Ellie: Oh Francis, you're not Lady Thatcher and you never will be!!!!

Yes, Yes, Yes!!! I did it, I filled up my car with petrol on the off chance that the government just might be right in their prediction of a strike and how clever it would be for us all to weather it out like the great Lady Thatcher did in her day……now how silly was that???? Anyway, one of the questions I found myself asking during my moments of madness was whether my car would use more petrol when fullbecause of it’s weight (thanks Francis) anyway the unanimous answer was that it doesn’t make any difference!“A tankful of gas usually weighs 100-150 pounds and this is negligible compared to the average car’s weight of 2,500-4,000 pounds.Also, as long as we’re talking about negligible details, losses to vaporization are greater in a nearly-empty tank (there’s more air above the fuel, so it can absorb more fuel vapors).Real fuel economy isn’t achieved by scheduling fuelling, apparently the biggest improvement in fuel economy actually comes from avoiding stop-and-go traffic.”

On the cover of The Penny Pincher Paperis a question: “How many times have you wished you had just an extra £30 a month?” You can save that much by just one economy a day.Over one year that is £360 pounds or more and of course this saving will make a difference in some way, yet the little day-by-day economies you make are tiny, from turning off unnecessary lights to driving a little more carefully and saving petrol.Oh yeah? I thought, how exactly does one actually drive a little more carefully to save petrol? Well, according to the paper it’seasy enough to save just by making little changes:

COMPARE PRICES, COMPARE PRICES, COMPARE PRICES.This is not a difficult manoeuvre.If the place which sells the cheapest petrol is a little out of the way, thenplan your time and your journeysso that you fill up there more often than elsewhere.Don`t spend more in petrol driving a long distance than you would save in the lower price!It doesn`t take long to save that tank of petrol if you are saving 5p per litre.
CHECK YOUR MILEAGE.If you don`t have a `trip metre` on your car, keep a little notebook handy and jot down the mileage when you fill up.Next time you fill up, do your maths: how many litres (or gallons) did it take, and how many miles did you drive?See how much better you can do next time.
LEAVE HOME EARLIER.Allow enough time for your trip so that you do not need to speed [and you could be saving the high cost of a speeding ticket, as well!].One figure often quoted is that it takes 50% more petrol to drive at 80mph than it does at 50mph.
RUN THROUGH THE LOW GEARS QUICKLY, BUILD UP SPEED ONLY IN HIGH GEARS.Low gears use more petrol.Leave tearing away from traffic lights to chase scenes in films, they have more money than you do.They also use more tyre rubber.
ARE YOUR TYRES CORRECTLY ALIGNED?It will affect your consumption of petrol.Have them checked and corrected if necessary.The same thing applies toAIR PRESSURE, so make sure that`s at the recommended level.
REMEMBER THAT THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS IS A STRAIGHT LINE.Don`t be a lane-switcher, it takes more petrol as well as more stress.Refer to “leave home earlier” above, allow enough time for your journey so that you don`t have to hurry.
MAINTENANCE WORKS.Is your ignition system, your carburetor, your oil in good form?Do they need servicing, changing, altering?All these will affect your petrol usage.
DON`T LEAP FROG.Drive at a steady speed as much as you can rather than braking and accelerating.
PLAN YOUR TRIPS.Keep short trips to the minimum, as a car runs a little more efficiently when it is warm.Even summertime driving is starting from a cold engine.While you are out, do several errands, rather than making lots of short trips every time you think of something you need.
EIGHT OUT OF TEN OF THESE TAKE NO MECHANICAL KNOWLEDGE WHATEVER, BUT THERE`S ONE OR MORE SAVED TANKS OF PETROL IN THEM OVER A FAIRLYSHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

There we are, I think I’ve done my bit this week and now of course Husband has more to spend on Strongbow and I on future facelifts.

Ellie xxx

2 comments

THE COUNTRYWIVES
April 2, 2012 at 6:31 pm

Dear Jemima Clarkson, Some very good tips there. Just hope I can remember them when I am speeding out of Tesco's car park. Grace x

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Anonymous
April 2, 2012 at 8:42 pm

Darling, Lidl would really be a better option this side of 2008 unless you're about to get hitched to Damien Hirst. Ellie x

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