Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
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Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!

Many people often regret buying a cheap used car later on. Fuel consumption turns out to be surprisingly high, making the obvious benefit a costly affair. There are many ways to influence this and significantly reduce costs. Read this article all about reducing your car's fuel consumption.

Fuel Economy: Awareness Helps

Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!

The first thing to do is accurately measure the vehicle's fuel consumption. It's very simple: fill up the car and drive a few hundred kilometers. Then fill it out again. When refueling the vehicle, stop as soon as the fuel dispenser switches off automatically.

Shaking the car in an attempt to add more fuel is not only useless, but also dangerous. After refueling, divide the amount of fuel added by the number of miles driven and multiply the result by one hundred. The greater the distance traveled, the more accurate the result will be.

The more variable the driving conditions – rural, urban, motorway – the more relevant the resulting value becomes for total vehicle operating costs. . The resulting value should be compared with the average consumption by vehicle type. You should not only trust the manufacturer's data, but also ask other users about fuel consumption. The advice received is very useful in relation to your own car.

First steps

Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!

Assuming the fuel consumption is too high , you have several options. Each measure is more or less effective. In general, you can reduce your gasoline or diesel consumption by more than 50%, by doing the following:

1. weight loss
2. general maintenance
3. change in driving style
4. technical measures

Every ounce must be fed

Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!

Increasing the weight of the car requires fuel. Therefore, the first and simplest measure to reduce fuel consumption is disassemble the car . Anything that is not absolutely necessary should be removed. You can combine this with a thorough interior cleaning to make driving a lot more enjoyable.

Save fuel to the limit, by all means go even further: an extra rear or passenger seat is also extra weight . The spare wheel can be replaced with a lightweight repair kit. If the hitch is removable, it makes no sense to leave it on the car all the time. Ultimately, intelligent fuel management can make a car much lighter.

Diesel and fuel weigh approximately 750 - 850 grams per litre.

With a tank volume of 40 liters, this is 30-35 kg for fuel only. Filling the tank only a third saves another 20 kg of weight. Of course, you will need to restock more often.

Further steps to reduce fuel consumption

Internal combustion engines only operate optimally under ideal conditions, which means that the air supply and internal lubrication must be in good condition. Buying a cheap used car is always accompanied by:

1. oil change
2. air filter replacement
3. replacement of spark plugs
4. tire check


Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
1. An oil change creates a certain state of reference for the further use of the car. Fresh high quality oil reduces friction in the engine, significantly reducing fuel consumption.
Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
2. Air filter replacement can have a significant impact on fuel consumption, potentially reducing fuel demand by up to 30-50%. . Along with the air filter, the pollen filters should also be replaced. These minor interventions supply the engine and passenger compartment with clean air.
Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
3. Spark plugs are responsible for proper ignition . After replacement, old spark plugs should be carefully inspected. Their condition provides information about possible problems with the engine. When replacing spark plugs, the distributor cap must also be checked. Burnt contact points also cause increased fuel consumption.
Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
4. Tires are ultimately responsible for fuel consumption . The rule of thumb is very simple: the higher the rolling resistance, the higher the consumption . First of all, you need to check the pressure in the tires. It should meet the manufacturer's specifications or exceed them by no more than half a bar. Under no circumstances should the tire pressure be lower than the values ​​specified by the manufacturer. This not only increases fuel consumption, but tires wear out much faster, making the car unsafe.

Winter tires have higher rolling resistance than summer tires due to their stronger profile. . Even though winter tires are allowed to be driven in summer, it is always recommended to adapt the tires to the season. This measure alone can reduce fuel consumption by up to two liters. This is especially important when the correct tire pressure is maintained.

Intelligent driving turns your car into a miracle of economy

Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!

The greatest fuel consumption is achieved when accelerating the car. Thus the trick economic driving is to maintain a constant speed of the accelerating car for as long as possible. Fast acceleration, stop-and-go driving or constant overtaking on the motorway result in explosive fuel consumption . The highest possible gear is always the gear in which the engine runs most efficiently. Aerodynamics is very important here. The faster a car travels, the more force it exerts to resist the air. .

At a speed of 100–120 km/h, the aerodynamic drag increases further, and with it the fuel consumption.

Adapting by "swimming" will help you more than constantly racing through the fast lane. If you have the nerve to do so, you can stay behind the truck to take advantage of its wind shade, which will greatly reduce fuel consumption. However, this makes driving rather monotonous.

The use of electrical consumers is part of the driving experience. The car does not care what fuel is used for . Every appliance that consumes power must be supplied with fuel, so turn on only what you really need: air conditioning is as big a consumer as heated seats or other electrical systems in a car . Big stereo equipment produces great sound but doubles fuel consumption. Heavy speakers and amplifiers in a car not only add weight, but also consume a lot of energy. .

Is the consumption still too high? Go to garage

If the above measures do not help reduce fuel consumption, there may be a technical problem. The following reasons are likely.

1. fuel system leakage
2. temperature sensor malfunction
3. malfunction of the lambda probe
4. caliper sticking
Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
1. Leaky fuel system , i.e. a hole in the tank or a porous hose, as a rule, causes a strong smell of fuel. In this case, a puddle of fuel is often found under the car.
Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
2. Faulty sensors giving incorrect data to the control unit. A faulty temperature sensor will tell the control unit that the ambient temperature is -20°C.
Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
3. Faulty lambda probe tells the control unit that the engine is running lean. The result is always the same: the control unit enriches the air-fuel ratio, causing an increase in fuel consumption. Fortunately, replacing sensors is easy and cheap. Leaking fuel lines can often be easily and cheaply replaced. On the other hand, a hole in the fuel tank is an expensive repair; defective tanks are usually replaced.
Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!
4. If the caliper sticks , the brake lining continues to rub against the brake disc, causing an increase in fuel consumption. The wheel overheats, and when braking, the car pulls to the side. In this case, immediately go to the garage .

What doesn't help

Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!

Existing means or devices to save fuel are useless . Incomprehensible additional components, magnets in the tank or additives in the tank - all this turned out to be a props. Money spent on magic solutions is better spent on a new air filter or oil change, which saves you money and the annoyance of wasting it.

Fuel economy: knowledge is power

Taming the Devourer - The Most Important Fuel Saving Tips!

Those who have managed to turn a fuel guzzler into a savings miracle will eventually find fuel economy a problem. . Reduce fuel consumption with 12 liters to 4 liters you can if you really want to. You don't have to go that far - smart driving, responsible vehicle handling and smart driving are both wise and feasible.

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