I continually try to combine advanced principles and efficiency, it adds to the journey experience, I battle between lower gears for greater control and response, or higher gears for gentle efficiency, amazing the difference a drivers inputs can have on vehicle efficiency, nice video again Reg, thank you
Great video and impressive results. When I passed my IAM test, I found that I was getting about 10% better mpg on my Dad's Volvo than he was getting, and he was a highly experienced very competent driver. The techniques you mention are very much a part of that. I do turn off the Auto Stop/Start (I call it "ASS") but will deliberately switch it on again if I am in stop/start traffic. My car is automatic so the ASS is more intrusive than on the manual. Plus if I am using reverse, having the engine cut out then immediately restart once I have completed the gear change into/out of Reverse is a major pain in the ASS. I have also nearly had an RTC at a busy roundabout when ASS cut the engine just as I was lifting my foot off the brake to accelerate out into a gap. A scarey moment!
Excellent tips Reg and well put together video. A few comments/observations. Certainly turning off the aircon helps a small amount with fuel economy (although not as much as in the old days) but worth pointing out that this is only true at low speeds if you have the windows down instead. The drag caused by the disrupted airflow at higher speeds negates the saving on having the aircon off. You could probably do a whole video on anticipation and observation to help keep momentum to save fuel. For example, slowing down well before traffic lights that are red to then still have a bit of momentum when they change. Or, if there is a number of vehicle in front of you approaching a give way junction then may as well ease off and coast as they are not all going to get going immediately, so you arrive at the junction with potentially some momentum to continue (only if safe to do so mind) or at worst cut down the number seconds sitting idle waiting at a queue. The biggest problem with most of your tips though is all the id!ots (which I feel are the majority) that get triggered following you. They feel they are being held back and end up dangerously tailgating or gesturing. I find you need to arrive at a happy medium of employing these techniques but not so much that they cause the id!ots to be triggered.
A well timed video Reg! My latest obsession is trying to complete my regular 12 mile commute (mix of 30mph, 60mph A Road and Motorway) with a minimum 50mpg. It gets addictive and really polishes up the old observation and anticipation skills. That said, I do still try and balance that with making progress. Car is a Passat Alltrack 2.0TDI, but with the DSG box, 4 wheel drive and all-season tyres (all of which hamper the economy) which, when not trying, usually settles around 42mpg.
As a courier, I spend a lot of time in traffic jams. I'm an advocate of no accelerator input at all and just moving forward at idle speed in 1st or 2nd gear (depending on how slow the traffic is moving) - no braking, just rolling. Probably annoys the hell out of people behind me because they can see a gap in front of me, and we know how territorial people are about road space. HGVs that are behind me in the queue seem to appreciate it though, as they do the same crawl technique in traffic. Great tips, Reg, but how do you balance the need for progress with being economical - I'm finding it very hard to find the balance as I just want to get on with it. The temptation to give it the beans when pulling off from a set of traffic lights is a hard habit to break !
Brilliant video Reg I think this is how people should be taught to drive. It's amazing how fast you can get from A to B with this smooth technique with forward planning and anticipation. I also find it amazing how many of my friends turn off the stop start. On my Peugeot 308 when your coming to a stop at about 14mph if you put the car in neutral and foot off the clutch the engine cuts and you can coast to a halt, pressing the clutch to re-start. It tells you the time if you go in the right mode on the touch screen how long the engine has been stopped for and on a reasonable journey you would be surprised how many minutes the engines not running.
Interesting and timely video. I am that person mentioned at the start of the video. 😯Every time I get in the car I deactivate the dreaded stop/start. If I could permanently disable it, I would. In my Renaultsport Clio 200 DCT it is truly horrible. Killing the engine while waiting to exit from side roads to major roads and at busy roundabouts. By the time you have moved your foot from the brake to the accelerator, it hasn't finished starting and you miss the gap/opportunity to join the (fast) flow of traffic. If you have the handbrake on and use the throttle to wake it up, it is far from a smooth pull away. With it off I still beat the published fuel figures by good anticipation, as I do also on the Triumph Explorer. Of the tips given in the video smooth driving with excellent anticipation are the big winners. One additional tip is to get rid of the ton of junk a lot of people carry around in the boot. Fuel prices are becoming scarily high.
Although coasting is worse for fuel economy than driving with the car in gear with no throttle input. Because when the engine is in gear it's linked to the wheels which turn the engine so fuel injected engines (it's different for older cars which is where this technique came from) won't use any fuel. However, in neutral there is nothing there to drive the engine so there has to be fuel injected to keep it running.
Retired fuel tech here, couple of points, agreed totally with maintaining momentum, which also means anticipating bends etc to avoid braking (which is more disruptive than acceleration) but also timing junctions and lights etc. Acceleration, you can accelerate reasonably, since you then get to cruise for longer and accelerating for less time. Also engines most efficient at max torque revs. Being a totally fuel nerd I always fill brim to brim, and log readings (have done for years and even have an excel spreadsheet to do linear regression line) . Re turning engine off immediately, if you have a turbo, then give it a bit of time to allow oil to cool especially if just after fast run. Currently my average is around 52 to 54 mpg with 2ltr GTI diesel automatic mid range car. Finally, looked like the the road from Belmont, one of my favourites
Further to previous comments Just followed my own advice, and also eased up a bit on top speed, keeping between 55 and 70, depending on gradient. Results, 60 mpg over almost 600 miles of mixed roads, some motorway, some fast A dual carriageway. Quite a bit of Welsh country roads.
