What can be done to get more mileage when driving a car?

Driving a car properly and under the proper speed limits and keeping it maintained are the main things which contribute to the economic driving. Some of the main things which a person should look for getting more mileage from he car are as below -

1. Use the proper fuel - One must ensure that one is using the correct type of fuel as prescribed by the manufacturer. A contaminated or wrong specification fuel will not only harm the car but also affect the performance.

2. Check air in the tyres - Always check the air in the tyres and if it less than the prescribed limits it will adversely affect the performance and more energy will be wasted in the friction between the tyres and roads which will affect the mileage.

3. Keep control on speed - Unnecessarily accelerating and decelerating may give the thrill of driving to the driver but it is not only unsafe but also will increase the fuel consumption. Sudden breaking is to avoided unless it is an emergency situation.

4. Do not overload the car - Car is meant to carry a maximum load as specified in the manual. Do not overload it. It consumes extra energy.

5. Check basic things before journey - One must check the oil level, brake oil level, coolant level, brakes etc before embarking on a journey. These are all crucial for a good performance.

6. Check fuel tank cap seal - The fuel tank cap is opened time to time to fill the fuel. Please check it for any leakage. In many cases it is the culprit for the low mileage.

7. Put off the engine, do not idle - Sometimes there are traffic signals and other obstructions where people run their car in idle mode. It is to be avoided. It is sheer waste of energy.

8. Use the correct gear and speed - There are speeds mentioned for the different gear positions and a correct match improves the performance of the car. The rule of thumb is - lower the gear, lower the speed and higher the gear, higher the speed.

9. Use the AC economically - AC is an additional load on the engines. Use it judiciously.

10. Maintain the car - Maintaing a car like cleaning of air filters, battery terminals, oil filters etc are to be done as prescribed and should not be delayed beyond the scheduled period.

The Tata cars are generally known for giving good mileage. Their Indigo is an example of that.

The mileage depends on many points out of which some are external and some are in our hands.

The road condition is very important. If the roads are good and well maintained the car will give better mileage. This is due to the fact that you can maintain a constant speed and you need not apply break often and you need not change the gear. The traffic. If the traffic is very high and changes from place to place you will not get good fuel efficiency. This is also due to the fact that you have to apply breaks frequently and it may be required to change the gears frequently. Generally. Any car when goes for a long-distance drive on High ways will give high fuel efficiency. Inside the cities, small distances travel will not give that much fuel efficiency.

The following points if we take care we will get better fuel efficiency.

1. Select a good road even though it is a little longer than the other roads.
2. Filling fuel from the same bunk is always good as the quality will be consistent and the engine will have a better life by filling god materials.
3. DOn't go at very high speed or at very low speed also. Maintain average speed.
4. Avoid applying breaks unnecessarily.
5. Try to maintain the same gear for your drive. The frequent gear changing will increase the fuel condition.
6. If you go for more load than the car is prescribed, the car will get overloaded and the Engine will have more strain. It will get the fuel consumed more than required.
7. Use AC judiciously. AC will also consume high fuel.
8. When the car is ideal don't keep the engine in ON condition.
9. Maintain the Carwell and get the servicing done as prescribed so that the engine will be good and you will get better mileage.
10. Air pressure in the tires is also very important. Get it checked and if necessary get it checked

Since it is a new Car then the mileage will be reasonable normally for few months. It is suggested to drive between 30-60kms per hour other than city limit slow as usual.

It is advisable not to go more than 60km per hour even on the highway where no or less traffic around.

Also, if only one person handle the car then it will be far better for many years. Try to fuel where trustworthy bunk, like, shell etc.

Engine oil needs to be taken care. It needs to be replace on-time to avoid engine and mileage issues. If you feel mileage is going down after few months or a year, you can then check the corroborator issue and engine oil etc.

It is also advised to often check the coolant water, brake oil, fuel and engine oil without missing. And Air pressure checking would help too.

I have heard that Tata cars provide good mileage and for the same reason in past Tata Indica became taxi due to good mileage and low maintenance cost. Although to maintain good mileage of car few precautions will ensure good savings in fuel cost as well as less chances of breakage.

1. First and foremost is maintaining an average speed of car on city and highway. Speed between 40 kmph to 60 kmph is optimal. Many speedometer also display the best speed in form green color in the speedometer itself.

