Monday 18th October 2004

Lighten that motor and save, says AA

Shedding weight to save pounds

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Ditching unused roof racks and clearing unnecessary items out of the boot could save motorists pounds by reducing their car’s fuel consumption, says the AA. With oil prices hitting a new high and fuel prices on the up again, the AA has advised motorists that by taking a number of easy steps they can significantly reduce their fuel bills. Or don't drive one of these (see pic).

Roof racks, luggage boxes, golf clubs and other possessions left in the boot all increase the car’s weight and therefore fuel consumption.

Tim Shallcross, Head of Technical Policy for AA Road Services, says: "With the average price of unleaded petrol now nudging past 83p a litre, [that was on 15 October. Ed], motorists should do what they can to save themselves extra cash by making some small adjustments to the way they drive.

"Tyres should be inflated as directed by the car manual. Under-inflated tyres increase the rolling resistance and therefore fuel used, which can cost as much as a couple of miles to the gallon.

"Using the air conditioning constantly at 30 mph adds as much as 11 pence every 10 miles to the running costs of a car. Even at 70 mph, using the air conditioning adds seven pence every 10 miles. Reducing use of air conditioning can lighten the load on your wallet."

Another money-saving tip for drivers is to regularly clean the insides of the car windows, which reduces the need to use the car’s demisters and blowers - saving much-needed energy and fuel.

Motorists should also consider keeping windows and sunroofs closed - this reduces drag and therefore fuel consumption. "And they should never be open if the air conditioning is on," says Shallcross, "as the cooled air will fly straight out of the window – it’s the equivalent of leaving your fridge door permanently open."

By planning routes in advance and checking traffic reports, time and money can be saved by avoiding road hold-ups. A medium-size family car idling in traffic uses petrol at a rate of 2.7 pence every minute. "If you think you are going to be stationary for more than four minutes turn off your engine and stop burning cash," says Shallcross.

[tvrman]

What a great idea !!!

I left the spare wheel out of the boot for Le mans, and have only just put it back in. Instead of a spare wheel, just carry a few cans of tyre foam.

Forget the fuel, it makes the car noticebly faster..

After all the average car user has a puncture every ten years.

Webby

[jacko lah]

tvrman said:

Instead of a spare wheel, just carry a few cans of tyre foam. After all the average car user has a puncture every ten years. Webby

I must be above average then ! In any case if you call the AA or RAC and you don'tr have a spare they charge you a fecking fortune for recovery.

I find my car lacks most modern gadgets, like air CON, electric windows, PAS, ABS, C/L, FFSR, and it definately goes faster with out the full tool box in the boot. I'm thinking of loosing a few pounds myself.

[craploginname]

Drive around naked, the average set of clothes must weight about 3 or 4 kg.

Lose those pesky brakes, stopping...tut....over-rated I always say.

Ditch the wheels, there's another few...hang on a minute.

[corozin]

Perhaps we could have a "Mass Burning" of all those big 4x4's and Mercedes/BMW exec-barges

I will grant an exception to any Hummers which should be put into our museums as a warning to future generations of how hard we tried to fugg up our planet.

John