We provide many tyre maintenance tips that can help you get more out of your commercial tyres, such as:
But our tips apply to private car drivers too, of course. Here we discuss some simple driving changes that can help you reduce tyre wear and fuel consumption. Improving the efficiency of your car has several benefits:
it’s safer
it reduces your fuel consumption
it means your vehicle will be cheaper to service
it can also mean that your tyres last longer (they need to be changed less often).
All of this means that you will spend less on your car - money that you get to keep in your own pocket and spend on other things.
One of the better ways that you can improve your car’s efficiency is to pay better consideration to how you accelerate and how you break. Here is a short explanation of how your driving affects your vehicle:
Acceleration
Rapid acceleration can dramatically increase your fuel consumption. Better fuel efficiency comes from slow, steady and careful acceleration instead.
When you rapidly accelerate, it often leads to a vast array of fuel consumption. To maximize petrol efficiency, you should consider a slow and careful acceleration instead. A gradual acceleration where your engine can slowly shift to a larger number of revolutions per minute can really improve fuel consumption.
In tests completed on the same vehicle, a gradual acceleration over 300m saved at least 25mL of fuel when compared to rapid acceleration. When you consider the number of times that you have to accelerate from a dead stop, this represents considerable savings over some time.
Try to maintain a steady speed
Regular braking and changes to speed can often result in extra fuel consumption.
In automobile studies, a steady 80 km rate of travel served as the baseline for fuel consumption. When a traveller slowed down and accelerated by 5 km every 18 seconds, this resulted in a 20% increase in fuel consumption. Cycling a +/- 5km difference every 12 seconds resulted in 48% more fuel being consumed. Anticipating traffic and trying to maintain a steady speed helps your fuel consumption considerably.
Decelerate over long distances
By anticipating traffic and slowing down over a long distance and coasting to a stop, you can ensure the engine is only consuming the fuel that it needs. This tactic can also make sure that it doesn’t stall. Coasting to decelerate also ensures that there is no wear and tear on your brakes and tyres, which can reduce your maintenance costs over time.
We’ve written this article mostly to cover fuel consumption, but it is just as relevant for tyre wear. If you follow the tips that we have mentioned above, you are more likely to ensure that your tyres last longer. If you want to discuss further how you can better manage your fleet car tyres, please get in touch today.