2. Out of own personal experience I would suggest keeping the single handed, meaning only one person or at most two person should drive the car. Each person has his/her driving habits which impacts the mileage of car if it changes hands frequently.

3. Keep tyre pressure optimal as advised in car manual and get the tyre pressure checked every fortnight. Low tyre pressure is one of the major cause of low mileage if all other things are functioning normally in your car.

4. At the time of driving, change gears at proper speed. Don't go to 3rd or 4th gear until the speed is optimal for it. Eg don't put your car in 3rd gear until you reach speed of 35 to 40. Also don't put your legs full time on clutch.
Don't brake unnecessarily. If you have to brake accidentally then also change the gear to 1 or 2 before you pick up the speed. If you will pull the car in either 3rd or 4th gear then your clutch plate will soon deteriorate and also you will lose power of engine.

5. Get regular service of car done and also do self inspection of water level, coolant and battery in 2 months time if it is not serviced for long time due to less use.

6. Lastly, always get the fuel from a trusted and reliable petrol station as due to adulteration in petrol/diesel your engine rapidly starts to lose its life leading to lower mileage and early breakdown of your car.

Knowing basics of driving thoroughly helps in maintaining good mileage of car, which comes with experience. So most of the things and more your son will learn as he will get more experienced while driving the car with time.

As an Indian and the rising cost of fuel, the most or topmost priority of any vehicle buyer be it 2 wheelers or 4 wheelers, milage is one of the top three factors. When we plan for buying a vehicle due to the need of the hour, the first is the money or loan and nowadays, many get vehicle loans from the agencies. The second comes the brand or company along with looks and color, the third comes to the milage which is the main concern in the everyday fuel hike that is happening in our country. Some of the points that one needs to adhere to get maximum mileage for their fuel is:

1. Maintain your vehicle/car - This is applicable to new as well as old vehicles as the more you maintain your vehicle, the better its efficiency. The best to keep the maintenance is to follow the schedule in your owner's manual. As per the schedule, do the servicing and have regular oil changes, air-filter changes, and spark plug replacements if required to improve fuel economy and minimize emissions.

2. Properly inflated tires - Check tire pressure regularly or at least once a month or during servicing or even when you go to the fuel station to fill fuel. These are free of cost and would help to add efficiency or milage. Tires that are properly inflated helps to Prevent Rolling Resistance(LRR) and that improves fuel mileage and even saves fuel by one to two percent for most vehicles.

3. Avoid Speeding and select correct gear - We all know that the best mileage is achieved by driving at the proper and correct speed. Driving at a lower gear or speed than needed puts more work on the engine and adds to wastes fuel. Driving at a constant speed without putting labor or load on the engine helps to provide better mileage by 10 – 15%.

4. Stop-Start your vehicle at the signal - While on the road and you are stuck in the traffic and you know that the timer is more than a minute, i.e. the vehicle idle for more than a minute, always stop the vehicle. The engine burns a little extra fuel during the start-up of the vehicle but keeping the engine idle for more than a minute burns more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. In this way, we can cut fuel consumption by around 5 percent and even add milage.

5. Weight in the vehicle - We all know that the vehicle has a standard weight and is designed to carry a certain amount of load but when we add more weight than prescribed, it will add labor to the engine and hamper the fuel efficiency. Every 100 pounds or 45 kg of weight decreases the fuel economy by one to two%.

6. Track of your fuel economy - As we are very alert, try to keep a track of the efficiency of the fuel by noting the odometer reading and the quantity of fuel filled from the fuel station. To get the efficiency of the vehicle, just divide the number of miles traveled with the reading when the fuel was filled. A drop in fuel economy can be a sign of engine trouble or fuel station. Always have a second review before hitting the service center.

7. Use Air Conditioner only when required - It is always better to open the window for fresh air and when driving at low or moderate speed. During humid or hot weather, the fuel efficiency may go down as using the air conditioner can lower fuel efficiency by 10%. When driving at higher speeds, opening windows and sunroof may add wind resistance and thus using the A/C may be more efficient.

8. Parking in shade - Many opt for this due to the vehicle getting hot or heated -up but actually it minimizes fuel evaporation and even keeps the vehicle cooler during hot climate.