Another great video, Reg! It's also worth addressing 'Smart' Cruise control, whose AI acceleration sense is limited to reactively responding to the vehicle immediately in front. Human observation extends well past, allowing long-range acceleration sense to be applied to the traffic farther ahead momentarily pulling up (eg motorway caterpillars). As well as lowering collision risk, this means avoiding the full stops of your clustered line of traffic ahead.
Haha, love driving, and always turn the start/stop off! Will start leaving it on :-) The reason I turn it off is because I feel when pulling away from a stop, there is a delay, which means I need to leave a bigger gap to get into at a roundabout for example. (DSG car)
Clever Dick here... I drive a 2.0 TDI and average 54mpg by using all the great techniques you demonstrate. The biggest factor, I believe, is building and feathering the gas. No hard acceleration or deceleration, everything smooth like a swing-boat.
From 5:44 onwards (assuming some momentum out of the bend) it’s possible to coast out of gear past the farm at 7:12 to the sharp right-hander (7:36 where you turn left for the car parks) assuming no vehicles hold you up. A short throttle burst takes you to the left hander and it’s possible to coast down to the junction at 9:10. This is using brakes to control the speed but allowing pace to escalate where reasonable. The right hander at 6:05 has to exited with care as the car isn’t balanced by throttle input if coasting. There are a number of places where you can coast on the way up if no-one is behind you as some momentum is lost. It’s pretty much all in and out of third gear in my car (E46 325i). If there’s someone slow in front and no chance of an overtake, I’ll normally stop the car at a point with a good view behind and add some space giving a clear run. Late on after dark, it’s possible to get from the Black Dog to Blackrod at a brisk pace without touching your brakes at all by just using engine braking and assuming the road is clear. There are two “difficult” points - the sharp right-hander at 6:30, the top of the hill before the farm which has to be taken in first with a long slowdown beginning before the road bears left and the other is the compulsory “Stop” before going onto Grimford Lane, you have to be almost at a standstill but still moving (ok, technically illegal). Crossing the A6 at the other end of Grimford also has to be done carefully to ensure it’s safe to cross without using brakes. That road has everything a driver could want (and sheep), it’s a total joy to drive on.
*Never* coast out of gear - it reduces control because you're relying purely on the brakes to slow you down, with no help from the engine compression. Plus you're using *more* fuel than driving in gear with no or very light throttle setting.
@@MK-1973 Just to correct you, you shouldn’t coast out of gear because you have no way to balance the car with throttle input to control rear grip; read the bit of my post just after “6.05”. That said, if correct adjustments are made ie correcting speed using brakes, the lack of balance can be counter-acted. Also, under gravity, speed will escalate which is fine if safe. Overheating the brakes can be a problem if speeds are high but a driver should notice fade pretty quickly. Your assertion that an idling car uses more fuel than one coasting in gear is utter fantasy. In any case, you will also notice that the third paragraph of my comment centres on engine braking rather than using brakes.
@@TheKongWizard thanks for the reply. See Highway Code rule 122 regarding coasting out of gear. Regarding fuel consumption- it's not fantasy to say a car uses more fuel when coasting out of gear. Because the engine is idling it's using fuel, whereas with the gear engaged but no throttle the fuel supply is cut to the engine and it runs purely on air compression as Reg explains.
Does this work on older engines with maximim torque above 4000 rpm? Im talking a 1.5 8valve with 80hp. And how to recognize if I'm actually saving fuel or ruining the engine by using low rpms on uphill roads?
You wanna maintain the engine speed just above the labouring point using the gears. I drive in a hilly area and have a 1.0L 3 cylinder. It involves listening closely
@@mammadtori3964 that's right. Even slight knocking is undesirable as it will wear the engine. Find the lowest point in the rev range that offers the ability to accelerate gently in the selected gear. It's a case of knowing the character of your engine by its note. Definitely more of an art than a science in my opinion
For automatic, try to get into a gear that has a gear ratio as close to 1:1 as quickly as possible and use this gear to gently accelerate up to speed. You will need to do research to find what gear in your 7 speed would be as close to a 1:1 ratio as this ratio is the point where any ratio less than 1:1 is considered Overdrive to squeeze a little bit more MPG out when crusing. Also using your cars fuel consumption monitor can help you find points in your vehicle throttle that will provide enough power without using too much fuel. For example, my Mazda6 2019 Toruing has a 6-speed Automatic. 4th gear is the gear I aim to be as soon as possible. Using the fuel consumption monitor, I find my vehicle usually cruises with a fuel consumption rate of 40+ MPG (US). But when in approaching a hill, I try to maintain enough throttle that keeps my fuel consumption rate between 30-40 MPG (US) to prevent too much loss in speed. Before these methods, I usually got 32-35 MPG (US). Now I can easily achieve 37-42 MPG (US).
