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  4. Efficient driving

Efficient driving

Keep your engine at its peak of fitness and drive efficiently with our top 10 driving tips

1. Correct tyre pressure

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Under inflated tyres are not only potentially dangerous, they also increase the rolling resistance between the vehicle’s tyres and the road, meaning the engine has to work harder and therefore consume more fuel.

2. Fully maintained vehicle

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A badly maintained vehicle is unlikely to perform as it’s designed to. Problems such as partially blocked filters, poor oil performance, and emissions control systems under-performing will all prevent your engine from functioning properly. This can lead to increased fuel consumption and higher emissions.

3. Removing roof box rails

Roof box on car icon
External fixings such as roof boxes, rails and bike racks should be removed when not in use. They change the air flow over the vehicle and increase its aerodynamic drag. This means that extra power is needed from your engine, increasing fuel consumption and emissions.

4. Think about how you keep cool

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Avoid driving with the windows open at speeds of over 80 kmph as this increases the car’s aerodynamic drag. To reduce engine workload and therefore fuel consumption, close your windows and turn on the fan, only using the air conditioning when really necessary to maintain a comfortable temperature.

5. Removing unnecessary weight

Car and suitcase icon
Carrying unnecessary weight in the boot or cabin of the vehicle will make the engine work harder when accelerating. This particularly affects stop/start driving. Simply removing this load will reduce fuel consumption and reduce emissions.

6. Reducing stop / start driving

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The engine has to work harder when accelerating and every time the brakes are used this energy is lost as heat. Accelerating more smoothly and lifting off the accelerator earlier will improve fuel economy.

7. Excess idling

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Unnecessary idling will consume fuel and produce emissions even whilst stationary. During periods of several minutes or more, where it is safe to do so, switching off your engine will stop fuel consumption and emissions completely.

8. Avoid hard acceleration

Foot on accelerator pedal icon
Accelerating hard and using high engine speeds will make the engine consume more fuel. This is because under high loads, and high speeds, the engine operates less efficiently. Accelerating more steadily to the desired speed and avoiding high engine revs by changing into a higher gear earlier will reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

9. Avoid short journeys

Car with A-B icon
On short journeys, when an engine is cold, it uses more fuel than normal until it reaches the optimum working temperature. The catalytic converter in the exhaust, which reduces harmful emissions, is also less efficient when cold. Cold start journeys, therefore, lead to higher emissions and higher fuel consumption for several minutes after start up compared to a warm engine. So, where possible, it is best to avoid short journeys.

10. Use high quality fuel

Car and fuel pump icon
High quality BP Ultimate fuels are designed to maintain the performance and efficiency of your engine.