Economy Driving 101

picture via The Telegraph

Fossil fuel is a limited resource. So sooner or later the gas guzzleing muscle cars we love will only be driven to an exhibition.

A day will come where the general personal commuting will be done on vehicles running on electricity. Yes, hybrids will die too. Therefore, here I am giving some tips on Economy Driving in a serious note.

• Its the driver not the car

Many people I know give fuel economy a big weight when buying a car. If you drive like an idiot, stepping on the gas flat out and breaking suddenly your fuel economy will drop drastically even though you drive a Maruti. The rule of thumb in driving is keep attention on whats coming up. Accelerate and brake gradually and ACCORDINGLY !!! 

Even if you drive a hybrid, if you don't drive it properly you won't get the expected fuel economy level from it. More on hybrid vehicle driving in SL from Ashoka here.

• Short & Long distance driving

Short distance driving is always low in fuel economy. What I do is sticking to low speeds (40kmph max) and let the engine do most of the braking by using gears. But if you have an automatic transmission vehicle, සොරි ඩොට් කොම්.

In long distance driving try to avoid stops (avoiding the engine to cool, engines give their best performance out in the optimum temperature) and use the over drive gear as much as possible. And maintain speeds around 70-90 kmph. 

• Use the landscape

Simply know as "බණ්ඩක්කා පාර". Discovered by old Delica drivers in the hill country, which can be efficiently exploited only by people from hill country. Delica vans had manual breaking, so what they do is switch off the engine when going downhill. The problem (as most drivers think) is modern break systems are servo assisted, meaning the engine needs to running for the brakes to work. So don't switch off the engine, put on neutral gear and save fuel.

Important! please don't do the above on steep hills. I do, because I am used to up country driving. 

• Choose the fuel

Petrol is the fuel of petrol-heads (hence the name). Diesel is called as the fuel of the saints by Clarkson. But, in the real world diesel does the job (almost) as same as petrol with less affect to the purse.

Diesel is the best fuel for long distance driving. ඔය සමහරු කියන්නෙ, ඩීසල් සුවඳටත් එංජිම වැඩ කියල. 

So my opinion is go for diesel when ever possible. Bear in mind, if you are a speed freak, forget about fuel economy.

• Check the car condition

Okay this is the final thing. If you don't love your vehicle and care about it, don't expect anything good in return from it. Follow the services on time, keep the engine well tuned, make sure the tire pressures are prime. 

Lets discuss, add your comments. This is what I think. Share.