Does it put you in a foul mood seeing the needle approach the E on the fuel gauge in your car/truck?  Do you feel like punching something or someone when you’re filling up at the pump and you see the digits swing right past $50, $70, $90 or more?

Good!  That’s why Geekliness has come up with these top fuel saving tips!  First, you need to decide whether you’re just bitter about fuel prices and couldn’t care less about actually using less fuel, or you really do want to consume less.  If you come into the latter category, then these tips are for you.  Now, keep in mind that a lot of these fuel saving tips don’t necessarily fit in with the current driving style in North America, so you may experience people honking their horns, blowing past you, cutting you off etc.

Tip 11:     Keep your car properly maintained and tuned.  This makes more difference than you can imagine!  If your oil hasn’t been changed, or your spark plugs aren’t working effectively, you may be throwing away 10% of your fuel.  Keeping your tires properly inflated is also important, this can also make a difference of up to 3-4%.

Tip 10:     Kill the engine!  Turn your engine off at stoplights you know have a long waiting period.  This is something just about every hybrid car does, and it does work.  Just make sure it’s not a smaller intersection where you’ll need to turn your engine on 5-10 seconds after you’ve turned it off, because that will mean you’re using more fuel (to start the engine).  Bonus - you also reduce emissions!

Tip 9:     Don’t drop the hammer!  If you must pass people on the highway, don’t floor it (or downshift a few gears in a manual-transmissioned cars).  Be judicious with your throttle application and wait for the car to build up speed, then pass.

Tip 8:     In the winter, or even in the spring and fall, your car has a warmup period.  Give it a couple of minutes in the winter, at least a few seconds (20 or so) in the spring and fall to warm up.  What happens is that in order to start a cold engine (and cold means below operational temperature, even in the summer), the engine has to add more fuel to the mix to get it going.  You’ll probably notice that when you first start your car, it’s revving a little higher than normal for the first few seconds/minutes.  This is it warming up.  Wait till the revs drop before you drive off, you’ll save gas, and prolong the life of your engine as well!

Tip 7:     Don’t be an electricity hog!  All the electrical accessories use some amount of extra fuel, such as the radio, heater, air conditioner, so if you want to be super frugal, you can turn all that off.  And if you’re bent on being frugal, understand that opening your windows will cause more drag as well, so you should keep them closed.  I think that this is a little extreme, and that being smart with fuel doesn’t mean that you compromise your comfort.  Air conditioning for example, will consume the least fuel when you are driving fast at a constant speed, i.e. the highway.  Try not to use it on inner streets, but go ahead and turn the chiller on when you’re cruising!

Tip 6:     Go on a diet!  The more weight you have in the car, the more gas you’ll use, so cut the donuts lardo!  Just kidding.  But seriously, do get rid of of any excess stuff you have lying around in the trunk or in the backseats, because it will increase your consumption ever so slightly.

Tip 6:     Don’t pretend you’re in Fast and the Furious!  It might be fun to rev your car up, but keeping the revs up means much, much higher fuel consumption.  Car and Driver once took an Integra GS-R out on the track and measured its fuel economy there.  Normally, the 1.8-L 4-cylinder Integra is considered a frugal car, and truly does feel like a slow one on the street.  On the track it registered 4.5 mpg because the driver constantly kept the RPMs up, exactly the same as a Formula 1 car C&D also tested.  Cars are most efficient at the lowest RPM possible, so try to keep them as low as possible.

Tip 5:     Slow Down!  Generally speaking, the faster you drive, the more fuel you consume.  In my Volkswagen GTI VR6, there is a difference of about 30% between cruising at 100 km/h and 140 km/h.  Ideally you want to be around the 100 km/h or 60 mph mark with a light, steady foot on the pedal to save fuel.

Tip 4:     Cruise control is NOT your friend!  Cruise control systems are designed to hold a steady speed, not a steady throttle, and therein lies the problem.  A steady throttle is your ticket to fuel economy, and any changes, minor as they might be, increase your consumption significantly.  The cruise control system will constantly be changing throttle position in a digital quest to maintain the set speed as you go up and down hills, so don’t use it if you want to save fuel!  Instead, just keep a steady foot on the accelerator pedal, and let your speed drop a little if you are going up an incline.  It’s ok, the car will speed up again once the road turns down again!

Tip 3:     Always be light on the throttle, wherever, whenever.  When accelerating away from a stoplight, don’t accelerate at the rate other drivers are going at, or even what you’re used to.  The lighter you’ll be on the throttle, the more fuel you’ll save.  Try to push the pedal as little as possible to get going, and be patient!  Wait for the car to get to your desired speed.  Once you’re at speed, try to keep minimal pressure on the pedal, just enough to keep the speed you’re at.

Tip 1:     Don’t constantly hit the brakes.  Most drivers are continuously lost in a process of hitting the brakes, then accelerating fairly hard, then braking again, and so on.  This increases your consumption TREMENDOUSLY!  Keep your distance from the car ahead, so you don’t have to jab the brakes now and then.  Don’t hit the accelerator all the time, try your best to keep it steady.

I know that some of this seems a little excessive, but then again, haven’t prices been excessive lately?  When all is said and done, how much can you expect to save?  Well, let’s look at this way… how much can you gain from these tips?

I fill up about 55 liters in my car, approximately 14.7 gallons.  Before I employed these tips myself, that would take me about 420 kms, giving me average consumption figures of 13.1 L / 100 kms, or 17.8 mpg.

After following these tips religiously, and being EXTREMELY light on the throttle all the time, and believe me, I felt as cheap as a… you know what I mean… my results were…

10.6 L / 100 kms or 22 mpg (520 kms in total), 24% better!  Motor Trend recently tested the Mazda3 2.4-L automatic to have an as-tested economy of 20.9 mpg.  I’m beating the 4-cylinder Mazda by 10%, and have significantly more power and torque, as well as a better sounding and smoother engine.  So just to reiterate, it’s not so much what you drive, it’s how you drive it!  There’s no need to sell your car to move to something made in Malaysia that has 3 cylinders and double-digit horsepower.  You’ll lose money selling your car, and you’ll miss the power and size of your current car, so just employ these 11 tips, and you’ll be well on your way to eco-country!

If I’ve missed something, or you’d like to share anything, please feel free to comment!