So what are going to do about petrol?

up for anything wrote: »

I care. Would you repeat them for me.

Sure! In a nutshell:

Steady up on the acceleration. Get up to speed but do it gently. Not driving miss daisy either, just get up to speed smoothly.

Re; speed. Well, I'm not talking 140kph. More like 100kph. Aero drag goes up dramatically as the speed goes above about 90kph. At 100 you are adding only a little aero drag. Do 140+ and you will see the fuel needle drop!

If you are doing a few things, do the furthest first, then work your way back. The engine warms up quicker. Small savings but it all adds up.

I've tried weight/rubbish reduction but i didn't notice any savings. I have heard of people saving by this method but i doubt their measurements. Unless you have a few bags of cement lying around in the boot i wouldn't sweat it!

Look ahead while in traffic. No, not just the car in front but maybe two or three cars further. This means you can react to a slowdown of some sort BEFORE the lad in front of you. The benefit of this is that you can do it by lifting off the throttle instead of stabbing the brakes. By lifting off the throttle you cut power to the injectors and use ZERO fuel! Plus you don't wear your brakes. Win win.

The same applies to coming up to junctions, red lights etc. Lift off the throttle early so you minimise braking. Now, i'm not advocating lifting off miles away from the junction. Not full on engine braking at least. You can lift off just so that you nearly cut off the injectors. Your speed will hold steady or drop off ever so slightly. It's a fine line but it can be done. Use the instant mpg readout to give you feedback. I personally use a scangauge for this. My car didn't have an mpg readout.

Maintenance wise you need to have the lightest oil the manual says. Try fully synth but don't pay top dollar for it. The savings are in the longer service intervals. The 20 euro halfords deals on oil totally rock in this instance although i think it is semi synth. Just as good tbh.

Gearbox oil should be changed but i would not bother with those additives you see from time to time. The cost of them has to be paid back in fuel savings, which would be small to say the least!

Make sure your brakes aren't dragging.

Make sure your tyres have at least 35psi. I don't get this 32psi malarkey. It's like driving through a soft field! As for loss of grip at higher pressures......prove it!

Check that the plastic lip under the bumper is there. Parking next to kerbs can break these off. They keep air from going under the car and causing drag. They aren't there for decoration you know!

Put a bit of dipetane through it once in a while. It does clean the engine and will get a car through the NCT too.

I personally use a grille block. It cuts down the amount of air going into the radiator and gets the engine warmer quicker. It also cuts down aero drag a little. It also means I cant do much over 100kph but hey, that's my choice!
(no high horses please. I don't give a **** what they think!):)

Try carpool if you can. This, by far, will hugely cut down your fuel bill. It blows any amount of hypermiling or ecomodding out of the water!

And if you like the sound of your V8 then keep her lit. The govt needs those taxes badly!:pac:
But if you are done paying too much taxes.......