Petrol saving tips!

mrnsx · 10-02-2007, 05:43 PM

hi all, im sure this topic has been talked about before but we should make some sort of sticky.

as we all have found out, petrol prices are getting worse and worse.

for me, the best i can do on a full tank of petrol is 450kms (400k average) (falcon l6 ba) and i dont know why i cant get more than that :(, thats pretty bad for a student with a budget of $100 per week lol.

i drive like a grandma and not let my revs reach over 1,800 only on special occasions (overtake, commodore at lights etc..)

i do drive 70% of the time with AC on.

any tips to save petrol for the beginners like me? anyhow ill start with some of my own tips.

1- avoid sudden acceleration and braking.
2- drive with the AC off when convenient.
3- try to keep the revs as low as possible at the speed limit (eg cruze on top gear)
4- service your car and check ur air filter is not dirty.

XW 393 · 10-02-2007, 05:46 PM

Dont drive.
Works a treat.

Kryton · 10-02-2007, 05:50 PM

BA onwards, use manual mode and try and get it to top gear as soon as you can without labouring or over reving.
i drive most of the time with the aircon on as well.
i have found, due to the length of the streets here, if i leave it in auto, i will be driving around in 3rd most of the time. use the manual, slip it into 4th and the revs drop and so does fuel usage.
youll notice the average fuel economy display will start to drop pretty consistantly when you do this.

Dazza XLT · 10-02-2007, 05:54 PM

Brick under accelerator.
Buy a pushbike.
Walk.
Buy a $20 resistor from Ebay which instantly gains you 40HP, while decreasing fuel usage at the same time.

:

That is all.

mik · 10-02-2007, 06:00 PM

1.couple of pounds extra in the tyres to lower rolling resistance
2.look ahead in the distance so you can time your traffic lights better, use the momentum of the car as much as possible, the less times you have to come to a comlete stop the less throttle opening needed to get the car moving again (it saves on brakes as well).
3.when turning position the car so you dont have to lock the steering to much smooth wide turns require less throttle opening than a hard locked tight turn, saves tyres heaps as well.

Green X · 10-02-2007, 06:01 PM

Petrol prices are getting worse, Where were you 6 months ago cause right now I am

:

Babying it too much might actually get you worse fuel consumption as the engine is always labouring and never getting into it’s Power band.

mrnsx · 10-02-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green X

Petrol prices are getting worse, Where were you 6 months ago cause right now I am

:

Babying it too much might actually get you worse fuel consumption as the engine is always labouring and never getting into it’s Power band.

the petrol prices here are like the weather, yesterday i fueled regular unleaded at $1.20

: and i seriously dont see the prices dipping lower and lower

**GasoLane** · 10-02-2007, 06:15 PM

Fit LPG. Instant 50% saving

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GXL078 · 10-02-2007, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Fit LPG. Instant 50% saving

:

Don't forget the cost of the conversion and increase in annual inspection fee, re-stamping of the tank every 10 years, etc.

**GasoLane** · 10-02-2007, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcgxl

Don't forget the cost of the conversion and increase in annual inspection fee, re-stamping of the tank every 10 years, etc.

Oh dear another Luddite...

Little Johnny will give you $2k. Conversion then costs about $500.
No increase in inspection fees.
10 years? Get real. Who keeps a car that long?

But if you really want to save fuel, drive like you've got an egg under your right foot.

penrith_panther · 11-02-2007, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green X

Petrol prices are getting worse, Where were you 6 months ago cause right now I am

:

Babying it too much might actually get you worse fuel consumption as the engine is always labouring and never getting into it’s Power band.

is that why they usually say best fuel economy is reached between 80-100 km/h?

Green X · 10-02-2007, 06:15 PM

1.20 WTF, I payed 1.21 for BP ultimate in Perth last week, I think regular at the moment is 1.07 per litre.

Hybrid34 · 10-02-2007, 06:16 PM

1. Windows up, (wind resistance)
2. Don't pump the subs 2 hard unless some girls are walking by
3.ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS fill up on tuesdays

Cheapest day of teh week

WOLF · 10-02-2007, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrid34

1. Windows up, (wind resistance)
2. Don't pump the subs 2 hard unless some girls are walking by
3.ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS fill up on tuesdays

Cheapest day of teh week

depends on where you are, each state will be different? In Melb cheapest fill will always be on wednesdays before midday, never fail.

penrith_panther · 11-02-2007, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrid34

1. Windows up, (wind resistance)
2. Don't pump the subs 2 hard unless some girls are walking by
3.ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS fill up on tuesdays

Cheapest day of teh week

1) will the windows up make a significant improvement in fuel economy? Cause I drive with the driver's side window down all the time and my car drinks lpg
2)Why do the subs affect fuel economy?

Ives · 11-02-2007, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrid34

ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS fill up on tuesdays

Cheapest day of teh week

Actually I find Wednesday morning is the cheapest time to buy petrol.

**GasoLane** · 11-02-2007, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrid34

3.ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS fill up on tuesdays

Cheapest day of teh week

Unless you live in the country, then there is no cheapest day of the week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

I rarely use A/C. Windows down for me ;) Mainly for performance than anything else.