When using trailing throttle downhill, it's worth accelerating shortly before the end of the down-slope (assuming the road ahead is visible...) because gravity compounds the effect and the acceleration is very cheap: the conversion of potential- to kinetic energy adds to the effect of the fuel burn. On the following up-slope, if (as Reg recommends) you let the speed decrease gently (in top gear if the slope isn't too steep) so that you're close to the engine's sweet spot (or to LGV-speed) just as you reach the next crest then the benefit is magnified even further.
The Camry & Corolla Hybrid get 52mpg before even applying these tips so I can’t wait to get into the 60s. And that’s without having to buy diesel. Thank you.
Thanks for that. It's good practice too, for economy, although that's not why F1 teams and aircraft operators do it, to keep your vehicle clean - less surface area equals less drag, equals better economy.
Hi reg another great video although if you allow me to disagree with two of your topics witch are: 1-i think there's one moment you should switch off the start-stop witch is precisely in a start stop traffic situation, otherwise you going to damage the longevity of some components of the engine, not to mention you'll reduce drastically the viscosity of the lubricant... 2-i think also that you shouldn't turn off the engine right away after a long journey specially if it is a turbo engine, because the turbo works with oil pressure and you should wait a few seconds for the pressure to drop then shut it off... Thanks again for the great video and I see you in the next...
Modern cars have solved both of these problems - if you have an older car, sure, but no car requires turbo cooldown any more - most have extended cooldown programming if its even required - you can hear the turbo whirring after the engine has stopped.
It would be helpful if Reg would comment on Rospa's rule of putting on your seat belt AFTER starting the car. (That was what my Rospa observer told me) The IAM have no such rule. I prefer to clunk click just before starting the car and moving off gradually.
It's hard to not get good mileage on the types of roads you are diving on in this video. I'm struggling to get even 7-10Kmpl on Indian roads here with bumber to bumber traffic unfortunately.
Excellent and very timely video Reg, thank you. Love the new graphics. So are you going to rename your channel 'fuel efficient driving'?! Joking aside this is an important topic and I know many will be anxious about the rising cost of fuel. 52mpg is indeed impressive in a 2 litre turbo petrol. I'd be pleased with that in my 2 litre turbodiesel! (Skoda Octavia VRS). A few ideas to add to your excellent tips: (i) Safety first - never compromise safety for economy. That includes making reasonable progress (but no reason why you shouldn't be able to do that and save fuel) (ii) Maintain your vehicle well - have it serviced when you should, keep the tyre pressures to the recommended levels (iii) Get to know your vehicle (and the other vehicles you drive) and it's sweet spot as you say for performance and economy. I'm not sure that 37mpg in 6th gear would work in mine (though that's not to say it wouldn't work for you). (iv) Don't carry too much fuel - of course you should always have sufficient fuel for your journey but if you're only driving relatively short distances what's the point of having 50-60 litres sloshing around in the tank as extra weight? I tend to keep around half a tank in mine (avoid letting it drop below a quarter especially in winter to avoid condensation in the fuel tank). (v) If you need aircon on a hot day, open the windows first and let the hot air out. The interior of your car can get to 40degC plus on a hot sunny day - imagine how hard the aircon will have to work cooling it back down to 18degC! Have the windows down a bit when driving at lower speeds in these circumstances and put the aircon on once the engine has warmed up somewhat and your speed increases. And close the windows once the air con is on. (vi) Consider block changes up the box in a manual where you need brisk acceleration - e.g. 1st to 3rd, 2nd to 4th, 3rd to 5th. When circumstances allow and it's safe of course - as you say we don't want the engine to labour. That goes back to my point about knowing your car. Interested to know what you think of this Reg? (vii) I have been known to use the cruise control on the motorway, set to a low speed (60-62mph). I'll accelerate over this speed when I need to e.g. to pass lorries. With an uphill stretch coming up and if I'm not going to inconvenience anyone I'll drop the cruise control speed by a few mph so I'm not just being powered up the hill at a 'set speed'. On a downhill, cruise control will hold you at a lower speed. Of course good acceleration sense will do all this too; judicious use of cruise control just makes life a little easier and can be used to aid economy I think? (viii) If you own a diesel with a particulate filter and an exhaust gas recycling valve you'll probably have to use a bit more revs from time to time to keep these from clogging up and to keep the engine running well. Same I suspect for the turbo and injectors. This will also keep the engine in good order which will likely save fuel overall as well as expensive garage bills! (see point above about looking after your car). Same may be true for petrol turbos which I think may also have EGR valves. It's all about a sensible balance between economy and other factors when driving - but why not try to save fuel? If you're an enthusiast and like driving quickly, why not have ay an 80:20 rule - drive in a fuel efficient way 80% of the time to save fuel for the 20% of the time when you decide you want to put your foot down! My best ever fuel economy in the Skoda is just above 70mpg on a motorway run with the wind behind me. It'll usually do 50mpg plus without trying. I had a 2 litre Sierra which would often exceed 45mpg on a long run and occasionally topped 50mpg - I always felt very chuffed when it did that! Thanks again Reg, I will try some of your tips when I'm out in the car later today.
