| The heavier the car, the more fuel it consumes. |
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Check your tire pressure regularly. We recommend once every 2 weeks. Fuel consumption in winter increases from 5 to 10% |
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| "Cold" motor very gluttonous, this is a well-known fact. |
| A roof rack on a car increases aerodynamic drag - increasing fuel consumption. |
| Stop the engine when stopping for more than 5 minutes. |
| The quieter you go, the further you'll get! In our case: If you drive more quietly, you will consume less! |
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Ride calmly- do not accelerate sharply and brake sharply and then pick up speed again! Economical overclocking- This is a smooth acceleration, not a slow one. For new cars, fuel consumption is always slightly higher than normal - the first 10-15 thousand km is normal. |
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Driving in gear and braking with the engine will provide greater savings than driving in neutral for a modern car. The condition of the road surface affects fuel consumption - increases: road with potholes, wet road, slippery... driving in low gear, sliding, slipping |
Few car enthusiasts do not care about the economic component of operating a vehicle. Even if you take “twin cars”: a car of the same make, model, with the same configuration, different owners will have different fuel consumption.
Fuel consumption mainly depends on the driving style (driving manner), operating conditions, and the fuel and lubricants used.
Optimal fuel consumption of the vehicle.
- constantly monitor the air pressure in the tires (some manufacturers indicate the air pressure in the tires in the table on the fuel tank filler cap);
- warm up the engine while driving;
- avoid frequent and sudden acceleration;
- change gears, ensuring the engine operates at 2/3 of the maximum frequency;
- carry out prescribed maintenance regularly;
- do not carry unnecessary ballast in your car (the more your car weighs, the higher its fuel consumption);
- do not install additional external equipment that worsens the aerodynamic characteristics of the car;
- Refuel with high-quality fuel prescribed by the manufacturer.
Fuel consumption increases significantly when driving in large cities, short distances (the engine does not reach operating temperature), driving with a trailer, and driving in mountainous areas. Season of the year - in winter, fuel consumption is greater than in summer: winter tires, prolonged warm-up, heating the car, increased time of use of lighting devices, deterioration of the road surface, etc.
How does air conditioning affect fuel consumption?
Contrary to general opinion, eliminating the air conditioning system in a modern car will not save you much - under standard conditions, but if 3 - 5% is significant for you, try going without air conditioning. At the same time, in hot weather, when the air conditioner is running at full power, fuel consumption due to the air conditioner increases by up to 10%. The reason is that when using an air conditioning system, part of the engine power is spent on operating the air conditioner; the greater the load, the greater the consumption.
The color of the car affects fuel consumption!
Yes, you read that right! Cars are more economical if they are painted in a light color - proven by researchers from the Californian city of Berkeley.
Scientists took two identical cars, painted black and silver, and conducted research on the influence of the environment (sun) on the operating time of a car air conditioner. As a result, it was found that the temperature in the interior of a silver car is on average 5-6 degrees lower than in the interior of a black one; accordingly, 13% less energy was spent cooling the interior of a light-colored car than cooling a black one. Due to lower energy consumption during operation of the air conditioner, the fuel consumption of a silver car is 1.1% less than that of a black car.
How does wheel width affect fuel consumption?
Wide wheels create aerodynamic drag much greater than narrow ones. Accordingly, fuel consumption increases and vice versa. The best option is the size of wheels and tires recommended by the manufacturer.
Regular vehicle maintenance will significantly reduce fuel consumption.
Food for thought - increased fuel consumption:
- untimely replaced air filter up to 10%;
- non-working spark plugs up to 10%;
- clogged catalyst up to 10%;
- incorrectly set wheel angles up to 5%;
- the tire pressure drop is 0.4 atm below normal to 10%.
This question often arises on various auto forums, and simply among car enthusiasts in live communication. I was also interested in understanding: how much does turning on the air conditioning or climate control add to the car’s appetite in the summer heat. No, we can all make assumptions, but we are always too lazy to actually take measurements... But on this hot day, laziness was defeated...
August - 15th. The air is white-hot - an air cushion with a temperature of +39 degrees hangs above the black asphalt!
The interior is good - the Kia Ceed's climate control works great, although it blows icy air into the cabin too aggressively if you set the temperature lower. Car with diesel engine 1.6 CRDI 128 hp. 6 tbsp. Mechanics. Economical, quite playful and comfortable. Station wagon body. The tires are basic, but not the same ones that were installed from the factory, but a new product of the year, which makes it possible to further save fuel, which has now become significantly more expensive. 
Introductory information on the car has been given, now a few words about the measurements themselves.