Windows DOWN for performance? Your going have to explain that one!

MITCHAY · 11-02-2007, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Windows DOWN for performance? Your going have to explain that one!

This car is an absolute ***** to drive with A/C on. It is worse than the TX5 and this has double the power and is turbocharged. WTF?

:

**GasoLane** · 11-02-2007, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

This car is an absolute ***** to drive with A/C on. It is worse than the TX5 and this has double the power and is turbocharged. WTF?

:

Pity about the power (loss) with the aircon on, windows down will cause drag that will use more fuel, but if your like me who cares

JTFG · 10-02-2007, 06:18 PM

When I drive like a granny my car uses more petrol so I just give it a bit of a thrash while driving normal.

Yellow_Festiva · 10-02-2007, 06:22 PM

Hmmm..... i have tried a few things and they seemed to have worked...

1) Pump up your tyres to 10% obove the recomended pressure in the book
2) I do a lot of flat freeway driving, so when i changed tyres I went up 1 profile size, reduced the revs when cruising but will put the speedo out a fraction.
3) dont drive with roof racks stuck on the car all the time, attach and remove them.
4) keep the junk in the boot to a minimum
5) Read the road ahead and try to make the car roll through an intersection rather than race up to the line, brake, then go into 1st again and take off.
6) drive smoothly and feather the throttle. change gears as soon as possible to keep the revs down

Lukeyson · 10-02-2007, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

4) keep the junk in the boot to a minimum

I like a lil junk in the trunk though

MoreHPformyXR6 · 10-02-2007, 06:25 PM

Petrol saving tip if you want an economical car dont buy a BA there are far more economical cars out there. They might only have 800cc & take 25 seconds to get to 60km/ph but there frugal.

mrnsx · 10-02-2007, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoreHPformyXR6

Petrol saving tip if you want an economical car dont buy a BA there are far more economical cars out there. They might only have 800cc & take 25 seconds to get to 60km/ph but there frugal.

make the most of what u love and what u have. Out of all the cars + motorbikes i have had, nothing is more comfy than the falcon

, its not an excuse though to forget ur expenses.

ur comment would hold true if u own a v8 or an exotic v12 and they complain about petrol but im simply asking to learn more about these cars and not complain that i hate how much petrol they spend

SNB05T · 11-02-2007, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnsx

make the most of what u love and what u have. Out of all the cars + motorbikes i have had, nothing is more comfy than the falcon

, its not an excuse though to forget ur expenses.

ur comment would hold true if u own a v8 or an exotic v12 and they complain about petrol but im simply asking to learn more about these cars and not complain that i hate how much petrol they spend

2nd that one, im driving 03 xr8 in sydney, $50- $56 to fill with bp ultimate gets about 460 - 500km (depending on how hard i hit the right pedal) driving to work and with car club on weekends.
its about $8 more a tank than my ef to fill. the current v8's are fairly economical ifgiven the right amount of loving.

:

mrnsx · 11-02-2007, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan b

2nd that one, im driving 03 xr8 in sydney, $50- $56 to fill with bp ultimate gets about 460 - 500km (depending on how hard i hit the right pedal) driving to work and with car club on weekends.
its about $8 more a tank than my ef to fill. the current v8's are fairly economical ifgiven the right amount of loving.

:

still wont explain to me why ur v8 uses less petrol than my l6

:

on a great week even if i get 12.8l per 100k's i wont get to 450k on a full tank (close to $60).

xbgs351 · 10-02-2007, 06:31 PM

What's a student doing driving a BA? The depreciation costs more than the fuel!

mrnsx · 10-02-2007, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xbgs351

What's a student doing driving a BA? The depreciation costs more than the fuel!

$11,600 for a 2003 falcon in immaculate condition with 54k on the clock convinced me lol, also i figured out that the previous 4 cars didnt even last 6 months each so i needed something hard to destroy

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xbgs351 · 10-02-2007, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnsx

$11,600 for a 2003 falcon in immaculate condition with 54k on the clock convinced me lol, also i figured out that the previous 4 cars didnt even last 6 months each so i needed something hard to destroy

:

What were you doing to your cars? My first car was a HT Kingswood and I ran it for around 12 years, clocking up a heap of miles. It needed maintenance as all car do, but it didn't let me down like my BA does from time to time.

I get an average of 12.9 litres/100km in my BA ute and it has a lot of gear in the back. I never baby it like you do, but I do a decent amount of country driving. Even my XB can manage 16 litres/100km on the open road sitting on 120 km/h and it makes the BA feel like a sloth.

The best way to save some cash is to ride a push bike. I wouldn't drive to work if I didn't need to carry all my tools and stock. Besides in a capital city, riding is usually faster than driving.

penrith_panther · 11-02-2007, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnsx

$11,600 for a 2003 falcon in immaculate condition with 54k on the clock convinced me lol, also i figured out that the previous 4 cars didnt even last 6 months each so i needed something hard to destroy

:

that's a steal