UPDATE: I tried your tips Reg and got 51mpg on a 14 mile round trip I make regularly where I normally get about 47mpg. A warm sunny day with the aircon on too. Interestingly the DPF was doing a forced regen when I got home; the fan kept going for a few minutes after I'd switched the engine off. Which I think is less than ideal, so maybe I went a bit overboard. I've tried again on subsequent journeys and think I am finding a decent balance, the tips definitely helped. I think my favourite is about timing to avoid acceleration uphill when possible. Thanks as always.
@Reg Local, how do I save fuel on an automatic? Is it better to 5% throttle, or accelerate up to the highest gear as fast as possible? Have in mind that with 5% will rarely result in the highest gear. Thanks
I've done lots of experimenting with this question in mind and found these methods work: - Get into a gear with a ratio of 1:1 as soon as possible. Use this gear for accelerating up to speed as gently as possible. Your may need to do research for your vehicles tranmssion gear ratios to find which gear would be as close to 1:1 ratio -If your vehicle has one, monitor your fuel consumption monitor to find a balance at which your vehicle provides enough power without applying too much throttle. Especially useful for climbing hills without losing too much speed. My Mazda6 can cruise at fuel consumption rate of 40+mpg (US), but for hills, I aim to maintain enough throttle that put my fuel consumption rate between 30-40 MPG (US) depending on the steepness of the hill while also allowing gentle acceleration or a slight loss in speed to regain once at the top of hill. Before using these methods, i got 32-35. Now I can usually get 37-42 MPG in my Mazda6 2019 Toruing.
Enjoyed the video. You may have been asked this question already but if you don't have stop start should you switch off your engine at lights and then restart. Would this use more fuel than keeping youe engine on?
I would advise against that William - cars without s-s should be left running when stationary, unless you’re going to be stationary for an extended period of time.
I bought a 2015 Mazda2 after I seen it was capable of averaging 76mpg. Mazda weren't kidding, I averaged over 80mpg. It only has 90bhp and has tall gears, so I can't select 5th unless I'm doing 35mph or more. Video on my account.
I'll confess I used to sometimes drive in lane 1 at 55-60mph years ago when I was nursing my elderly Cortina 1.6. I think it is possible to do this whilst being considerate to trucks - maintain a little more speed when there is clearly no opportunity for a truck to overtake, then when the opportunity arises reduce speed to allow the truck to overtake quickly. This requires concentration, which reduces the monotony of driving at a relatively low speed and actually makes the journey more enjoyable. Of course you need to continue your forward observations not just fixate on what's in the mirrors. Just sticking to a set speed come hell or high water is what I think is inconsiderate - I hope I didn't do that! Best economy I ever got in the Cortina was 39mpg which beat the official 'at a steady 56mph' figure.
Timely video! .. I find the hardest part is having the discipline to keep to this style of driving for more than 10 miles! I was interested that you didn’t advocate block changes up the gear box (Eg 2 to 4 to 6) .. any reason why?
Drove a MK2 KA with stop/start it will cut out with the clutch down and in gear. It cut out a split second before I was about to pull out into a tight gap. Luckily I aborted pulling out.
The biggest shock in motoring I got was going from an Audi A4 2 litre turbo Diesel which on a bad day would get around 50ish mpg to a seat Leon cupra 300 which gets 36mpg on a really good day, down hill with the wind at your back 😂
Sorry but you have fallen into the same examples a lot of others use. Changing up to the gears and keeping the revs low does not work for every car. 50mph the car will happily cruise along in 6th gear BUT.... and its a sizeable BUT... It uses MORE fuel than 50mph in 5th gear, even though the revs are higher its pumping less fuel into the engine. 2L 140bhp Diesel. This will vary a lot between different cars and engines.
Best choice is about maximum torque. I like driving 1.9Tdi with revs about 2000/min. Car feels good. Does not burn excessive amount of fuel. 5.5 l/100 km.
@@MaciejJankowskiPL Yes and No... If max torque say 300Nm is at 2000rpm and the road your on only requires 120Nm to maintain the same speed then you can reduce the revs and save fuel.
All the hate for stop/start in these comments reinforces my belief that cars should have electric assist motors to drive the wheels when the main engine is switched off (or declutched).
I continually try to combine advanced principles and efficiency, it adds to the journey experience, I battle between lower gears for greater control and response, or higher gears for gentle efficiency, amazing the difference a drivers inputs can have on vehicle efficiency, nice video again Reg, thank you
Great video and impressive results.
When I passed my IAM test, I found that I was getting about 10% better mpg on my Dad's Volvo than he was getting, and he was a highly experienced very competent driver. The techniques you mention are very much a part of that.
I do turn off the Auto Stop/Start (I call it "ASS") but will deliberately switch it on again if I am in stop/start traffic. My car is automatic so the ASS is more intrusive than on the manual. Plus if I am using reverse, having the engine cut out then immediately restart once I have completed the gear change into/out of Reverse is a major pain in the ASS. I have also nearly had an RTC at a busy roundabout when ASS cut the engine just as I was lifting my foot off the brake to accelerate out into a gap. A scarey moment!
I got a chip installed in my car that turns it off each time I turn the car on. I considered it a dangerous feature, especially on an automatic.
