7 top tips to cut your fuel use

Fuel prices are rising worldwide. People are struggling financially. Let me give you some hints to cut your costs.

Running a car can really hit your already stretched finances so look at these top tips to keep your car running costs down.

Only fill up when it’s dark or early morning when the ground is cold. Petrol is stored underground. If the ground is hot the fuel expands. That’s why people fill up at lunchtime only to find when the petrol cools and contracts the fuel gauge goes down. Filling up when its dark saves money!

Always fill up at the slowest speed possible thus minimising vapour creation. Hoses have vapour return. If you fill up at the fast rate, some fuel going to your tank evaporates. Those vapours are sucked back into the underground storage tank thus getting less fuel for your money. If you turn your shower on full blast you get loads of steam. If you turn it on at the minimal rate you get very little.

Always fill up when your tank is half full. The more fuel in your tank the less air occupies its empty space. Fuel evaporates rapidly. Car storage tanks have an internal floating roof serving as zero clearance between the fuel and air, so it minimizes the evaporation.

Never fill up if the garage is having a fuel delivery. It’s likely the fuel is being stirred up during delivery. You might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. It’s not good!

Try and bunch jobs together minimising driving.

Check your tyre pressure regularly. Improperly inflated tyres waste around 3–5% of your fuel. Your mechanic can tell you your car’s optimal tyre pressure. Check it at night at least 4 hours after driving because sunlight causes the tyre pressure to inflate because black tyres absorb the sun’s radiation which heats the air inside.

Keep your car as empty as possible, the lighter the car. the less fuel use! Don’t lower your windows- the drag uses a lot of fuel and remove roof racks if not in use.

Service your car annually. Failure to service costs more. Try to have your service and MOT done at the same time. Every month I pay my mechanic £30 so by service time it’s largely pre-paid.

The faster you drive the more fuel use so slow down and drive smoothly. Constant jerking uses more fuel and steady speeds cuts fuel use. Motorway driving at 55mph uses a lot less fuel as does off peak driving with less traffic.

Most people don’t know that running your A/C reduces your mileage by about 10–15% and running your defroster actually uses your A/C pump. Though ANY electrical device will also decrease fuel economy because it requires the alternator to work harder which is run by the motor.

Now what about reducing your use of petrol or diesel?

Please go to one of our affiliate company websites http://www.cheaperpetrolanddiesel.co.uk and look at the video of Scott Martinhull who used XFT fuel additive to save his taxi company at least £8000 in fuel costs. A 60ml bottle costing some £20 (at the time of writing) gives some £90–100 in savings over 6 tanks- so long as you follow the instructions. The £20 is the regular direct debit supply price. £35 is the one off price. The average user needs one 60ml bottle every two months. I would advise setting up a regular supply by autoship or what we in the UK call direct debit.

I can hear you all asking “won’t this damage my car?” If you look at http://www.cheaperpetrolanddiesel.co.uk then you can see the US $4 million insurance policy that will give you a new car if the additive harms your vehicle. In some 25 years of trading nobody has ever claimed. You can download that from the website.

It’s really easy to use too.

You can download this from the website but I’ll put them here.

Make sure the XFT symbol is facing you.

Firstly open the cap on the right hand side, then remove the foil lid.

Replace the cap. From this point onwards never remove this cap.

Then open the cap on the left hand side, then remove the foil lid.

To squeeze the required amount into the small chamber simply unscrew the cap on the small chamber a few times to let air in and out-don’t remove it. Then squeeze the required amount into the small chamber.

If you are doing a commercial vehicle it is super important that you maintain the same weight on the vehicle or you will not be able to compare properly.

Dosing

The normal dose is 5mls per 50 litres of fuel.

For the first 3 tanks use 10mls per 50 litres

Fill in the spreadsheet you can download one from http://www.lessfuel.co.uk/

There are several ways to get the additive into your fuel tank.

1. Pour it directly into your tank. This is not recommended as it may not get into your fuel tank due to the cap at the bottom. Worse still it may evaporate before use.

2. Use a spout which you can get for £2–3 to pour it directly into your tank. This is better than (1) but is not as good as (3) or (4).

3. Pour the required amount of additive into a petrol or diesel can (sometimes known as a jerry can) , and some fuel, swish it round a bit to dissolve it, put it in your fuel tank and then top up with fuel. This is the 2nd best method.

4. The best way is several step process.

· Open your fuel cap.

· Squeeze the required amount into the small chamber in your bottle

· Pour required amount of the additive down the fuel nozzle.

· Wait for a minute.

· Keep the nozzle as vertical as possible.

· Then put the nozzle into your tank and dispense your fuel.

· However don’t let the cashier see you do this. I’ve been barred from one garage for doing this even though there is no damage to the fuel pump.

However make sure you document your savings. So go to http://www.cheaperpetrolanddiesel.co.uk and get a 60 ml bottle for around £20