How To Save Fuel - Economy Driving Techniques

[Munro]

There are a lot of good ideas on various civinfo threads for economy driving. I thought it would be a good idea to collate them. With the huge increase in fuel prices every idea helps.

Much as I enjoy the VTEC and, er, sports driving on an open road it is still worth using these techniques when cruising. Some of the ones I use are:

- Anticipation - read the road ahead to avoid excessive braking.
- Drive as if your brake pads are made of gold.
- Cruise control, which is great on the motorway and avoids the temptation to floor the throttle when bored !
- Coasting when you want to maintain momentum (Need to be very careful as you loose steering and brakes if your engine cuts out)
- Using engine braking in gear when you need to slow (cuts fuel supply)
- Maintain momentum thru corners - the fun part!
- Make sure your tyre pressures are correct
- Generally leave the air con switched off - only use it when you need it
- Use premium fuel like V max to keep the engine clean and at its best
- Change up gear early ie first to third to sixth , you only need the other gears for max acceleration.
- If you are in lots of traffic dont bother overtaking, you wont get there any quicker. Chill out !

Like someone mentioned on another thread, the Institute of Advanced Motorists IAM course / test is well worth doing. It will improve your driving skills and reduce risk of accidents as well as save fuel.

[angie4m]

Good Post Munro. Think a Lot of drivers especially those in the R's will find it hard to stick by, but my FN2 is living proof that if you do whats listed then you can get a lot more miles from your tank.....478 to be exact

[HappyMan]

Very interesting and informative!

I too like using the Vtec when I can but that uses a lot of fuel. I have also started to simply accelerate up to about 2500rpm, max 3000rpm and that is also increasing MPG.

On the petrol issue I had been using the Polish National Petrol providers petrol for about 6 months for various reasons but I had noticed that my MPG was getting worse and worse. This week I decided to fill up with Vpower petrol and the difference is absolutely amazing. The car is alive in all gears again - the MPG is hugely improved.

[Orschild]

Add to the list: Stay within the speed limits. The faster you go, the more fuel you'll burn.

[FWH]

Also, make sure you do not have unnecessary weight in the car or items causing extra aerodynamic drag (e.g. roof rack).

[Munro]

Originally Posted by FWH

Also, make sure you do not have unnecessary weight in the car or items causing extra aerodynamic drag (e.g. roof rack).

One worth remembering, I tend to leave more than I should in the huge civic boot.

Originally Posted by Orschild

Add to the list: Stay within the speed limits. The faster you go, the more fuel you'll burn.

True, I notice most people are driving a lot slower now that fuel prices are so high .

Originally Posted by HappyMan

This week I decided to fill up with Vpower petrol and the difference is absolutely amazing. The car is alive in all gears again - the MPG is hugely improved.

Same here - the extra cost of the V power is offset by the better economy plus keeping the engine efficient long term.

Originally Posted by angie4m

Good Post Munro. Think a Lot of drivers especially those in the R's will find it hard to stick by, but my FN2 is living proof that if you do whats listed then you can get a lot more miles from your tank.....478 to be exact

Thanks, you are doing better than me at 478 miles out of a tank

[Lurker]

Originally Posted by Munro

There are a lot of good ideas on various civinfo threads for economy driving. I thought it would be a good idea to collate them. With the huge increase in fuel prices every idea helps.

Much as I enjoy the VTEC and, er, sports driving on an open road it is still worth using these techniques when cruising. Some of the ones I use are:

- Anticipation - read the road ahead to avoid excessive braking.
- Drive as if your brake pads are made of gold.
- Cruise control, which is great on the motorway and avoids the temptation to floor the throttle when bored !
- Coasting when you want to maintain momentum (Need to be very careful as you loose steering and brakes if your engine cuts out)
- Using engine braking in gear when you need to slow (cuts fuel supply)
- Maintain momentum thru corners - the fun part!
- Make sure your tyre pressures are correct
- Use premium fuel like V max to keep the engine clean and at its best
- Change up gear early ie first to third to sixth , you only need the other gears for max acceleration.
- If you are in lots of traffic dont bother overtaking, you wont get there any quicker. Chill out !

Like someone mentioned on another thread, the Institute of Advanced Motorists IAM course / test is well worth doing. It will improve your driving skills and reduce risk of accidents as well as save fuel.

OK, I hope I don't come across as really sad here as I love driving hard under the right conditions but I've just been experimenting recently with trying to get high MPGs in my 1.8EX.