Excellent tips Reg and well put together video. A few comments/observations. Certainly turning off the aircon helps a small amount with fuel economy (although not as much as in the old days) but worth pointing out that this is only true at low speeds if you have the windows down instead. The drag caused by the disrupted airflow at higher speeds negates the saving on having the aircon off.
You could probably do a whole video on anticipation and observation to help keep momentum to save fuel. For example, slowing down well before traffic lights that are red to then still have a bit of momentum when they change. Or, if there is a number of vehicle in front of you approaching a give way junction then may as well ease off and coast as they are not all going to get going immediately, so you arrive at the junction with potentially some momentum to continue (only if safe to do so mind) or at worst cut down the number seconds sitting idle waiting at a queue.
The biggest problem with most of your tips though is all the id!ots (which I feel are the majority) that get triggered following you. They feel they are being held back and end up dangerously tailgating or gesturing. I find you need to arrive at a happy medium of employing these techniques but not so much that they cause the id!ots to be triggered.
A well timed video Reg! My latest obsession is trying to complete my regular 12 mile commute (mix of 30mph, 60mph A Road and Motorway) with a minimum 50mpg. It gets addictive and really polishes up the old observation and anticipation skills. That said, I do still try and balance that with making progress. Car is a Passat Alltrack 2.0TDI, but with the DSG box, 4 wheel drive and all-season tyres (all of which hamper the economy) which, when not trying, usually settles around 42mpg.
As a courier, I spend a lot of time in traffic jams. I'm an advocate of no accelerator input at all and just moving forward at idle speed in 1st or 2nd gear (depending on how slow the traffic is moving) - no braking, just rolling. Probably annoys the hell out of people behind me because they can see a gap in front of me, and we know how territorial people are about road space. HGVs that are behind me in the queue seem to appreciate it though, as they do the same crawl technique in traffic. Great tips, Reg, but how do you balance the need for progress with being economical - I'm finding it very hard to find the balance as I just want to get on with it. The temptation to give it the beans when pulling off from a set of traffic lights is a hard habit to break !
Brilliant video Reg I think this is how people should be taught to drive. It's amazing how fast you can get from A to B with this smooth technique with forward planning and anticipation. I also find it amazing how many of my friends turn off the stop start. On my Peugeot 308 when your coming to a stop at about 14mph if you put the car in neutral and foot off the clutch the engine cuts and you can coast to a halt, pressing the clutch to re-start. It tells you the time if you go in the right mode on the touch screen how long the engine has been stopped for and on a reasonable journey you would be surprised how many minutes the engines not running.
Interesting and timely video. I am that person mentioned at the start of the video. 😯Every time I get in the car I deactivate the dreaded stop/start. If I could permanently disable it, I would. In my Renaultsport Clio 200 DCT it is truly horrible. Killing the engine while waiting to exit from side roads to major roads and at busy roundabouts. By the time you have moved your foot from the brake to the accelerator, it hasn't finished starting and you miss the gap/opportunity to join the (fast) flow of traffic. If you have the handbrake on and use the throttle to wake it up, it is far from a smooth pull away. With it off I still beat the published fuel figures by good anticipation, as I do also on the Triumph Explorer. Of the tips given in the video smooth driving with excellent anticipation are the big winners. One additional tip is to get rid of the ton of junk a lot of people carry around in the boot. Fuel prices are becoming scarily high.
I'm litterally coasting while driving to save fuel.
Great video very informative, I'm off to Cornwall tomorrow and will take all your advice with me.
Although coasting is worse for fuel economy than driving with the car in gear with no throttle input. Because when the engine is in gear it's linked to the wheels which turn the engine so fuel injected engines (it's different for older cars which is where this technique came from) won't use any fuel. However, in neutral there is nothing there to drive the engine so there has to be fuel injected to keep it running.
Retired fuel tech here, couple of points, agreed totally with maintaining momentum, which also means anticipating bends etc to avoid braking (which is more disruptive than acceleration) but also timing junctions and lights etc. Acceleration, you can accelerate reasonably, since you then get to cruise for longer and accelerating for less time. Also engines most efficient at max torque revs. Being a totally fuel nerd I always fill brim to brim, and log readings (have done for years and even have an excel spreadsheet to do linear regression line) . Re turning engine off immediately, if you have a turbo, then give it a bit of time to allow oil to cool especially if just after fast run. Currently my average is around 52 to 54 mpg with 2ltr GTI diesel automatic mid range car.
Finally, looked like the the road from Belmont, one of my favourites
Thanks Robert - interesting points.
Further to previous comments
Just followed my own advice, and also eased up a bit on top speed, keeping between 55 and 70, depending on gradient. Results, 60 mpg over almost 600 miles of mixed roads, some motorway, some fast A dual carriageway. Quite a bit of Welsh country roads.
How would using these techniques be viewed on advanced tests? Are they compatible or would making maximum safe progress on test be more important?
Good question. Hope @reglocal answers this.
I failed my Advanced Test for using these techniques, particularly on country roads and having the car, a 2L Diesel in Eco Mode/Automatic Drive.
Another great video, Reg!
