Driving style and how it effects economy
Apart from regular maintenance of your vehicle the greatest effect on your vehicles economy will be from your driving style,this will effect how often parts last (such as brake pads,clutch lining and tyres).
As a former taxi driver economy and lack of downtime were very important and the most important thing in getting most miles per ‘penny’ earned was driving style.
I will give a few examples here.
Riding (slipping) the clutch at junctions and on hill starts,by doing this you are effectively wearing away the clutch lining (the friction material on the clutch plate) I consider it good practice to take the vehicle out of gear and apply the handbrake as this can extend the useful life of your clutch considerably.
Racing between traffic lights/junctions is just a waste of fuel and places a lot of stress on the engine and related components,you accelerate hard and then have to jump on the brakes at the next stop sign/red light,just to repeat the exercise all over again,while ’steady eddie’ goes through all the lights in sequence at a steady 30mph…..boring maybe,but we are talking about economy here.
What is the point in using the accelerator when going down hill? It is not necessary as the weight of the car and gravity will get you down it,just select the right gear and let the car ‘roll’ down the hill in the right gear and the car will more or less stick to the speed limit with a little dab on the brakes now and again.
Most modern engines will get you around at the legal speed limit even if the revs are kept down,I have driven my father in laws Nissan almera tino 1.6 petrol and it is quite happy at around 3000 revs although it won’t pull away smartly with this kind of driving it still pulls smoothly and comfortably.
Just remember that every time you floor the accelerator pedal it costs you more money.
PaulO