RACQ Motoring

How You Drive

Where safely possible, cruise at a reduced speed

  • If your car has cruise control, use it during highway driving to maintain a steady speed.
  • Wind resistance increases quickly at higher road speeds. For example, at 110km/h approximately 20% to 25% more fuel is required than at 90km/h.

Minimise accelerating and braking

  • City fuel use figures are always worse than highway fuel use - not because of the slower speed but because of the need to regularly accelerate and brake in city driving conditions.
  • Hard accelerating increases fuel use dramatically.
  • Braking wastes the energy that that has been used to get the car up to speed, unless you are in a hybrid that uses braking to generate electricity for the next acceleration.
  • Look ahead to anticipate the flow of the traffic so you can adjust your speed early to reduce the need for heavy braking.

Change up through the gears as soon as practical

  • Driving in a lower gear than necessary and revving the engine hard wastes fuel.
  • An automatic transmission will shift up through the gears quicker if you ease back on the accelerator once the car has gained enough speed.
  • Use the economy mode on an automatic transmission if it is available.

Use air conditioning only when necessary

  • Air conditioners increase fuel use by about 10%.
  • However, at speeds of more than 80km/h, light use of air conditioning is better for fuel consumption than an open window that increases wind resistance.

Don't warm up or idle your engine

  • Allowing an engine to idle for long periods wastes fuel. By switching off the engine, even for a short period, you will save more fuel than is used in restarting the engine.
  • Modern cars do not need to warm up in idle - they warm up faster while driving.

Fill your fuel tank only to the first click of the fuel nozzle

  • Any extra fuel can be spilled or lost from the tank's overflow.
  • Consider alternative fuels if they suit your car.

Keep your tyre pressure up to the recommended figure

  • Low pressure increases rolling resistance and fuel use.
  • Make sure your wheels are properly aligned.
  • Looking after your tyres will extend tyre life, improve handling and reduce emissions.

Remove unneccessary weight and roof racks

  • Carrying unneccessary weight around in your car increases fuel consumption.
  • Roof racks and spoilers increase wind resistance and fuel consumption, in some cases by more than 20%.

Service your car regularly

  • Keeping your car properly serviced and tuned will minimise its emissions and fuel use. It will also improve its safety and reliability and extend its useful life.