Do you remember the first time you rode your bike alone? What a great feeling to ride wherever you please. On your own steam, with new boundaries opened up. And then? We tend to pick up instinctively things that make cycling much easier: we try not to carry unnecessary baggage, we resist the wind as little as we need to and we pump up flat tyres. It's obvious that cycling with a flat tyre means more effort; so it's an easy conclusion to draw, but an effective one: as soon as the tyre is back up, we can proceed on our way again happily. Muscle power to the cyclist is fuel to the automobile driver, and depending on the driving style of the individual driver, fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 25 percent quite simply. This corresponds to a saving of approx. 298 euro and around 608 kg less CO2 for a Golf TDI with an average consumption of 5.2 l/100 km over 18,000 kilometres. We have summarised below the best tips for how you can achieve this. It's not just your wallet that will benefit from these tips, but the environment too, and, thanks to a cool and composed driving style, your nerves! And the greatest thing of all:
Once taken onboard, these tips will probably never be forgotten: just like riding a bike.
* Avoid short journeys
The engine consumes a particularly large volume of fuel when cold. The volume of fuel burned on shorter trips is therefore above average, especially in winter.
* Check your tyre pressures
Always use the tyre pressure recommended by Volkswagen for full loads. This reduces road resistance and thus fuel consumption.
* Use fuel-efficient engine oil
Fuel-efficient oil is fully synthetic low-viscosity engine oil. While it may be a bit more expensive, this type of oil will cut your fuel consumption by as much as 5%.
* Avoid unnecessary loads
Additional weight of just 100 kg, for instance, will increase the fuel consumption of a Golf by up to 0.3 l/100 km.
* Be aerodynamic
Always remove auxiliary equipment such as roof boxes or baggage racks if these are not required. Even at 100 kph, a mid-range vehicle carrying three bicycles on the roof will consume around 2 litres more fuel for every 100 kilometres travelled.
* Switch gears quickly
Use third gear in traffic at 30 kph, fourth gear at 40 kph and fifth gear at 50 kph. Switch gears as soon as possible.
* Allow the vehicle to roll
If, for instance, you are approaching a red light, simply take your foot off the accelerator and let the vehicle roll along in gear. At this point the engine's overrun fuel cut-off is applied and the fuel supply is cut off, so you are not using any fuel.
* Look ahead when driving and »swim« with the traffic
Always maintain sufficient distance between you and the vehicle
in front. This way you can control rapid variations in speed
by taking your foot off the accelerator rather than braking and accelerating.
* Drive smoothly and calmly
Where possible, drive at a steady and moderate pace. In all likelihood, you will still arrive at your destination just as quickly as if you constantly accelerate and decelerate.
* Use additional devices, which increase fuel consumption, moderately
Comfort is important ? but in moderation. Take air-conditioning, for instance: the system output is at its highest during the cooling phase, in which the system is used to cool the vehicle interior when it is warm due to summer temperatures; this is reflected in fuel consumption. Therefore it's best to aerate the interior before the start of a trip, begin the journey with the window open and only then start the air-conditioning system.
http://www.volkswagen.com/vwcm...rauch/Verbraucher.html
Fuel Saving Tips PDF