Saving on gasoline: busting the myths

You should think about saving on gasoline even before buying a car. Of course, the most profitable option would be not to buy a car at all, but occasionally use a service such as car rental in Kiev ! But if no joke, and you are the owner of a car who is not going to change it? We have put together a checklist of 7 rules for you to maximize fuel economy.

1. Technical condition of the car. It is necessary to change the air filter in time (a dirty filter reduces the air supply to the engine and increases fuel consumption), check and pump up the wheels before each trip, change the engine oil in time and select its viscosity correctly. It is also worth using the tires provided by the manufacturer, the width and size of the disks.

2. Revision in the trunk of the car in order to reduce weight. You need to pull out everything superfluous and leave only the most necessary. Especially if you mainly drive within the city and do not plan to travel outside of civilization. It is also better to remove an unused external trunk - in addition to weight, it still has a bad effect on aerodynamic characteristics. Open windows in the car also increase fuel consumption.

3. By changing your driving style, you can also save a lot on gasoline. Avoid sudden acceleration and deceleration. The tachometer needle must be kept in the region of 2.5-3 thousand revolutions (usually the most productive operating mode for the engine is indicated on the tachometer).

4. Change your usual route. Stop the engine if the waiting time is more than a minute. Avoid traffic jams, for a trip it is better to choose a longer route without stops than a shorter route, but with more traffic lights let. Thanks to this, fuel savings at the end of the month will be significant. Time spent in a traffic jam is equivalent in fuel consumption to a trip of 60 km on a highway at a speed of 80-90 km/h.

5. It is necessary to compare prices at different gas stations, use the loyalty programs of networks and banks that cooperate with them. Bonuses, cashback, discounts - all this helps to save.

6. Electrical equipment. Air conditioning is able to increase fuel consumption by up to 20%, the same situation with heating. For example, the heated rear window “eats up” about 0.5 liters of gasoline in 5 hours of operation - these are data from car manufacturers given in the instructions for some of them. Approximately the same amount adds to the fuel consumption and heated seats. Here, everyone must make a choice for themselves between economy and comfort.

7. Find fellow travelers. And it doesn’t matter whether you are going to another city or to work and back – most likely there will be people who are with you along the way. Ask around among friends, meet new people or find fellow travelers in special applications - it's up to you. This will be the most economical option among all offered.

Mistakes and myths about saving gasoline, which can be both stupid and harmless, and downright harmful:

1. • Refueling at night. Allegedly, in this case, the fuel is denser. But at gas stations, the fuel is stored underground and does not differ much in temperature and volume.

   • Refueling a full tank so that the fuel does not evaporate. In a sealed vessel, which is a car tank, the evaporation of gasoline into vapor-saturated air can be neglected.

   • Additives that allegedly save fuel. At best, they will not affect the operation of the engine in any way, and at worst, they will lead to breakdown.

   • Truck driving. This reduces air resistance and therefore reduces fuel consumption, but increases the likelihood of getting into an accident.

A radical method of saving is the transition to gas - it has its pros and cons, but this is a topic for a separate article. And of course, the future belongs to electric vehicles! You can buy a factory car or convert your own. An electric car gets many advantages over gasoline cars and is especially beneficial in urban conditions.