Driver Fuel-Saving Tips
The following driver tips are compiled from many sources, mostly from the terrific booklets on fuel economy offered by Bridgestone, Cummins, Kenworth, Michelin, Volvo and others:
1. Slow down. If you get, say, 7 mpg at 55 mph, then it’ll be 6 mpg at 65 mph. And at 70 mph, you’ll be down to 5.5 mpg. Not small differences.
2. Spend as much time as you can – 90 percent or more – in top gear. Don’t get in the habit of cruising one gear down.
3. Use cruise control if you’re on flat terrain – and dry pavement. In hilly territory, the cruise control will probably try to accelerate too quickly trying to get back up to speed after cresting a grade.
4. Aim for the lowest number of engine rpm. With many engines, you’ll win by cruising at about 1,300 rpm.
5. Use the engine’s full operating range before downshifting. All modern engines are happy to pull at 1,000 rpm or so for brief periods. Stay at peak torque speeds or slightly lower when accelerating.
6. Try to maintain high – but legal! – average speeds. You can do that in several ways, starting with keeping a high field of vision and staying well back from the vehicle in front of you. That allows you to anticipate changes in traffic and road conditions and lets you avoid rapid deceleration or abrupt stops. You’ll waste fuel getting back up to speed.
7. Try coasting to a stop gradually instead of staying on the loud pedal and then braking hard.
8. Get access to the information in your engine’s black box and analyze the number of sudden decelerations and service-brake actuations you make. Use this info as a benchmark to improve against.
9. Old issue, but you really should minimize the amount of time your engine idles. Every idling hour can decrease fuel efficiency by 1 percent. Sometimes there’s no choice, in which case choose the lowest idle speed possible, like 600 rpm or so.
10. In rolling terrain a light throttle is the way, and allow momentum to carry the truck over short grades. Again, turn off cruise control because your foot will be – or should be – much lighter on the throttle.
11. If it’s quite hilly or mountainous, use the engine’s full operating range before gearing down.
12. Plan your routes to maximize time on multi-lane highways.
In the end, the two keys are patience and more patience.
From the June 2011 issue of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.
