Likewise, but in heavy peak hour motorway traffic more difficult.
One more petrol saving tip is to plan discretionary travel trips, especially longer journeys to avoid peak and heavy traffic conditions. A choice some of us have when not part of the daily paid workforce. Observation of travelling the now fully upgraded Pacific HWY from the border to Newcastle. The better all dual lane road plus very light traffic has required 1-1.5l/100km less fuel. Includes greater opportunity to use the cruise control, an added bonus.
Wisdom may be to turn that fuel over frequently.
BP suggests a usable storage life of 3 months at 30C. Less if hotter. Assumes Australian Standards compliant container/s and a safe secure storage place. Storing 140l in a single container or combined total may not meet your insurance obligations or government regulation. Location dependent.
EG How Much Fuel Can I Store at Home? What Are the Risks? — Auto Expert John Cadogan.
There are numerous sources that say not to do this. Legal and safety as well as possibly causing other problems with loss of lubrication flows through the transmission. Popular Toyota models and possibly others have engine modes the detect downhill sections, reducing fuel flow and changing the valve timing to retain proper operation while saving fuel.
If it is convenient and not disruptive to do so, I often try to avoid accelerating up hills, or up steeper sections of hills. I also tend to drive at truck speeds (ie at a genuine 100kph) on 110kph motorways to save petrol and emissions. The time difference for travelling 100km at 100kph compared to 110kph is only about five and a half minutes, time that I can usually spare. From memory, some automatics these days are slightly more fuel efficient than manuals. My 8-year old automatic VW is rated at 5.4L/100km for combined consumption.
The effect of air resistance, drag, can certainly have a big effect.
The previously mentioned equation, leaving out constants that cannot be changed such as the shape of the car, means that a difference in speed of 110 rather than 100, or 10%, results in a 21% increase in drag to be overcome by the engine.
This is good advice BUT with a problem.
I use this technique BUT the driver behind me gets irritated and tailgates me, because he/she/it wants to drive at the full speed limit until they reach the 60k sign and then apply the brakes hard and slow down.
Some drivers are incapable of looking ahead and anticipating things. Others feel the need to drive at the max speed limit all the time no matter what the conditions.
I use the NSW FuelCheck app to keep track of petrol prices. It’s reliable (I’ve never known it to be wrong) and you can customise it to show as many or as few petrol stations in your local area and customise it to show only the type of fuel you are interested in. I believe it is updated hourly.
That type of driver will tailgate you anyway, because (a) they have a compulsion to exceed the speed limit regardless of what it is, and jn any case (b) you’re in front of them.
If there’s a vehicle close behind me, I’ll tap the brake pedal to warn that I’m about to start slowing down. Some drivers notice this and slow down themselves.
Yes, but if actually applying the brakes just to activate the lights when your typical tailgater cannot see any reason for it will enrage them.
No way I would do that. Just apply the brakes when it is obvious that speed needs to be reduced due to a change in speed limit clearly indicated, or a stop required.
I usually am applying the brakes, not coasting to a stop from a long way out - which I consider not particularly effective for fuel-saving (if I were still driving an ICEV), as well as being inclined to arouse the ire of the already-impatient and inattentive idiots to the rear.
Is being distracted by the car behind likely to affect fuel consumption for the better?
Understandable for some but something others may relate to differently. I’m not one to ask as I often can’t see the car behind - choice of vehicle and or towed load one explanation. Ask nearly any truck driver. At some point vehicles too close behind can just disappear from view. There is little one can do about it. The road ahead is what comes first.
A previously shared solution that can save fuel and may also help to reduce driver anxiety.
One I’m NOT sure about is the difference between “premium diesel” and “truck diesel”. It seems to be only about 2c/L different at the bowser, if you can find a place that has both. Presumably the premium is better aligned with modern passenger vehicle engines though I wonder in what way… if it’s better for a ute, why isn’t it also better for a truck?