To conduct the test, I went to an unfinished section of the Dnepropetrovsk-Kyiv highway, which is closed to trucks, and there are not many cars there either. Its length is about 5 km, three of them are suitable for any tests, including maximum speed. It is in this area that usually there are closed rides for car enthusiasts with adrenaline in their blood and methanol in their cylinders.
But today we have an eco test, so we’ll throw up at 80 km/h and 90 km/h, tracking the average fuel consumption with and without air conditioning!
The measurement technique is simple: acceleration - turning on cruise control at 80/90 km/h - resetting the average fuel consumption according to the BC while driving in one place (in this case, a small bridge) - driving about 3 km to the finish (high-voltage electrical support was selected at the side of the road at the end of the test area).
After passing the section, return to the starting position and re-enter with the air conditioning turned off.
So - two times, two races at the selected speeds.
There is no point in telling anything further - you just need to watch the video. To ensure that those watching do not have questions about the purity of the experiment, the video is not interrupted and you can clearly see the constancy of revolutions and speed.
Conclusions will be at the end.
Measurement No. 1 80 km/h. By the beginning of the evening races, the air temperature had dropped slightly, but was still very high...
As you can see, at 80 km/h the diesel engine offers excellent fuel economy at constant speed: 3.6 l/100 km without air conditioning and 4.1 l/100 km with climate control switched on. Of course, it is almost impossible to implement the greenhouse result into life, but the very fact that an almost one and a half ton car with a station wagon body is capable of this is encouraging...
Measurement No. 2 90 km/h.
Conclusions:
Turning on the air conditioner (climate control) increases fuel consumption by more than 10% (in our case by 0.5 liters) even if your car is equipped with a diesel engine.
The difference in fuel consumption between the speed limit of 90 km/h and 80 km/h is so tiny that it can be easily attributed to an error, or better simply ignored. At these speeds, the aerodynamic drag of the car body does not yet have a significant effect on increasing fuel consumption.
But the physical power taken from the engine by the air conditioning compressor turns out to be large enough for fuel consumption to jump significantly even at such economical speeds.
How to reduce fuel consumption?
One simple way is to install fuel-efficient tires. Eco-tires can save up to 10% fuel in established driving conditions compared to conventional tires. The disadvantage of eco-tires is less precise steering reactions, greater instability in corners and when changing lanes. However, many drivers may not notice these behavioral features of green tires at all.
After all, everything is relative! Not every driver drives sharply and quickly.
Among the many offers of eco-tyres, you can always find a compromise. For example, the Bridgestone Ecopia series of green tires allows you to save fuel and at the same time provide driving pleasure.
Examples:
- comfort, savings and safety.
- active driving + economy and comfort.
- comfort and very good savings.
- good handling, high comfort, excellent efficiency.
Don’t forget that fuel consumption is significantly influenced not only by tires and the air conditioner on, but also by the driving style itself, the route of travel, tire pressure, engine warm-up time, air temperature, driver’s temperament and much more....
Look for your compromise and you will definitely find a way to reduce fuel consumption... or increase earnings so as not to think about this issue at all..
Best regards, Master_Tyre.
It's no secret that the climate control system has a significant impact on fuel consumption . A group of American scientists recently conducted research that confirmed that excess gasoline consumption ranges from 3% to 5%. However, these numbers will increase significantly if you drive with the windows open. In this case, aerodynamic drag increases, consuming more fuel than just running the air conditioner.
How to get maximum air conditioning performance with minimal fuel consumption
Such provisions do not apply to vehicles manufactured after 2010, since they reduced the fuel consumption of the climate control system by half. The rest of the car owners will have to come to terms with this and try to follow some tips. If you are going to travel in a car that has been standing for a long time under the hot rays of the sun, first open the windows and doors. Then, after the hot air has disappeared, you can turn on the air conditioner. It is advisable to select the air recirculation mode (MAX – designation for most cars). This will lower the temperature in the cabin and reduce fuel consumption, since the entire air flow will be directed to the air conditioner.
If the machine is equipped with a manual cooling control, then set the temperature control to the maximum value, gradually changing the degree of cooling, which is correlated with the fan speed. If the air conditioner is not functioning well, it may need to be refilled with freon. Almost every car dealership provides this procedure. However, if the refrigerant leak is serious, the cost of repair will be considerable.
The air filter located inside the car may also be clogged. Therefore, over time it needs to be replaced. Experts advise dividing the service life of such systems into two, since they were developed and intended for cleaner roads that are not commensurate with our highways.
Don't neglect the opportunity to use reflective fabric; even parking a car in the shade affects visible results. Such actions are the most effective and will help you significantly save fuel consumption.
