Safe Speed Forums

If you've got anything more powerful than a 50cc moped then the rising cost of fuel is a problem. I've just spent nearly £70 to fill up my tank today and it'll be gone in about 400 miles of combined driving.

I try to keep my engine at its best, frequent oil changes, new/wash filters, occasional injector cleaning guff etc. And I must admit to fitting an ecotek device a few years ago on my old Omega. Worth a try I thought. In reality, it made very little difference, although 1000's of people swear by them. (Works by partially collapsing manifold vacuum & putting the minutist amount of extra air into the mixture in a sort of 'swirl' technology to better distribute the fuel/air mix - believe it if you want ).

Wynns do a 'fuel saver' additive / cleaner but the cost of using it probably outweighs the savings!

Magnets on the fuel lines is another favourite to 'polarise and line up' the molecules. I'm not taking that in for one second

Does anybody swear by something? Or is keeping your foot off the loud pedal and changing to an eco-friendly driving style the only way to go?

I've never known anyone say anything good about them, but to be honet I think I've only ever known a handful of people who have tried them. And that might be the key - if they were such a miracle I'm sure we'd all be using them. So personally I wouldn't bother.

Driving carefully and planning ahead is probably about the best thing you can do, and if done correct can save loads of fuel - I've had 64mpg out of a Kangoo on a mixed cycle which apparently is only supposed to do 53 according to Parkers. I'm not saying it makes driving fun however......

Filling up with premium unleaded may also be cheaper over a tank - yes it's more expensive but I consistanly seem to get more out of a tank of the good stuff then it's semi-skimmed counterpart, typically around 34mpg as opposed to about 30. If you work out the price difference it's slightly cheaper to buy the premium stuff. It maybe car dependent, but I know my dad says he also gets more out of his Octavia.

Any fuel saving device or potion that REALLY worked would be adopted by fuel or motor manufacturers PDQ.

The fact that these snake oil and magnet devices have not been adopted speaks volumes...

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

This week's fifth gear at 8pm on 5 is testing supermarket fuels against branded ones. It's repeated in the early hours of tomorrow for those that miss it....

I am impressed with ZX1. I have no idea if it improves fuel economy. what it has done is reduced friction on my telescope mount such that I can dramatically reduce backlash in the system and still have nice running drive motors.

I have put it in the car. In practice I think it helps with longevity more than fuel economy. and since I tend to keep my cars for 200,000 plus...

I've used ZX1 too, years ago when (cough) QVC was first doing it. It IS an incredibly effective lubricant as I found out to my cost. I dumped about a litre in an old fiesta - the engine did rev better. The dribble I had left went to lubing up my MTB. I accidently got a drip on one of my discs - brakes were useless. I ended up having to burn off any contamination on discs & pads as solvents did next to nothing.


The fifth gear tonight has almost convinced me to start buying 'enhanced' fuel like optimax. I'll certainly give it a go.

They did point out that if you've got a shopping trolley, your wasting your cash. Only higher performance vehicle capable of making used of 98 octane will see any improvement, and the ECU may or may not adjust automatically to suit. And to be honest, just emptying the boot of all the crap we cart about can make a huge difference.

It's not the loud pedal that ruins your fuel consumption, it's the brake pedal. If you really want to improve your MPG then pretend the brake pedal has an accelerator pump plumbed to it, that squirts fuel straight out of the tank!

As mentioned earlier, emptying the junk from the boot is probably the most effective "sure fire" way of improving fuel consumption, along with keeping your tyres up to the correct pressure.

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CSCP Latin for beginners...
Ticketo ergo sum : I scam therefore I am!

* Windows shut.
* Air con off.
* Absolutely no roof rack.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Letting your car coast around in neutral for as long as possible. I tried this many many moons ago and got another 40 miles out of a tank.

I don't think that works per se. It is more likely that you were driving subconsciously more economically in the window when you were disengaging the transmission.

The system has to use fuel to keep the engine ticking over. On overrun in a high gear - keeping the revs over 1500 or thereabouts - you get regenerative deceleration in that, at 1500 and above with trailing throttle most cars have petrol switched off, with a tad of the car's energy from the forward motion going back to the flywheel.

Don't put so much petrol in the tank. Do a Jeremy Clarkson and drive around with the needle in the red (fuel gauge not rev counter). When I couldn't afford petrol I always managed to get the last gallon to last until payday.

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Shooting is good for you and too good for some people.

There is probably something in that Brookwood, I bet there is a regular difference in the miles per between the first and last gallons of a full tank!

Weight and psychology both...

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

The weight will surely have an effect to some extent. My 406 had a fuel tank of 75 litres (diesel). A fill up from empty would therefore add over 75kg to the total weight, effectively carting an extra passenger around.

I tried an Ecotek once (on a BMW 325i). It made no difference to fuel economy and needed adjusting every week. Waste of money.

There's lots of stuff you can do though:

Some tyres are designed to improve mpg by dissipating less energy as sound & heat. These really do work, but the improvement is only small.

Alternatively, you could switch to run-flat tyres and junk your spare tyre, jack & wheelbrace. The weight saving would be considerable and you would definitely see an improvement there.

Only ever half-fill your tank unless you need the range. Again, a considerable weight saving.

Get rid of any unnecessary junk in your boot. Remove child seats if you're not using them.

Check your tyre pressures regularly.

Keep in the highest gear possible when at a constant speed.

Be as light as possible on the throttle.

Keep your windows shut, especially on the motorway. If you have the choice of air con or windows down, go for the air con - the mpg hit is less.



By far the biggest improvement you can get in miles-per-£ is to get an LPG conversion fitted, but the cost of these conversions is massive (over £2k). They're only economic if you do a high mileage (or your car has sub-20mpg economy) and you intend to hold onto the car for a long time.

Hope this helps.

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

You may also pay a price in grip. I remember a long life tyre called Dunlop Elite. Absolutely no grip. Cat on wet lino. Not recommended at all.

I'm happy to pay more for tyres and at the pumps for better rubber.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

This possibly did work once upon a time cars but modern engine management systems cut off the fuel supply completely on over run. This means that taking your foot off the accelerator and leaving the car in gear uses less fuel than putting it in neutral or pressing the clutch. It's also much better practice.

On the other hand, I remember not many years ago attending a lecture (organised I think by SMMT) on the Ford Electric car development. they had commissioned a tyre to give next to no rolling loss (for obvious reason), which did not sacrifice grip. however, life was three tenths of nothing!

Yeah, there are two ways to pay for better tyres. One is a more expensive tyre. The other is more frequent replacement.

But whatever the combinations of cost, inferior grip might cost you your life.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

I agree with this entirely. I always like to put good tyres even on my crappier cars, such as the diesel runabout I have just bought and needed new fronts, I asked for Goodyear Eagle Venturas which were the only half decent tyres I could find in this size. I was told they had been discontinued. The dealer recommended Firestone F590s as an alternative and since I really didn't have time to do my research I went and bought a pair.

It later transpires that their full name is the F590 fuelsaver and their level of grip (even after 50 miles or so to wear them in) is worse than the old tyres, one of which had a slow puncture and borderline legal tread.

Needless to say I shant be using them again.