Fuel matters - Fuel economy is maximised in the engine through a combination of good driving habits and using the right fuel. Shell fuels with Fuel Economy formula are designed to help reduce friction and improve cleanliness in the engine, thereby improving fuel efficiency.
Drive smoothly, drive safely - Aggressive driving can use as much as a third more fuel than safe driving. Also, avoid accelerating or braking too hard and try to keep your steering as smooth as possible.
Avoid over-revving - Change gears carefully when you're accelerating. Never "redline" the rev counter because you unnecessarily waste fuel.
Keep your tyres at the right pressure - Correctly inflated tyres are safer, last longer and drive more efficiently. A tyre that is under-inflated reduces fuel efficiency. An under- or over-inflated tyre is also more susceptible to failing and blow-out.
Avoid high speeds - The faster you go, the more wind resistance you'll encounter and the more fuel your vehicle will consume just to maintain speed. Driving 5mph over the speed limit can affect fuel economy - you'll be shocked!
Tune and service your engine regularly - A well-tuned engine can help improve fuel economy, so change your oil frequently and follow your car manufacturer's recommendation on servicing.
Remove the roof rack - If you're not using your roof rack, then remove it. It affects the aerodynamic efficiency of vehicles and create drag, reducing fuel economy; it all adds up to less mileage.
Avoid carrying excess weight - You may be surprised, but every extra pound or kilogramme matters and affects your fuel efficiency, so keep your boot or back seat clear of unnecessary items that you use once in a while and just add weight to your vehicle (e.g. golf clubs).
Use air conditioning sparingly - Air conditioning puts added strain on the engine and uses fuel to operate; limit its use to particularly hot days. When possible, use the fan instead or simply set the temperature to a comfortable, not cold, setting (about 22-23 °C).
Avoid excess idling - It's obvious, idling gets you nowhere. However, it still burns fuel. Turn the engine off when you're in a queue or waiting for someone for more than two minutes.
Win free fuel
Shell will be giving away free fuel for a year to customers every day for three months, from now until Jan 31, 2008.
With a minimum purchase of S$50 of any Shell fuel, customers who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents stand a chance to win $5,000 worth of fuel every day.
There will be 90 lucky winners.
According to Christopher Tan, the chances of winning are one in 4,722.
"For someone driving a 1.6-litre car, that represents two years' worth of free petrol (at Nov 8's prices)," he said.
Customers who pay with their UOB credit card will double their chance of winning and also enjoy savings of up to 11.65 per cent on their fuel bill.