Climate control and its effect on fuel consumption
Although the climate control system consumes additional fuel, it provides the driver with safe driving. Thus, cleaned glass increases the viewing angle, and automatic temperature and humidity control ensures the driver’s performance. This is especially true when driving long distances and when transporting dangerous goods.
Nowadays, the climate control system is a multifunctional solution for the car interior:
- over-humidified air is promptly removed from the cabin;
- there is an influx of fresh air;
- recirculation of air polluted by dust and dirt collected from roads;
- maintaining a comfortable temperature above 22 degrees Celsius;
- maintaining air humidity above 60%.
As a rule, the car interior is equipped with one climate control system; 2 or more zone models are less common. The set may also include other heating systems. This is the main drawback of the influence of such a system; it consumes 20% more fuel.
If you do not want to feel this disadvantage, it is recommended to disable some climate control system settings:
- air conditioning (at least one, if a pair is installed);
- windshield heating system.
So it turns out that any installation powered by electricity consumes part of the engine power. One day is enough to see and verify significant changes in hot water consumption when the climate control system is turned off. So, when there is no need to operate such devices, simply turn them off. This way you will get significant benefits by keeping the fuel in the proper volume in the car tank, thanks to the influence of reasonable use.
Please note that some manufacturers have designed the heated windshield to automatically turn on the air conditioning when it is turned on. Sometimes it is difficult to notice this, since there is no corresponding indication on the panel. Therefore, try to monitor the operation of the air conditioner and turn it off yourself if necessary.
Three surprised looks could be seen from the Opel Zafira ahead of us. Even the driver was slightly distracted from the road and, having caught up with the Ford Focus, turned his head in our direction for about 10 seconds. Yes, it’s not every cloudy evening that you see a car on the Moscow Ring Road with all the windows open and two strange men in the cabin, dressed like February. If only these people from Opel knew that we were already passing the roundabout on the fourth circle! And all for the sake of one thing - to find out how open windows in a car affect fuel consumption.
It's no secret that open windows disrupt the aerodynamics of the car body as intended by the manufacturer and this leads to increased fuel consumption. Everyone also knows that in almost all cars, air conditioning and climate control also increase the “appetite” of the engine. In modern cars, fuel consumption by air conditioning is very easy to measure - just look on the on-board computer how many liters per hour a running car consumes with the air conditioning off and with it on. Typically, activating interior cooling or heating adds an additional 0.5 liters of fuel per hour. But experts recommend using air conditioning on long trips in hot weather rather than open windows, since the latter add much more to the consumption. Let's check!
There is only one way to find out by what percentage fuel consumption increases with the windows open - drive the same section of the road with different window positions and measure how many liters of gasoline were consumed. For the purity of the experiment, we decided to fill up “to the brim” at one of the gas stations located on the Moscow Ring Road, drive the roundabout twice (with cruise control turned on) and at the same gas station fill the tank full again (at the same pump). This way we will know exactly (down to hundredths of a liter!) how much the car spent to cover 112 km (twice along the Moscow Ring Road). Then we will need to perform the same operation with four open windows and measure the flow rate in this mode.
We left for the Moscow Ring Road on Saturday evening, when there are not many cars on the road and you can easily move around on cruise control. As an experiment car, a Belarusian Ford dealer gave us a Focus with a 1-liter EcoBoost. Great, at the same time we’ll check the consumption of this 3-cylinder turbo engine.
With the windows closed
I immediately advised the photographer to dress warmly, because the weather forecast did not promise us a comfortable trip over a distance of more than 100 km in a car with all the windows open. Having arrived at the roundabout, we stopped at the first gas station we came across and filled the 55-liter Focus tank with 95 gasoline before the cutoff. Right at the gas station, we reset the odometer and average fuel consumption (we'll check its error). We closed all the windows, turned off the climate control and hit the road.
As we expected, the Moscow Ring Road turned out to be half empty. We set the cruise control to 95 km/h, took the right lane and began discussing the topic of social inequality in Mozambique with the photographer. For the first 10 kilometers, the on-board computer showed an average consumption of almost 6 liters per hundred. Then the figure actively began to decline, and when we drove one lap, the average consumption varied around 5 liters.
Completing the second round of the Moscow Ring Road, we stop at the same gas station. On the instrument panel - 4.9 liters per hundred. The odometer shows 112.7 km. We drive up to the third pump, where an hour ago we filled the tank full, and insert the pistol. “Before the cutoff, to the third, please,”- I hand the money to the cashier. “Have you already burned it?”- he is interested. "Yes, we love to drive"- I laugh it off and go off to see how many liters we spent on 112.7 km.
