In our first post on fuel-saving tips, I shared about how Shell empowers and educates drivers to save fuel while driving. This is important since the running cost of owning a car in Singapore is high and inefficient driving only makes it worse.
In this 2nd instalment, I will share 10 of my own unique fuel saving tips to help all of us, urban drivers Drive Safe and Drive. Save!
1) Keep it in the Center: In Singapore’s busy city roads, driving in the center lanes reduces the chances of stopping regularly for buses, cyclist, turning vehicles…you get the idea? Stopping regularly decreases fuel efficiency.
Drive in the middle lane… |
2) Keep it Rollin’: In addition to planning your route and starting out early, useful apps like Google Maps which shows, in real time, roads or lanes in your journey which may be congested. This gives you time to plan for alternative routes to reach your destination without wasting unnecessary fuel being stuck in traffic jams. Checking the radio for traffic updates or looking at traffic info panels on the roads help as well.
Use Map Apps to check if any part of your route is congested before you start driving… |
3) Keep it Relaxing: Music plays a big part in regulating our mood. Driving with relaxing music rather than fast thumping music helps to minimise fast, aggressive driving. It also helps you to arrive at your destination in a much pleasant mood.
4) Keep the Spare: We know carrying excessive weight in the boot reduces efficiency and that spare tyre, which weighs easily 10 to 20 kg, may be a burden (literally) in city driving. What’s more, most of us have ready access to fast and reliable roadside help like ‘AA Road Assist’ when we are driving in Singapore. Put the spare in the boot only for late nights or long distance road trips (e.g. to Malaysia).
5) Keep it Optimal: Research has shown that keeping the RPM constant at between 1700 to 2000 RPM (which is shown in the dial next to the speed dial on your dash board) helps to optimize fuel efficiency without sacrificing decent driving speed.
6) Keep it Tip-Top: Servicing your car at regular intervals helps keep your car in good working condition. This is even more crucial in hot and humid Singapore where the wear and tear can be higher due to the punishing road conditions. Remember your tyres too! Apart from ensuring the pressure is correct, checking the pressure of your tires regularly helps to check the condition i.e. the tyre that needs that additional few pumps compared to the others may have a leak in it.
Check your tyre pressure weekly… |
7) Keep it Cool: Air cons are infamous for consuming energy. Keeping your car air con cool at 23 – 25C and NOT FREEZING temperatures optimizes your car’s air con without over-taxing it. If your car is baking hot after parking under the sun, an efficient way to cool the car is to wind windows down and drive on. This expels the hot air and allows cooler air to enter. Turning on the air con full blast in an enclosed car cabin only allows the super hot air to circulate into the air con system and make the air con work unnecessarily harder. This reduces fuel efficiency and may even shorten the lifespan of your air con compressor.
8) Keep it All Together: Plan all your chores and errands in one central location e.g. get all your Christmas shopping done in one large comprehensive mall so you can reduce those wasteful short trips and need not incur additional parking fees.
9) Keep it Going Down: It’s hard to avoid multi-storey car parks in Singapore but where there is an option for basement car park, go for it. That way you won’t need to keep spiraling up floor after floor in low gear which will exhaust more fuel compared to just going down one or two basement levels.
Park at basement carparks if possible… |
And finally, for the toughest fuel saving tip to follow which is a personal challenge for me:
10) Keep it Slim: The toughest fuel saving tip of all. No point observing all these wonderful fuel saving tip and using the amazing fuel from Shell when the driver himself is overweight right? So, keep in shape, travel light and you’ll save a lot of fuel!
A Bonus Fuel Save Tip: Keep a lookout for Promotions!
From 19 May to 13 July, stand to win the equivalent of your fuel purchase when you spend a minimum of $50 on Shell fuels and spot the winning message behind your Shell receipt. Shell Escape members stand a chance of winning an additional $100 by sharing a photo of their winning moment on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #WinWithShell. For more details on the ‘Win with Shell’ promotion, visit Shell’s website.
Win with Shell Promotion from now till 13 July 2014 |
Singlet Daddy’s 10 Shell FuelSave Tips! |
Join our other blogging friends – In The Wee Hours, Tan Family Chronicles, Sengkang Babies and Life is in the Small Things and Cherieladie – for more tips on how to emerge winners in making our fuel work more efficiently for us. We hope you like our two-part fuel saving tips and here’s wishing you, our readers – Drive Safe and Drive. Save!
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