Ten simple ways to save money on fuel

Lead in: Car owners are losing their money and sleep over rising fuel prices. However, efficient driving and optimum fuel consumption can help you avoid high fuel bills. If you are a car owner looking to cut your fuel expenses, follow these ten simple tips.

Benjamin Franklin once said “A penny saved is a penny earned”. However, with fuel prices sky rocketing, saving that penny has become a tough task. Add to this the predictions of a further price rise in the coming months, and saving becomes next to impossible for car owners like you.

However, a few prudent steps can help you increase fuel efficiency, irrespective of the make and model of your car. We have listed ten of them below:

1. Maintain the recommended air pressure in your car's tyres. Under-inflation of tyres leads to higher fuel consumption. Optimum tyre pressure is hence vital for better fuel efficiency of your automobile.
2. Another way of sprucing your vehicle's fuel efficiency is cleaning its engine regularly. This improves engine performance, cutting fuel consumption.
3. Use cruise control for long drives or highways, as constant speeding up or slowing down decreases your car's mileage.
4. According to estimates, every 100 pounds of extra weight in your car results in about 1 percent fuel loss. You should hence avoid carrying excess load in your car or on roof racks.
5. Clean air filters regularly to remove clogs, contaminants and dust particles. This helps in keeping the engine running smoothly and boosts your car's performance.
6. A vehicle consumes maximum fuel while accelerating. You should hence avoid braking constantly. 
7. Continuous use of an air-conditioner results in excess fuel consumption. With simple steps like parking in a shaded area, you can cut down the air-conditioner usage in your car.
8. Avoid leaving the ignition on while your car is idle, especially at signals. An idle engine consumes added fuel and increases carbon emissions at the same time. While at a signal, it is prudent to switch off your car's ignition if the light is red for more than one minute.
9. Regular maintenance of a vehicle improves fuel efficiency and reduces costs to a great extent. Hence, ensure that your automobile is serviced and maintained well at all times.
10. Consider ways in which you can cut or share your vehicle usage. For example, car pooling to work is one of the best ways to save fuel expenses.

In addition to the steps mentioned above, you can also make use of alternative fuels like bio-fuels and lower octane gas that have hit the market in the past few years. These options not only improve an automobile's performance, but also reduce the overall costs incurred, specifically on fuel consumption. Fuel efficient vehicles like diesel cars and alternative fuel-powered vehicles like CNG and electric cars have also emerged as popular options in India. If you are planning to buy a new car, consider going for a diesel variant, or better still, a CNG or electric car model which is available in India. A diesel, CNG or electric car is much more cost effective than a petrol-fuelled one.