It's also worth addressing 'Smart' Cruise control, whose AI acceleration sense is limited to reactively responding to the vehicle immediately in front.
Human observation extends well past, allowing long-range acceleration sense to be applied to the traffic farther ahead momentarily pulling up (eg motorway caterpillars).
As well as lowering collision risk, this means avoiding the full stops of your clustered line of traffic ahead.
Haha, love driving, and always turn the start/stop off! Will start leaving it on :-) The reason I turn it off is because I feel when pulling away from a stop, there is a delay, which means I need to leave a bigger gap to get into at a roundabout for example. (DSG car)
Clever Dick here... I drive a 2.0 TDI and average 54mpg by using all the great techniques you demonstrate. The biggest factor, I believe, is building and feathering the gas. No hard acceleration or deceleration, everything smooth like a swing-boat.
Australia - we are paying around GBP 1.22 per litre this week.
From 5:44 onwards (assuming some momentum out of the bend) it’s possible to coast out of gear past the farm at 7:12 to the sharp right-hander (7:36 where you turn left for the car parks) assuming no vehicles hold you up. A short throttle burst takes you to the left hander and it’s possible to coast down to the junction at 9:10. This is using brakes to control the speed but allowing pace to escalate where reasonable. The right hander at 6:05 has to exited with care as the car isn’t balanced by throttle input if coasting. There are a number of places where you can coast on the way up if no-one is behind you as some momentum is lost. It’s pretty much all in and out of third gear in my car (E46 325i).
If there’s someone slow in front and no chance of an overtake, I’ll normally stop the car at a point with a good view behind and add some space giving a clear run.
Late on after dark, it’s possible to get from the Black Dog to Blackrod at a brisk pace without touching your brakes at all by just using engine braking and assuming the road is clear. There are two “difficult” points - the sharp right-hander at 6:30, the top of the hill before the farm which has to be taken in first with a long slowdown beginning before the road bears left and the other is the compulsory “Stop” before going onto Grimford Lane, you have to be almost at a standstill but still moving (ok, technically illegal). Crossing the A6 at the other end of Grimford also has to be done carefully to ensure it’s safe to cross without using brakes.
That road has everything a driver could want (and sheep), it’s a total joy to drive on.
*Never* coast out of gear - it reduces control because you're relying purely on the brakes to slow you down, with no help from the engine compression. Plus you're using *more* fuel than driving in gear with no or very light throttle setting.
@@MK-1973 Just to correct you, you shouldn’t coast out of gear because you have no way to balance the car with throttle input to control rear grip; read the bit of my post just after “6.05”. That said, if correct adjustments are made ie correcting speed using brakes, the lack of balance can be counter-acted. Also, under gravity, speed will escalate which is fine if safe. Overheating the brakes can be a problem if speeds are high but a driver should notice fade pretty quickly.
Your assertion that an idling car uses more fuel than one coasting in gear is utter fantasy. In any case, you will also notice that the third paragraph of my comment centres on engine braking rather than using brakes.
@@TheKongWizard thanks for the reply. See Highway Code rule 122 regarding coasting out of gear. Regarding fuel consumption- it's not fantasy to say a car uses more fuel when coasting out of gear. Because the engine is idling it's using fuel, whereas with the gear engaged but no throttle the fuel supply is cut to the engine and it runs purely on air compression as Reg explains.
Does this work on older engines with maximim torque above 4000 rpm? Im talking a 1.5 8valve with 80hp. And how to recognize if I'm actually saving fuel or ruining the engine by using low rpms on uphill roads?
You wanna maintain the engine speed just above the labouring point using the gears. I drive in a hilly area and have a 1.0L 3 cylinder. It involves listening closely
@@MrJohnQCitizen By "laboring point" you mean when the engine starts knocking?
@@mammadtori3964 that's right. Even slight knocking is undesirable as it will wear the engine. Find the lowest point in the rev range that offers the ability to accelerate gently in the selected gear. It's a case of knowing the character of your engine by its note. Definitely more of an art than a science in my opinion
The stop/start mean that you are using the starter motor more frequently. Won't the cost of a new starter motor negate any fuel cost saving?
No.
Solid tips. Thank you, Reg.
Great tips I'm well impressed with thi youtube channel
Excellent tips Reg, any tips on driving an auto, my DSG 7 speed is all over the place
For automatic, try to get into a gear that has a gear ratio as close to 1:1 as quickly as possible and use this gear to gently accelerate up to speed. You will need to do research to find what gear in your 7 speed would be as close to a 1:1 ratio as this ratio is the point where any ratio less than 1:1 is considered Overdrive to squeeze a little bit more MPG out when crusing. Also using your cars fuel consumption monitor can help you find points in your vehicle throttle that will provide enough power without using too much fuel.
For example, my Mazda6 2019 Toruing has a 6-speed Automatic. 4th gear is the gear I aim to be as soon as possible. Using the fuel consumption monitor, I find my vehicle usually cruises with a fuel consumption rate of 40+ MPG (US). But when in approaching a hill, I try to maintain enough throttle that keeps my fuel consumption rate between 30-40 MPG (US) to prevent too much loss in speed.
Before these methods, I usually got 32-35 MPG (US). Now I can easily achieve 37-42 MPG (US).
