Fuel Efficient Driving and Tips to Save Fuel

By following some common sense rules of the road, anyone can increase their driving efficiency. Fuel efficient driving is not just good for the environment it is also good for your car. The following tips will also help to reduce fuel consumptions, thereby saving you money on Gas/Petrol, and also contribute to a better running vehicle.

Here are some tips for eco friendly driving.

• Obey the posted speed limits. Gas/Petrol mileage improves by more than ten percent when a driver cruises at 55 miles per hour (60-8- Km/h) rather than speeding above 65 mph(104 km/h). Use cruise control to keep your speed limit under control.
• Avoid fast starts and hard braking. Aggressive driving is unsafe and can increase unwanted emissions. Studies have shown that the number of emissions increase more than travel time decreases when drivers are heavy on the Gas/Petrol and brake pedals.
• Always keep tires full of air. Under-inflated tires can cause fuel consumption to increase by more than five percent. Check tire pressure at least once very thirty days. The Energy Information Administration, estimates that properly inflated tires could save approximately 800,000 barrels of oil a day in United States alone.
• Don’t idle. Except when you are in traffic, turn off the car if you will be sitting idle for more than thirty seconds. Sitting still with the car running contributes to unnecessary greenhouse Gas/Petrol. Even in the winter, it is unnecessary to warm up a car for more than thirty seconds. Older cars, however, may require more time to warm up. Be sure your car is warmed up sufficiently so that it won’t stall. But avoid warming it up longer than necessary.
• Drive in the highest gear possible. Driving in too low of a gear can waste fuel.
• Service your car regularly. A poorly running engine can use as much as fifty percent more fuel than a well-tuned engine and will emit more emissions. Clean air filters and oil will help a car run more efficiently.
• Avoid drag by rolling up the windows when driving on the highway and by removing unnecessary weight from the car. Don’t keep unneeded heavy objects in the trunk. Remove bicycle racks and ski racks when they are not in use and never tow a trailer if it is empty.
• Try not to use the car’s air conditioner. The air conditioner can increase fuel use by up to ten percent. Crack the windows and or use the ventilation flow to cool the car. When you park the car, do so in a shady spot. This will keep the inside temperatures down and negate the need for the air conditioner when you get back in to drive.
• Plan your trips and combine errands. Try to do your banking, dry cleaning and shopping in the same location to avoid driving too many miles. Map your routes in advance to find the most efficient way to get to and from your destination. Finally, try to avoid driving during peak traffic hours.
• Drive less. The most fuel efficient driving is not driving at all. Walk, ride a bike or take public transportation whenever possible.

Here are some tips to avoid scratches on your bike...

1. Whenever you are to park your bike in a tight parking lot, make
sure you always park it on its main (centre) stand and not on its
side stand. This is because, when you park with the side stand,
your bike is easily prone to be touched by the neighbouring bike
when the person takes his/her bike out thereby getting scratched.

2. Apply a coat of Teflon periodically so as to avoid the minor
scratches (atleast).

3. Whenever possible, try avoiding very busy parking areas. When you
are not busy, park it in some free area a little far away and walk
the mile. (Good for health too..!!)

4. When the number of scratches is more, making the bike look really
bad, there is nothing to panic. There are so many spray painters in
almost all the cities. Try discussing with them on re-painting on
that particular area alone. Out of my personal experience I tell
you, it works out really well.

5. You also have spray paint in small cans at very affordable prices
(mostly, it doesn't exceed 300 bucks). If the scratched area is
very small, this would prove to be an apt solution. But, be very
careful in using them. The problem with these paints is that they
don't get adhered onto the body as you spray it. It usually clots
downward, thereby creating a mark all along the body. So, use them
on surfaces where clotting would be minimum.

6. There are more chances of your bike getting scratched during
service. Might sound odd, but true. Careless handling and lack of
space results in getting your bike scratched. So, tell them about
this issue and give it for service.

7. In traffic signals, do not try to push yourself into every single
gap. This is where most scratches happen. If it's true that you
love your bike a lot, don't attempt to do it.

8. Riders having an R15, Fazer, Karizma, Pulsar 220 and other such
bikes with side fairings need to drive carefully because it is this
part that projects outside the body. Especially, when you get down
from some other bikes and get on to this. This is when you don't
get the feel of extra projections.

9. Do not wipe your bikes with clothes other than soft ones. These
days, you get separate soft cloth to wipe bikes. Hardly, costs you
a hundred bucks. Worth the penny.

10. Last but not the least, Clean your bike regularly. Wipe it
immediately when you find come bird-droppings. This may lead to
scratches if not wiped off.

Hope you found these tips useful. Stay tuned for more such tips...