5 top tips to improve your car’s efficiency

Written by: Simon Pavey, Last updated:10th September 2024

Silver car driving a long a country road

Driving can be an expensive undertaking, so it can pay dividends to improve the efficiency of your vehicle to mean you’re using less fuel to get from A to B.

There’s plenty of advice out there around how to do this effectively, but here we offer a few simple suggestions that could see you dramatically cutting the cost of your daily travel. Read on to find out more!

How to make your journeys more efficient

Here are five simple tips that could save you a considerable amount of money by making your vehicle more efficient on the road:

1. Remove excess weight

Key to fuel efficiency is the amount of weight that your vehicle’s engine is being asked to move, so an easy way to boost your fuel economy is to simply declutter and take out anything that you don’t need to be transporting from place to place.

This can easily be achieved by removing any unnecessary items from your boot and the interior of the vehicle.

2. Plan your journeys in advance

Getting lost can be a real headache and it can add significant cost to any journey. As a result, it’s important to know precisely where you are going and how you will get there before embarking.

A sat-nav can be a handy tool to ensure you are always following the correct path to reach your destination with a minimum of detours and traffic, while technologies like Google Maps can let you scout out routes ahead of time to know what to expect along your journey.

3. Stick to the speed limit

The amount of fuel that your engine will use can rise dramatically when you are asking your vehicle to travel faster. Indeed, research shows that a vehicle travelling at 80 mph will consume ten per cent more fuel than one travelling at 70 mph, so it always pays to stick to the speed limit.

Moreover, smoother driving will help to ensure you are asking less of your vehicle’s engine, so always look ahead up the road to anticipate any potential hazards and avoid sharp braking and acceleration where possible to maximise efficiency.

4. Keep your tyres at the proper pressure

Improperly inflated tyres can have a drastic impact on the amount of fuel that you use. According to the RAC, you could be reducing your fuel efficiency by up to two per cent if your vehicle’s tyres aren’t at the correct pressure.

To address any problems with tyre pressure, simply refer to your vehicle’s manual to find out your recommended psi for front and rear tyres. This can then be easily addressed by inflating or deflating each tyre to reach the desired pressure.

5. Carry out regular maintenance

One essential step to improving the efficiency of your vehicle is to ensure it is being regularly maintained and the multitude of parts to be found on your vehicle are all in good working order.

At MyService.Expert we offer discounts on parts and labour when you have your vehicle checked and serviced at any one of thousands of garages up and down the country.

Our nationwide network of providers means you can always find a garage close to you and we can help to significantly cut the cost of keeping your vehicle in the best possible condition.

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