When using trailing throttle downhill, it's worth accelerating shortly before the end of the down-slope (assuming the road ahead is visible...) because gravity compounds the effect and the acceleration is very cheap: the conversion of potential- to kinetic energy adds to the effect of the fuel burn.
On the following up-slope, if (as Reg recommends) you let the speed decrease gently (in top gear if the slope isn't too steep) so that you're close to the engine's sweet spot (or to LGV-speed) just as you reach the next crest then the benefit is magnified even further.
I'd be interested to know if the price of fuel has affected road safety charities in the driver training and testing areas?
The Camry & Corolla Hybrid get 52mpg before even applying these tips so I can’t wait to get into the 60s. And that’s without having to buy diesel. Thank you.
Corolla hybrid should see in excess of 70mpg with these tips. I had the Auris hybrid and averaged 80-90mpg on the 14 mile commute to work.
Thanks for that. It's good practice too, for economy, although that's not why F1 teams and aircraft operators do it, to keep your vehicle clean - less surface area equals less drag, equals better economy.
Hello! Jhon, pls do fuel saving video on Motorcycle. Thanks 👍
excellent video reg👍🏻
Hi reg another great video although if you allow me to disagree with two of your topics witch are:
1-i think there's one moment you should switch off the start-stop witch is precisely in a start stop traffic situation, otherwise you going to damage the longevity of some components of the engine, not to mention you'll reduce drastically the viscosity of the lubricant...
2-i think also that you shouldn't turn off the engine right away after a long journey specially if it is a turbo engine, because the turbo works with oil pressure and you should wait a few seconds for the pressure to drop then shut it off...
Thanks again for the great video and I see you in the next...
Modern cars have solved both of these problems - if you have an older car, sure, but no car requires turbo cooldown any more - most have extended cooldown programming if its even required - you can hear the turbo whirring after the engine has stopped.
It would be helpful if Reg would comment on Rospa's rule of putting on your seat belt AFTER starting the car. (That was what my Rospa observer told me)
The IAM have no such rule. I prefer to clunk click just before starting the car and moving off gradually.
I haven’t mentioned it because it’s nonsense Matt.
It's hard to not get good mileage on the types of roads you are diving on in this video. I'm struggling to get even 7-10Kmpl on Indian roads here with bumber to bumber traffic unfortunately.
Excellent and very timely video Reg, thank you. Love the new graphics. So are you going to rename your channel 'fuel efficient driving'?!
Joking aside this is an important topic and I know many will be anxious about the rising cost of fuel. 52mpg is indeed impressive in a 2 litre turbo petrol. I'd be pleased with that in my 2 litre turbodiesel! (Skoda Octavia VRS).
A few ideas to add to your excellent tips:
(i) Safety first - never compromise safety for economy. That includes making reasonable progress (but no reason why you shouldn't be able to do that and save fuel)
(ii) Maintain your vehicle well - have it serviced when you should, keep the tyre pressures to the recommended levels
(iii) Get to know your vehicle (and the other vehicles you drive) and it's sweet spot as you say for performance and economy. I'm not sure that 37mpg in 6th gear would work in mine (though that's not to say it wouldn't work for you).
(iv) Don't carry too much fuel - of course you should always have sufficient fuel for your journey but if you're only driving relatively short distances what's the point of having 50-60 litres sloshing around in the tank as extra weight? I tend to keep around half a tank in mine (avoid letting it drop below a quarter especially in winter to avoid condensation in the fuel tank).
(v) If you need aircon on a hot day, open the windows first and let the hot air out. The interior of your car can get to 40degC plus on a hot sunny day - imagine how hard the aircon will have to work cooling it back down to 18degC! Have the windows down a bit when driving at lower speeds in these circumstances and put the aircon on once the engine has warmed up somewhat and your speed increases. And close the windows once the air con is on.
(vi) Consider block changes up the box in a manual where you need brisk acceleration - e.g. 1st to 3rd, 2nd to 4th, 3rd to 5th. When circumstances allow and it's safe of course - as you say we don't want the engine to labour. That goes back to my point about knowing your car. Interested to know what you think of this Reg?
(vii) I have been known to use the cruise control on the motorway, set to a low speed (60-62mph). I'll accelerate over this speed when I need to e.g. to pass lorries. With an uphill stretch coming up and if I'm not going to inconvenience anyone I'll drop the cruise control speed by a few mph so I'm not just being powered up the hill at a 'set speed'. On a downhill, cruise control will hold you at a lower speed. Of course good acceleration sense will do all this too; judicious use of cruise control just makes life a little easier and can be used to aid economy I think?
(viii) If you own a diesel with a particulate filter and an exhaust gas recycling valve you'll probably have to use a bit more revs from time to time to keep these from clogging up and to keep the engine running well. Same I suspect for the turbo and injectors. This will also keep the engine in good order which will likely save fuel overall as well as expensive garage bills! (see point above about looking after your car). Same may be true for petrol turbos which I think may also have EGR valves. It's all about a sensible balance between economy and other factors when driving - but why not try to save fuel? If you're an enthusiast and like driving quickly, why not have ay an 80:20 rule - drive in a fuel efficient way 80% of the time to save fuel for the 20% of the time when you decide you want to put your foot down!