At Costco they have two sorts of pumps. One of the two is high volume pumps and these are designated for Trucks, the diesel used in both is no different. Purely labelled based on the volume being pumped at the time, the truck labelled pumps dispense the diesel at a very high rate so that it doesn’t take so long to fill the high capacity tanks as it would at a normal rate for smaller vehicles. The reason you might notice a discount is the quantity sold, a truck capacity compared to a normal passenger type vehicle is a great deal of difference. Buying in bulk like it would need for some of the trucks filling up, could easily attract some small discount on price.
High flow diesel is a separate question to premium vs truck. My Prado takes the high flow just fine (and with 160L tank, I appreciate the fast flow).
Some retailers have two prices on their board: premium diesel, and truck diesel. Same venue, two prices. The truck diesel is usually on bowsers with more space for trucks to access.
See Is premium diesel worth it? - Drive
“Since 2009, all of Australia’s diesel is required to be ultra-low sulphur, which has 10 parts per million (PPM) sulphur content. The standards also dictate things like cetane ratings, lubricity, biodiesel content and cloud point (more on that later).
Vortex Diesel is Caltex’s brand of premium diesel. It carries a cleaning agent, rust inhibitor and foam inhibitor in comparison to normal diesel fuel.”
Shell’s fine print … “Actual effects and benefits may vary according to vehicle type, vehicle condition and driving style”.
I guess I’ve now found my answers via the drive website; worth a read.
I asked at Costco what difference there was between the premium labelled pumps and the truck labelled pumps. I was assured that both had the same product, and they do not supply the ad-blue product for trucks (which is a requirement for many truck engines these days). My reason for requesting the detail some 12 months ago was that some of my family do drive MR and HR vehicles and were concerned if there was a difference.
I can’t say if the additional additives are different at other servos for truck lines vs domestic users. The price at Costco is the same no matter which diesel pump is used. I think some of the marketing could be so that a higher price could be extracted for “premium” product.
Another fuel saving tip is considering the consumption of other vehicles, especially heavy B-doubles and semi-trailers. It is sometimes feasible to slow down before a round-about to allow a heavy truck time to enter the round-about rather than having to stop and then use extra fuel to accelerate from a standstill, especially if uphill. There are numerous B-doubles travelling through our inland city. In a way, it was pleasing to see one of them last night continue on and turn right at gentle uphill traffic lights that turned orange and red just before he/she reached them. It was illegal but perfectly safe on this occasion.
I have done quite a lot of country highway driving although have never driven a heavy vehicle. I try to be considerate of truckies but am sure that they would have some suggestions as to how we could make it easier for us to help them conserve some of their diesel.
This may not be on-topic for what you are asking, but the obvious answer is to buy a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle.
I have noticed that here in the SE corner of Queensland the very large (and sometimes 4WD) utes, and the big 4WDs seem to be the current new vehicles of choice. Do people really need these guzzling behemoths to ferry their kids to and from school, or to go shopping?
Perhaps if there was less of these high consumption vehicles on the road then demand on fuel would drop, and consequently the prices might drop too? This would then save everyone money at the bowser!
Or to replace an older vehicle with a newer considering the newest vehicles in the same type are likely more fuel efficient. The caveat is whether the statutory quoted fuel consumption figures for the new vehicle can be relied upon.
YMMV - EG
A point most relevant to those looking to replace an existing older vehicle, and to make a better choice.
There are several suggestions to use brakes sparingly, but I don’t see mention that most fuel injected cars will cut fuel into the engine completely if decelerating and the engine revs are above a certain amount, usually in the 1000-1500rpm area. So it pays to look ahead and take the foot off the accelerator at the earliest sensible moment and let the engine do the braking.
I’m not sure if this is a fuel saver, but it does reduce my stress. If the speed limit is 110kph I set the cruise control to 103kph. This is enough to stop trucks from tailgating, usually slow enough overtaking maneuvers are minimal, and when they are required there’s a ‘speed up’ margin that avoids the interminable coasting in the right lane trying to stay under the limit but still pass in a reasonable time.
Be aware of the fuel claims Vs actual real world fuel usage. VW got caught out some years ago regarding their emissions and fuel usage claims. Currently the AAA are testing the lab claims against the real world usage and has found some vary quite markedly upwards of the Lab claims, and some are below those claimed figures (but not many). Buying the vehicle that closely matches it’s claims may also help save some fuel.
