So I am going to share some tips on how to save on petrol as it will hit most of our wallets soon.
Pump my Ride:
Pump petrol in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the petrol. When it gets warmer petrol expands, so if you’re filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a liter is not exactly a liter. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and temperature of the fuel are significant. A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal but service stations don’t have temperature compensation at their pumps.
If a tanker truck is filling the station’s tank at the time you want to buy petrol, do not fill up. Most likely dirt and sludge in the tank is being stirred up when petrol is being delivered, and you might be transferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car’s tank.
Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty) because the more petrol you have in your tank the less air there is and petrol evaporates rapidly, especially when it’s warm. (petrol storage tanks have an internal floating ‘roof’ membrane to act as a barrier between the gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation.)
Don’t be trigger happy. If you look at the trigger you’ll see that it has three delivery settings: slow, medium and high. When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping at the slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping. Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return path for vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated petrol contains more vapor, which is being sucked back into the underground tank, so you’re getting less petrol for your money.
Pump your Tires
Keeping your tires inflated is one of the easiest and most important things Saving petrol means saving money one can do to improve fuel economy. If a range is recommended by the manufacturer, the higher pressure should be used to maximize fuel efficiency. Deflated tires run hot and jeopardize safety. It will also cause the tires to wear out prematurely, affect the vehicles adversely, and hurt the fuel economy by increasing the rolling resistance.
Buy a pressure gauge for your car. Get a digital gauge instead of the analog one with a pointer. Don’t rely on the gauge at the pump station because it is often faulty or inaccurate.
Pump in the right pressure. Check your car door for the right pressure. They are either in PSI or Kpa. Tyres lose about 1 psi pressure per month due to air loss caused by the tyre hitting holes, bumps and curbs. Therefore, the tyres should be checked at least once a month. Just 1 tyre deflated by 2 psi will result in a 1% increase in fuel consumption.
Pump your tires when it is cold. That is dont pump your tires when you have driven more than 5 minutes. Hot tyres will not give you the right pressure.
Which is the best petrol?
This is one of the most frequent question i received since I am such a smart-alec-maven.
- Use the right RON - RON92 or RON97?
What is RON? It is the Research Octane Number for the car. I don’t want to go into too much technical details but essentially you should always use the RON your car is tuned for. Check your car manual’s fuel section. It will tell you want is the RON you should use.
My car and I suspect most of our cars (except VIOS) are tuned for RON92 and below. Using RON97 or V-power will not increase your mileage nor power if the car is not tuned for that level of octane. In fact, a car using a higher RON from recommended levels will only increase its carbon deposits in the engine.
So if you can save 4 sens a liter now without any change in performance, you will save about RM75 a year if you currently spend RM300 a month on petrol. If you spend RM600 a month on petrol, it is a savings of RM150 a year!
- Use a petrol with good additives for cleaner & efficient engine
Each company’s fuel has a different additive package and that is the real differentiator. The ingredients of the package can be determined but not the precise recipe. It is possible that with different engines, different additive packages will react differently which is why some people will find one petrol better than another. Even with V-Power, there are different opinions concerning its benefits and range from nothing to big difference.
At the same time, there are also other variable such as the engine tune, spark plug condition and even the humidity in the air. Each of these can have a slight effect on the combustion process and give you a different feeling.
For me, it is a matter of savings and convenience. My preferred choice is Caltex Techron Silver 92 - for its additive package. It is a fact that Caltex’s RON92 have the same additive package as the RON97 whereas other companies don’t actually state that their RON92 has the same additives as their RON97.
The other alternative is pumping BHP’s Infinity Ron92 and paying with UOB One Card to get a 2% rebate. I don’t think the quality of this petrol is as good as Caltex Techron butyou do pay less (about RM1.84 per liter instead of RM1.88 for RON92).
Tina
Luqman Technologies - Pakistan
Email: info@luqman-technologies.com
Voice: +92 - 300 - 4329860
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