My best ever fuel economy in the Skoda is just above 70mpg on a motorway run with the wind behind me. It'll usually do 50mpg plus without trying. I had a 2 litre Sierra which would often exceed 45mpg on a long run and occasionally topped 50mpg - I always felt very chuffed when it did that!
Thanks again Reg, I will try some of your tips when I'm out in the car later today.
UPDATE: I tried your tips Reg and got 51mpg on a 14 mile round trip I make regularly where I normally get about 47mpg. A warm sunny day with the aircon on too. Interestingly the DPF was doing a forced regen when I got home; the fan kept going for a few minutes after I'd switched the engine off. Which I think is less than ideal, so maybe I went a bit overboard.
I've tried again on subsequent journeys and think I am finding a decent balance, the tips definitely helped. I think my favourite is about timing to avoid acceleration uphill when possible. Thanks as always.
@Reg Local, how do I save fuel on an automatic? Is it better to 5% throttle, or accelerate up to the highest gear as fast as possible? Have in mind that with 5% will rarely result in the highest gear. Thanks
I've done lots of experimenting with this question in mind and found these methods work:
- Get into a gear with a ratio of 1:1 as soon as possible. Use this gear for accelerating up to speed as gently as possible. Your may need to do research for your vehicles tranmssion gear ratios to find which gear would be as close to 1:1 ratio
-If your vehicle has one, monitor your fuel consumption monitor to find a balance at which your vehicle provides enough power without applying too much throttle. Especially useful for climbing hills without losing too much speed. My Mazda6 can cruise at fuel consumption rate of 40+mpg (US), but for hills, I aim to maintain enough throttle that put my fuel consumption rate between 30-40 MPG (US) depending on the steepness of the hill while also allowing gentle acceleration or a slight loss in speed to regain once at the top of hill.
Before using these methods, i got 32-35. Now I can usually get 37-42 MPG in my Mazda6 2019 Toruing.
Enjoyed the video. You may have been asked this question already but if you don't have stop start should you switch off your engine at lights and then restart. Would this use more fuel than keeping youe engine on?
I would advise against that William - cars without s-s should be left running when stationary, unless you’re going to be stationary for an extended period of time.
I bought a 2015 Mazda2 after I seen it was capable of averaging 76mpg. Mazda weren't kidding, I averaged over 80mpg. It only has 90bhp and has tall gears, so I can't select 5th unless I'm doing 35mph or more. Video on my account.
I've noticed as s lorry driver many more cars doing about 50mph on the motorways.
Drivers of smaller vehicles should stay ahead of the trucks, doing 50 is really bad forcing trucks to overtake.
Yes. Especially at £750 a tank!
I'll confess I used to sometimes drive in lane 1 at 55-60mph years ago when I was nursing my elderly Cortina 1.6. I think it is possible to do this whilst being considerate to trucks - maintain a little more speed when there is clearly no opportunity for a truck to overtake, then when the opportunity arises reduce speed to allow the truck to overtake quickly. This requires concentration, which reduces the monotony of driving at a relatively low speed and actually makes the journey more enjoyable. Of course you need to continue your forward observations not just fixate on what's in the mirrors. Just sticking to a set speed come hell or high water is what I think is inconsiderate - I hope I didn't do that! Best economy I ever got in the Cortina was 39mpg which beat the official 'at a steady 56mph' figure.
Timely video! .. I find the hardest part is having the discipline to keep to this style of driving for more than 10 miles! I was interested that you didn’t advocate block changes up the gear box (Eg 2 to 4 to 6) .. any reason why?
Block changing up through the box would require higher revs before changing up, whereas using every gear allows you to keep the revs lower.
Drove a MK2 KA with stop/start it will cut out with the clutch down and in gear. It cut out a split second before I was about to pull out into a tight gap. Luckily I aborted pulling out.
The biggest shock in motoring I got was going from an Audi A4 2 litre turbo Diesel which on a bad day would get around 50ish mpg to a seat Leon cupra 300 which gets 36mpg on a really good day, down hill with the wind at your back 😂
I’d love to see some of these videos in fully electric family car (not a Tesla)
Prices of fuel are so dumb especially in Cumbria
Sorry but you have fallen into the same examples a lot of others use. Changing up to the gears and keeping the revs low does not work for every car. 50mph the car will happily cruise along in 6th gear BUT.... and its a sizeable BUT... It uses MORE fuel than 50mph in 5th gear, even though the revs are higher its pumping less fuel into the engine. 2L 140bhp Diesel.
This will vary a lot between different cars and engines.
Best choice is about maximum torque. I like driving 1.9Tdi with revs about 2000/min. Car feels good. Does not burn excessive amount of fuel. 5.5 l/100 km.
@@MaciejJankowskiPL Yes and No...
If max torque say 300Nm is at 2000rpm and the road your on only requires 120Nm to maintain the same speed then you can reduce the revs and save fuel.
All the hate for stop/start in these comments reinforces my belief that cars should have electric assist motors to drive the wheels when the main engine is switched off (or declutched).
Getting 10 bucks a gallon in California.
Appropriate timing lol