5 Ways To Reduce Your Fuel Bill

Sick of stopping at the petrol station? With petrol prices at near record highs, we’ve put together our top five tips to make the most of your tank.

1. Check Your Tyres

If your tyres are looking a bit flat, you are not only at risk of a blowout (as well as wearing out perfectly good tyres), but you're wasting fuel.

Under inflated tyres sit wider on the road, increasing friction, meaning the car has to work hard to keep them spinning.

Check your car's manual, or the sticker inside your car (usually located inside the driver’s door jamb), on the correct tyre pressures for your car.

2. Using Your Air Conditioning (...or Not)

Drivers are usually in two camps to keep cool - using the air-con or using the windows (if you've got a newer car – some drivers don't have a choice!)

Air-con is convenient, but it does tend to waste fuel if you're in slow traffic or around town - so it's better to have the windows down if you're going slower than 60km/h.

If you're on the highway, though, having windows open sucking in air can cut down the car’s aerodynamic abilities, so if you're travelling at speed, turn the air-con on if you're feeling a bit warm.

When parking on those hot summer days, look for an undercover spot or somewhere shady, which will mean your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard when you start up and try to cool your car.

3. Don't Idle Your Car

Even though you've parked, if the car's engine is running, it's consuming fuel.

If it's safe to do so, turn your car off - especially if you're not moving for more than a few minutes.

This will also cut down on any exhaust, so you'll bump up your green credentials at the same time.

4. Check Your Boot

Keeping an umbrella in the car is handy, but keeping something like golf clubs in the boot doesn't make sense most of the time, and it's slowing down your car with unnecessary weight and using more fuel.

Ditch anything you're not going to need on that particular trip - for example, if your headed to the supermarket, leave the yoga mat and your gym bag at home.

And if you've got a 4WD, remember that you can remove your MaxTrax during the week. We're pretty confident you won't run into any recovery situations on your local suburban streets.

5. Keep Up with Regular Servicing

Making sure your car is up to date with it's regular servicing is not just good for potential buyers when it comes time to sell, but can help your fuel consumption.

Keeping everything in optimum running order allows your car to focus on driving, without having to work harder because of something like blocked filters or old, poor quality oil.

If your car is running a bit rough, or the fuel needle seems to be pointing to empty more quickly than usual, see your nearest Motorama dealership and the friendly service advisors can go over how you drive, and what could be causing any problems.