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| The Sinus solar car raced by the University of North West is one way to avoid high fuel prices. |
Which brand of fuel gives the most mileage?
SA’s petrols come from the same base with different additives which marketing claims help to clean and lubricate engines.
On the road, variations in atmospheric pressure, topography, driving styles and payload make big differences to consumption.
For example, a head wind will add to fuel use, while diesels run better the colder the air gets. The brands of fuel makes zero difference.
What is the best way save fuel on my commute?
Start cycling. It uses zero fuel.
Get an off-the-shelf electric motor to assist for KZN’s steep hills.
The next best is a scooter or a motorbike with an engine capacity of 250 cc or smaller. These two wheelers will get you 40 km-plus from each litre of petrol.
For those who prefer sitting in the car queue, buy a tiny engine and then start a car pool to subsidise the daily fuel use.
Diesel or petrol?
Diesel engines waste the least energy in each litre of fuel and provide more torque to get or keep the vehicle moving at low revolutions, but they also make more emissions than petrol, are often more expensive to buy and maintain, and there is no mandatory maximum diesel price, which means retailers charge what the market can bear.
Frequent drivers will save over the long run with diesel. Those who drive less often will save immediately with a small petrol.
Is fossil fuels really the only choice?
No, we can already buy electric cars or fuel-electric hybrids.
The savings on non-fossil fuel cars are a long way down the road, as the initial outlay is a lot higher than the price of a fossil fuel car.
Modern engines can also run on a blend of fossil and bio-fuels, and big fleet operators are already looking at converting trucks to tap into the natural gas piped from Mozambique to Gauteng.
Should I invest in an electric vehicle?
Those who did say they will never go back paying to burn fossil fuel, such is the fun one gets from electric’s immediate torque.
And with so few moving parts in electric vehicles, plus the ability to “chip” the vehicle over the Internet, early adopters are confident they will be able to update their evees for decades to come.
That said, diesel trucks will also be in use decades from now, as not even the envisaged efficiencies of solid state batteries match the energy density of diesel made from fossilised plants.
I have this new magnetic coil/additive/ friction reducing wax/tyre hardener/nano-engraved turbo fins ...
Stop right there. If it’s cheap and really makes a car more fuel efficient, it’s built in already, because in the two most important car-selling countries, China and India, cars sell on how cheap they are to run, not their speed and power as is the case in South Africa.
The engineers who fit systems that run cheapest have an instant best seller during the annual festival-day buying sprees in China and India, which between them sell seven in 10 vehicles in the world.
Get the Pendulator!
For drivers who believe in aftermarket fuel savers, Wheels now have a limited offer, triple-guaranteed, custom-calibrated Pendulator.
This disk and tether system uses momentum to indicate the most optimal acceleration in real time. Independent professional drivers agree the Pendulator will reduce fuel by at least 22% through its unique use of inertia.
Guaranteed to oxidise, pendulate and save you fuel when used correctly, or your money back. All proceeds go towards Newton School’s rally car building project.