I recently got 51.6 MPG over two separate journeys totalling 300+ miles of mixed motorway and A road and town driving. See here:



These techniques were fairly extreme and not all practical in the real world but then at £1.20+ a litre in the UK I'm not sure what the real world is any more.

Anyway, to your post. I'm not sure I agree with all of these. Cruise control - yes it avoids the temptation of being heavy-footed but when climbing a hill it is more economical to keep a constant light pressure on the accelerator and accept a slight slowing down in the vehicle. Cruise control will use more fuel by trying to maintain a constant speed up the hill.

Also I'd say that using all the gears is optimal and that by skipping gears you're actually putting the engine under more load. By using every gear you can keep the engine speed and load optimised. This may not be such a problem in the diesel world or with the Type R but the 1.8 will labour and use more fuel. That said I think you're right if you're going downhill - where there is less load on the engine.

I'd add a few more:

- Run the car in properly . A bit late now but I think that it pays dividends.

- Turn the air con off. In my experience it makes a great deal of difference.

- Also reduce drag if possible - don't drive with the windows open.

- Slipstreaming other vehicles. Important that you find the right size of vehicle that is moving at the right speed and keep a safe distance, but on a windy day with a head wind this can really increase MPG.

- Average out the hills. By this I mean that if I am going up and down a lot of hills I try to use the downhill stretch to slowly accelerate past my optimum speed and then use the extra load of the uphill stretch to slowly decelerate back to my optimum speed whilst keeping a constant light pressure on the accelerator.

As I said, not all of these are practical in the real world and I think I ended up with RSI of the right foot too.

[harleyfatboy]

I think any tips for economy expressed here are very useful and up to a point..... common sense .....that said i did not buy my CRT to ever let the cost of motoring impede the pleasure of owning such a car ...the cost of petrol will not come back down to realistic prices again.... vacations over .... so you either trade back down ....sell it ...or chew the pill man ...tellin like it is ...ON A STEEL HORSE I RIDE

[Munro]

Originally Posted by Lurker

OK, I hope I don't come across as really sad here as I love driving hard under the right conditions but I've just been experimenting recently with trying to get high MPGs in my 1.8EX.

I recently got 51.6 MPG over two separate journeys totalling 300+ miles of mixed motorway and A road and town driving. See here:

These techniques were fairly extreme and not all practical in the real world but then at £1.20+ a litre in the UK I'm not sure what the real world is any more.

Not bad, I also managed 52mpg using fairly extreme measures - handy to know if you run short of fuel and have a way to go to a filling station

Anyway, to your post. I'm not sure I agree with all of these. Cruise control - yes it avoids the temptation of being heavy-footed but when climbing a hill it is more economical to keep a constant light pressure on the accelerator and accept a slight slowing down in the vehicle. Cruise control will use more fuel by trying to maintain a constant speed up the hill.

Not sure about that, I only use cruise control on motorways and the like where it works well for me. Cruise control hunts on and off the throttle on B roads at lower speeds, so it is not efficient or comfortable

Also I'd say that using all the gears is optimal and that by skipping gears you're actually putting the engine under more load. By using every gear you can keep the engine speed and load optimised. This may not be such a problem in the diesel world or with the Type R but the 1.8 will labour and use more fuel. That said I think you're right if you're going downhill - where there is less load on the engine.

Absolutely, labouring the engine is bad for it and hardly smooth driving. However on the CTR the ratios are so close I find 1st to 3rd to 6th or similar works fine without labouring.

I'd add a few more:

- Run the car in properly . A bit late now but I think that it pays dividends.

- Turn the air con off. In my experience it makes a great deal of difference.

- Also reduce drag if possible - don't drive with the windows open.

Agree with you on these

- Slipstreaming other vehicles. Important that you find the right size of vehicle that is moving at the right speed and keep a safe distance, but on a windy day with a head wind this can really increase MPG.

- Average out the hills. By this I mean that if I am going up and down a lot of hills I try to use the downhill stretch to slowly accelerate past my optimum speed and then use the extra load of the uphill stretch to slowly decelerate back to my optimum speed whilst keeping a constant light pressure on the accelerator.

As I said, not all of these are practical in the real world and I think I ended up with RSI of the right foot too.

As you say, I think the last the last couple are extreme methods for getting to the filling station on fumes if caught out !

