Pollution is a major issue in today's society, and with the number of cars on the road increasing, we must do all we can to help reduce the amount of pollution emitted by our cars. If you are about to buy a new car, try and buy one that will be kind to nature. If you already have a car, follow the tips to ensure that it will pollute as little as possible.
Quoted directly from Australian Greenhouse Office - go to http://www.greenhouse.gov.au for further information
 | Plan your trips |
Plan to do a number of errands in one trip rather than several trips and save both time and fuel.
Avoid peak-hour traffic, hard accelerating and heavy braking as they all waste fuel. Driving smoothly and avoiding stop-start traffic saves fuel and up to 30 per cent of greenhouse emissions.
| Avoid short car trips by walking or cycling |
Walking or cycling is good exercise and saves over a quarter of a kilogram of greenhouse gas per kilometre of car driving it replaces.
| Service your car regularly |
Keep your car well tuned and reduce greenhouse gases by up to 15 per cent through fuel savings.
| Select the right gear |
Change up through the gears and into top gear as soon as possible without accelerating harder than necessary. Driving in a gear lower than you need wastes fuel; so does letting the engine labour in top gear on hills and corners.
Automatic transmissions will shift up more quickly and smoothly if you ease back slightly on the accelerator once the car gathers momentum.
| Speed kills economy |
High speeds result in high fuel consumption. At 110 km/h your car uses up to 25 per cent more fuel than it would cruising at 90 km/h. On the open road drive within the posted speed limits.
| Stopping and braking |
Resting your foot on the brake or driving with the hand-brake on wastes fuel, increases brake wear and decreases braking efficiency.
Rather than idle for lengthy periods it is more fuel efficient to switch off and then restart your engine when necessary.
| Filling up |
Filling past the first click of the fuel nozzle means fuel can be spilt or lost through the overflow pipe when you accelerate or go around corners. A properly fitting petrol cap also saves fuel by minimising evaporation of petrol.
| Look after your car's tyres |
Inflate your car's tyres to the highest pressure recommended by the manufacture and make sure your tyres are properly aligned. Looking after your tyres will not only reduce your fuel consumption it will also extend tyre life and improve handling.
| Use air conditioning sparingly |
Air conditioners can use about 10 per cent extra fuel.
| Travel light |
The more a car carries the more fuel it uses; an extra 50 kg of weight can increase your fuel bill by two per cent. Anything fixed to the outside of the car increases wind resistance and fuel consumption.
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Recently produced cars (1986 to present) are given a rating that tells the consumer how fuel efficient the car is. Go to http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/fuelguide/index.html for a list of guides stating these efficiencies. |
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Wash your car on the lawn so that water is put back into the ground, and doesn't water your concrete driveway! |
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If you ever use a car winch with trees, buy a "Tree Hugger" which helps to protect trees. |
| In Western Australia, the BP Ultimate Fuel is a much
cleaner and powerful fuel. It is available at most metropolitan petrol
stations, and is suitable for use in most unleaded and some leaded cars. It
is also a more efficient fuel, meaning that you will get better mileage out
of one litre of Ultimate than you will with normal unleaded. Visit http://www.bp.com.au/products/fuels/bp_ultimate/ultimate.asp?menuid=ec |
