Driving Tips

Tips on driving your vehicles & keeping emissions low

Here are some useful tips to keep in mind about how you drive. When your vehicle is tuned correctly, it will have lower running costs and operate more efficiently. So, the following tips should help you get the most out of your car.

First, look after your car - Maintenance is a key factor to ensuring your car runs efficiently and effectively. A car that is properly tuned and serviced will reduce your fuel consumption by more than 30 per cent and in turn save you money.

1. Check your tyre pressure when they are cool or cold, at least once a month. The right pressure may usually be found on the door jamb or in the vehicle handbook. Remember under-inflation is a tyre's number one enemy, because it can cause damage that may lead to tyre failure. Keep a tyre gauge handy in your car, so that you can check your tyre pressure regularly.
2. Choose your tyres carefully. Tyre selection should be based on the correct size recommended for the vehicle, its loading recommendations as well as best suited for your typical driving patterns.
3. Rotate the wheels and tyres around the vehicle every 10,000 kilometres. If the tyres are wearing unevenly, it may indicate a possible steering or a suspension problem.
4. Inspect and measure your tyre tread. You can do this yourself by placing a match in the tread groove and if you can see the coloured part of the match head itself, then it is time to replace your tyres. While you are at it, also check the tyre sidewalls to make sure there are no gouges, cuts, bulges or other irregularities.
5. Slow down in wet weather. As your speed decreases, the tyre footprint (the amount of the tyre's tread contacting the road surface) increases, providing better traction. You also reduce the risk of losing control should you run into deeper water puddles on the road.
6. Do not overload your vehicle with bike racks, ski cases, golf clubs because it can create excessive heat inside your tyres. An overloaded vehicle puts stress on tyres that can cause damage and lead to tyre failure and can increase fuel consumption by around 10 per cent, even if your racks are empty.
7. Use the correct grade of fuel in your car. Slow down - going at an extra 10 km increases your fuel consumption by 10 percent.
8. When filling your car with petrol, only fill it to the first click. Overfilling can lead to spillage or loss through the overflow pipe when cornering. Also, make sure you have a properly fitted petrol cap - this will help prevent evaporation of petrol especially in the summer months..
9. Avoid running a car with a low tank - when the fuel levels are low, evaporation is higher, especially in the sun.
10. Avoid driving on congested roads, if you can help it. Stop start driving leads to very poor fuel efficiency.
11. Don't idle for prolonged periods. As a rule of thumb, if you are stopping or waiting in the car for more than 30 seconds, turn the engine off and restart when needed.
12. Do errands on your way home to save making additional trips in the car.
13. Keep your windows up when you have the air-conditioning on. Having the windows down creates drag, which also increases fuel use.
14. Consider walking, cycling, or taking public transport before you get into your car, especially down to the dairy, the park or to work.
15. Modern vehicles are wind tunnel tested to develop the most fuel-efficient shape. Spoiling that contour will lead to increased fuel consumption.
16. Drive in the right gear to avoid over-using fuel - inappropriate low or high gear driving causes over-consumption of fuel in the wrong gear.
17. Keep to the speed limits - higher speeds result in higher fuel consumption levels.
18. Check the water level in the battery regularly and top up with distilled water. Keep battery terminals clean. Smear them with vaseline to minimise corrosion.
19. Clean your windscreen on the inside regularly, as well as your windows and your headlights to enhance visibility.

And if you can, just leave the car behind, put on your walking shoes and go!