[NEEMSTAR]

never coast in neutral

i find being a defensive driver, anticipating what other drivers are going to do before they have even thought about it helps alot

but i agree with HFB also

[Munro]

Originally Posted by harleyfatboy

I think any tips for economy expressed here are very useful and up to a point..... common sense .....that said i did not buy my CRT to ever let the cost of motoring impede the pleasure of owning such a car ...the cost of petrol will not come back down to realistic prices again.... vacations over .... so you either trade back down ....sell it ...or chew the pill man ...tellin like it is ...ON A STEEL HORSE I RIDE

I dont let the cost of motoring impede my ownership pleasure either. I enjoy cruising at gentle speeds just as much as using the sporting capabilities of the CTR.

When stuck in lots of traffic or on a long journey the economy driving techniques can add fun to the drive as well as making a saving. It shouldnt make much difference to your journey time either. At current prices the difference made by using a few economy driving techniques for me is about £1000 a year in fuel alone (ie ignoring savings on brakes, tyres etc) - so worth thinking about for most people!

Michael Schumaker won an economy driving event once, demonstrating his skills and interests go beyond just driving fast round a circuit.

I guess its personal choice how you drive and enjoy your car.

[smeg9]

Coasting when you want to maintain momentum (Need to be very careful as you loose steering and brakes if your engine cuts out)

I read an article in the shell VZine magazine which I got sent by from Shell, that this is a myth, and that modern engines don't burn anymore fuel when coasting in gear. This is something noticeable in the civic, if you get up to speed, even with high revs, when you stop accellerating, all the ECO lights will light up, and MPG will go to 100+ miles, I guess the modern electronic fuel injection and gizmos work out what best to do..

Edit: Although, yes the engine resistance will be acting as a brake slowing you down so I guess that is a point..

[NEEMSTAR]

'tis true
coasting in neutral uses fuel
using the engine and right gears to "coast" uses no fuel

[Bungle]

Originally Posted by Lurker

Also I'd say that using all the gears is optimal and that by skipping gears you're actually putting the engine under more load. By using every gear you can keep the engine speed and load optimised. This may not be such a problem in the diesel world or with the Type R but the 1.8 will labour and use more fuel. That said I think you're right if you're going downhill - where there is less load on the engine.


- Slipstreaming other vehicles. Important that you find the right size of vehicle that is moving at the right speed and keep a safe distance, but on a windy day with a head wind this can really increase MPG.

Block changing (missing gears i.e. 2nd to 4th, 4th to 6th) does help with fuel economy if done correctly. Most advanced driving techniques have utilised this for years. Going downhill wouldn't be good to do, you'd be better off leaving it in a lower gear to use engine braking.

I would also be very cautious about 'slipstreaming'. It could encourage you to get bit too close, reducing reaction time and visibility ahead. I'm not saying it doesn't work, it does, but I don't think I'd like to try that one too much.

[Unknownsoldier]

Drive Green - advice videos on Drive Green

Tom

[Unknownsoldier]

Originally Posted by Bungle

I would also be very cautious about 'slipstreaming'. It could encourage you to get bit too close, reducing reaction time and visibility ahead. I'm not saying it doesn't work, it does, but I don't think I'd like to try that one too much.

Talking of that, I hate people braking going down hills when proper gear use would prevent this, then they invariably slow up far too much nad leave me to start braking! grrrr, trying to save petrol, must withhold VTEC................ooops too late

Tom

[Munro]

I still believe coasting in neutral can reduce fuel consumption.

A Coasting in Neutral, zero throttle
- The engine uses fuel to maintain tickover and drive the ancillaries like the alternator etc.
- There is no engine braking effect slowing the car
- The car only slows due to wind resistance , bearing friction etc

B Coasting in gear, zero throttle
- The car uses zero fuel as it is cut off by the ECU on modern cars (I think)
- You get an additional engine braking effect over and above A. The cars momentum drives the ancillaries and the engine at higher revs than tickover and this slows the car much quicker than A
- The additional engine braking effect/ rapid loss of momentum more than offsets the the zero fuel usage

So for optimum fuel saving
- If you want to maintain momentum use A
- If you have to slow down anyway use B

However coasting in neutral is not that safe. If your engine stalls you will loose power steering and your brakes and will probably crash. This tends to offset any potential fuel saving !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_braking
.

[NEEMSTAR]

Originally Posted by Munro

I still believe coasting in neutral can reduce fuel consumption.

but coasting in gear will further reduce fuel consumption

[Munro]

Originally Posted by NEEMSTAR

but coasting in gear will further reduce fuel consumption

Only if you want to slow down

Not if you want to maintain momentum.

[DeanFYoung]

Originally Posted by NEEMSTAR

'tis true
coasting in neutral uses fuel
using the engine and right gears to "coast" uses no fuel

Surely there has to be some combustion going on in the chamber, even if absolutely minimal. The cylinders are still firing aren't they?