Fuel-saving “tips” you can ignore

We’ve all heard of a peculiar way in which someone claims you can save fuel.

While using less petrol is the top priority for the majority of motorists, not all advice has the intended results and in certain cases, can even be counterproductive to the end goal – which is spending as little of your hard-earned money as possible.

Local car insurance comparison company MotorHappy highlights the four main fuel-saving “tips” you can ignore if someone ever tries to convince you that they work.

Only use premium fuel

Only filling up with high-octane fuel will probably not result in any meaningful performance or efficiency gains if you’re driving a regular vehicle, as most of them are built for regular fuel.

However, a car built for high-performance driving does benefit from the more premium petrol as it has the equipment to do so.

“Paying for premium fuel offers no benefit to your car: It won’t perform better, get more mileage, go faster, or run cleaner,” said MotorHappy.

“Paying for premium petrol when your car is built for regular fuel will only benefit the petrol companies.”

Warm up your car before driving

Warming up the car for a few minutes before driving actually wastes more petrol than it saves.

Modern engines are sufficiently lubricated in as little as 20-30 seconds after starting, so you can take off almost immediately. Just don’t accelerate heavily during the first few minutes while the components are still cold and stiff.

In winter months, the engine will also warm up faster once you’re driving.

It’s better to fill up in the morning

The theory behind filling up in the morning is that petrol expands at higher temperatures and becomes denser in colder temperatures, the latter of which usually occurs in the early hours of the day.

Following that logic, if you refuel on a cold morning, you’ll get more in since the quantity is measured in litres rather than kilogrammes.

“But there is one flaw in the theory: Fuel reservoirs at gas stations are immune to temperature changes. The tanks are covered with concrete to avoid heat conduction,” said MotorHappy.

“Hence, no matter the outside temperature, the temperature and quantity of the fuel stay the same.”

Let your car idle instead of turning it off and on

In the past, letting the car idle, for example at a red light or if you quickly have to run back into the house to get something, would’ve been lighter on fuel than switching it off and on again.

This was true for old engines that used carburettors, but newer ones with direct or electronic fuel injection technologies are smarter than that and often come with an automatic start-stop feature that turns off the vehicle if it’s inactive for a few seconds in the pursuit of frugality.

“So, if your car was manufactured after 1980 and doesn’t use a carburettor, turning it off will save more petrol than letting it idle,” said MotorHappy.