The driving trick that can save you a lot of money on petrol

The high cost of fuel continues to be a major headache for South Africa’s road users, but there’s a simple trick that you can use to reduce the number of trips you make to the pump.

Hypermiling is a driving method that has the potential to drastically cut down on the amount of fuel you burn, and all it takes is a little bit of practice, and an understanding of how a car’s engine functions.

How hypermiling works

The concept of hypermiling first gained mass interest in the 1970s, when the oil crisis suddenly made it much more important for people to pay attention to how much distance they were getting out of every litre of petrol.

The beauty of hypermiling is that it can be done with just about any car, making it a much more practical alternative to buying a hybrid vehicle if fuel savings are your top priority.

The first step involves planning your journey to identify the most fuel-efficient route possible, bearing in mind that it may not necessarily be the shortest or most direct path, according to Cartrack.

This means avoiding roads with a lot of congestion or traffic lights, choosing highways over built-up areas, and travelling outside of peak commuting hours whenever possible.

A key goal of hypermiling is to minimize stopping your vehicle, as this leads to wasted propellant as combustion cars still need to burn petrol when idle to prevent the engine from stalling.

A lot of modern cars do have a Stop/Start function to mitigate this process, but this is another expensive solution to a problem that any motorist should ideally be able to navigate.

Another important tenant of hypermiling is to maintain a consistent speed, as constant braking and heavy acceleration can be up to 40% less efficient.

Adding to this is the idea of coasting, which is a technique where drivers don’t touch the accelerator and let the car’s momentum carry it further, especially when coming down a hill.

More advanced coasting methods will disengage the clutch, put the car in neutral, or turn off the engine completely, but it should be noted that these are very risky maneuvers that should be avoided by inexperienced drivers.

Turning off the engine in particular can mean a loss of power steering and other vital features, so it’s best to just let your car glide down a hill without any additional throttle inputs.

Other inputs that can make a big difference include turning off your air conditioning and other electrical devices, as the engine and alternator needs to work more to replenish the battery for these systems.

It’s also good to reduce the amount of unnecessary weight in your vehicle such as bags that are only accessed maybe once a week, as heavier loads will eat through more petrol.

Equally important is to ensure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure, as underflated tyres are both dangerous and create unnecessary drag, making it harder for the car to travel smoothly.