The cutoff worked at around 5.42 liters. We’ll do the calculations later, but now is the time to drink hot tea and eat a couple of hot dogs, because for the next hour we will be freezing in the car with the windows open at a speed of 95 km/h at a temperature of about 14 degrees and light rain. In the gas station parking lot, we again reset the odometer and average consumption indicator and moved to the almost familiar ring road.
With the windows open
Already from the first kilometer it was clear that the consumption would be higher - the on-board computer informed that the engine consumes almost 8 liters per hundred. Later, this figure, of course, decreased. We are moving on cruise control at a speed of 95 km/h. Just like the first time. After 30 km, I thought it was better to interrupt the experiment and drive only once around Minsk. Then simply multiply all numbers by two. The fact is that we decided not to use the stove (to keep the numbers “clean”) and it was really very cold in the cabin. After 50 minutes of driving with the windows open, I could no longer feel my hands (at least the photographer could have hidden them in his pockets). To put it mildly, we did not enjoy the second trip, but we still covered the treasured 112.7 km.
We drive up to the third pump of “our” gas station and insert the gun. The on-board computer informs us that our consumption was 5.8 liters per hundred. "Before the third cutoff"- I say to the smiling cashier who is interested: “What are you doing there, racing around the ring?” The gun clicked when 6.46 liters of gasoline were poured into the tank. We pick up a calculator and head to the parking lot.
We count
First, let's calculate the fuel consumption with the windows closed. Divide 112.7 by 5.42 and get 20.79 - how many kilometers we travel on one liter of gasoline. Now we divide 100 by 20.79 and get the consumption - 4.81 liters per 100 km. The computer showed 4.9 liters per hundred. Now we calculate the fuel consumption of a car with the windows open in a similar way. Bottom line - 5.73 liters per 100 km(the computer showed 5.8 liters). In our case, open windows increased the consumption of the Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost by 0.92 liters per 100 km. This is twice as much as an air conditioner consumes. Of course, on cars with high consumption the numbers will be different, but heating systems on average consume fuel approximately the same. Our experiment showed that open windows (all four) in a car increase fuel consumption (at 95 km/h) by more than 19%. Not so little if you are traveling several hundred kilometers away.
During the sweltering summer heat, it is quite difficult for drivers to be behind the wheel, and it is nice when a personal car has such amenities as climate control and air conditioning. However, when using air conditioning in the car in summer, you need to take into account the fact that fuel consumption will be higher than usual.
The main reasons for fuel consumption in summer
It would seem that in summer fuel consumption should be noticeably less than in winter. However, the savings are almost unnoticeable, and in some cases, fuel consumption in the summer can even be slightly higher. The main reasons for this unpleasant circumstance for motorists are open windows, which increase aerodynamic air resistance, especially at high speed, and the use of air conditioning.
Fuel consumption with the air conditioning on will depend on many different factors, including the specific vehicle make and model and specifications, wind speed, outside temperature, how many people are in the cabin, humidity level and driving speed. An air conditioner turned on in a car can increase fuel consumption by approximately 2 liters per 100 km and “take away” 6-10 l/s from the engine.
But don't make a tragedy out of all this - the benefits of cooling are obvious, and in some cases, driving style, overall vehicle load, or even open windows at high speed can have a greater impact on fuel consumption than air conditioning. Summarizing all the information related to the use of air conditioning in summer, we can safely say that:
- a working air conditioner can reduce the acceleration dynamics of the car;
- a working air conditioner can increase fuel consumption, like any additional equipment, but this does not mean that the air conditioner should be abandoned;
- when driving with air conditioning running in the cabin, fuel consumption is quite insignificant compared to other factors;
- Economical driving can significantly reduce fuel consumption even with the air conditioning running.
Effective fuel control is quite possible when using air conditioning, especially if you pay due attention to the condition of the condenser and its position relative to the engine cooling radiator.
Ways to save fuel in the summer, taking into account the operation of the air conditioner
There are several simple and at the same time effective ways to save fuel in the summer, even taking into account the possibility of turning on the air conditioning. So, in traffic jams or at low speeds, it is better not to use the air conditioner and open the windows instead, and at high speeds, on the contrary, close the windows if possible and turn on the air conditioner.
You should remember that the air conditioner temperature you set should not be lower than 5 degrees than that outside - thanks to this, you will not only save fuel, but also protect yourself from sudden temperature changes. Also, you should not use the air conditioner if the car is stationary - idling the engine in such a case increases the load, and, accordingly, the engine begins to consume more fuel.
