How should i drive to save fuel?

Question

Hi,

I've a Golf 2.0 (petrol) & wondering the best way to save on fuel whilst driving, should i be using higher gears, lower revs etc?

I find it hard to stick to speed limits but how much could i cut down but actually cutting back on the heavy right foot?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Using higher gears and lower revs will save on fuel for sure.

Keeping the engine speed under 3000RPM will mean you save more fuel and less engine wear.

Answer 2

The main thing is to accelerate as slowly as you can without making the person behind you go road rage. lol but seriously, alot of the fuel consumption is caused when accelerating from a a stop,  so accelerate as slowly as you can... another thing is to maintain the speed that you have, and if you have to go any faster, do so at a slow pace.

Answer 3

the only way is driving slow and keeping a steady foot on the accelorater

Answer 4

Hi,

   I have the same problem.

The most economical way to drive is to get into 5th gear as soon as you can - as soon as i get to 30mph either in 2nd or 3rd gear i change to 5th - then at least you don' t have to change at 50+ as well.

Hope this helps you too.

Answer 5

Get an intake.

Answer 6

Higher gears and lower revs will generally help, but you shouldn't go so high/low that the car feels like it's bogging down, and if you start feeling vibration, you're WAY too low.  

Sticking to the speed limit will generally give you decent fuel economy, as long as you can maintain a fairly constant speed.  I'm not sure that going long distances SLOWER will actually help, but every car has some speed at which fuel economy drops precipitously.  For example.  At 70-75 mph, my 96 Thunderbird got 28 (US) mpg.  Around 80 mph, it would drop into the low 20s.  In my experience, 70 mph is about as fast as you should EVER drive if you're concerned about fuel economy.  But, again, this speed will vary from car to car.

Yes, cutting back on the heavy right foot would help.  You want to accelerate briskly, but gently.  Most 4 cylinder cars, yours probably included, will do best if you're between 2500 and 3500 RPMs when you're accelerating.  (Remember, if you go slower, you're spending more TIME on the gas...go too high, and you'll probably build up speed that you'll just waste, or you might get into less efficient RPMs)

Another way to save gas is to watch traffic and signals around you.  If you see a stop light coming, and you know that it's been red for a while, and you have no one in front of you, just let off the gas, slow down a little, so that the light changes by the time you reach it.  That lets you forgo stopping and accelerating from a stop, saving energy.  Also, if you know you CAN'T avoid stopping, get off the gas ASAP.  Just idle the rest of the way to the light.  (You could shut the engine off, but in many places that is illegal.)

Make sure your tires are inflated and your engine in tune.

Use AC on the highway, windows down in town.  (Well, assuming the latter is comfortable)

Answer 7

Keep a constant speed. Don't go too fast (over 65mph), keep your air filter clean and tires inflated.

Answer 8

try to maintain a speed that is even best efficiency was decided yrs ago during the first energy crunch to be 55 mph that is to say that around town in a 30 mph zone i would not reccomend 55

no jackrabbit take offs a t lites will save too

even accellaration on take off

the amt you will save is a variable I think safely say if you  have bad driving habit you could  increase milage by 15-20 %by improving  driving habits