomier than ever.

DON’T DRIVE
Take the train, carpool, and consolidate your shopping trips. Walking or biking is good for your wallet and your health. And before you get in your car, always ask yourself: “Is this trip really necessary?”

MAINTAIN YOUR CAR
Keep your engine well tuned. Poorly tuned engines can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10 to 20 percent depending on a car’s condition. Follow the recommended maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual; you’ll save fuel and your car will run better and last longer. Change your engine oil. Clean engine oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine. Change your oil as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

USE OVERDRIVE GEARS
Overdrive gears improve the fuel economy of your car during highway driving. Your car’s engine speed decreases when you use overdrive. This reduces both fuel consumption and engine wear.

ANTICIPATE DRIVING SITUATIONS
If you anticipate traffic conditions and don’t tailgate, you can avoid unnecessary braking and acceleration, and improve your fuel economy by 5 to 10 percent. In city driving, nearly 50 percent of the energy needed to power your car goes to acceleration.

AVOID UNNECESSARY IDLING
Turn off the engine if you anticipate a lengthy wait. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money and pollutes the air.

COMBINING ERRANDS
Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.

LEAVE EARLY
Leave early for appointments and take a safe and slow drive. We are often guilty of rushing for appointments, choosing to make up for lost time on the road which is extremely dangerous and with today’s fuel prices, simply uneconomical.

SHARING VEHICLES
Carpool if you can or if the nature of your job permits you to do so.

FILL UP WITH ALOWER-OCTANE PETROL
Buy the lowest grade or octane petrol that is appropriate for your car. Unless your car requires premium fuel, filling up your car with high-octane fuel is a waste of money. That pricy premium fuel won’t boost your car’s fuel economy or performance in the least, so skip it.

DON’T TOP OFF
Don’t top off when filling your car’s fuel tank. Any additional petrol is just going to slop around or seep out. Why waste your money paying for petrol your car won’t use? Stop pumping at the first indication that your tank is full when the automatic nozzle clicks off.

TIGHTEN UP THAT FUEL LID CAP
Fuel will evaporate from your car’s fuel tank if it has an escape. Avoid a loose, missing or damaged fuel cap. Be sure to tighten up that fuel cap each time you fuel up your car.

PARK IN THE SHADE
The hot sun that makes the inside of your car feel like a sauna and also zaps fuel from your fuel tank. So park your car in the shade of a building or tree whenever possible.

AVOIDING RUSH HOUR
Not only is stop-and-go traffic stressful and annoying, it’s bad for your car’s fuel economy. So if you can, avoid driving during rush hour. Leave for work earlier and try to commute at less busy times of the day.

REMOVING THE ROOF RACK
A loaded roof rack increases your car’s air drag and can pull down your car’s mileage by 5 percent. Avoid carrying items on your car’s roof whenever possible.

MONITORING YOUR FUEL CONSUMPTION
It’s a good idea to start monitoring the amount of fuel you use every week or month. Write it down and track the vehicle’s fuel consumption over a period of three to four months. This is a key indicator that will help you to identify how and where you can save later.

UNDERSTANDING WIND RESISTANCE
The power to overcome air/wind resistance increases with speed. Because air resistance increases so rapidly with speeds above 48 km/h, it becomes a dominant limiting factor. Driving at 72km/h rather than 105 km/h, results in about one-third the power to overcome wind resistance, or about one half the energy, and much greater fuel economy can be achieved. Increasing speed to 145 km/h from 105 km/h increases the power requirement by 2.6 times, the energy by 1.9 times, and drastically decreases fuel economy.

WARMING UP YOUR ENGINE
Don’t warm up your vehicle for more than 30 seconds. Thanks to technology, most modern fuel-injected cars only really need 30 seconds to warm. WHEN TO FUEL UP Fill up on cool mornings or evenings. Fuel is denser when cold. Fuel pumps measure by volume, so if you pump when it’s cold, you get more fuel for your buck.