Road Trip Guide - How to Improve Mileage? | Travel

People nowadays prefer road trips a lot and at times we are concerned about mileage of vehicles since the fuel prices are higher. This article is applicable for both bikes and cars but slight differences in the way we apply it. Also, these are some silly tips that we can follow to ensure we get the best mileage possible in our daily drive as well as in long trips.

1. Tyre Pressure - Most of the people are less concerned about tire pressure but it is very much important to maintain correct pressure in all tyres for better performance and mileage. Nitrogen air is best for tubeless tyres, however remote villages may not have frequent nitrogen filling stations on the road. So better to fill normal air when you travel to remote places or villages. Check the pressure at regular intervals. Its good to check the pressure at every 300-400 Kms during continuous drive.

2. Right Petrol at Right Time - Most of us think about filling full tank before a trip. Actually this will reduce the performance and mileage of the vehicle as the vehicle weight goes up. 45 liters of petrol in a car will increase around 40 kg weight. Keeping the tank half would be a right option. 

You may fill the petrol on the go from the same company's petrol bunk as they will have similar petrol quality. 

3. Reduce Vehicle Weight - Remove extra luggage from the vehicle as it can affect your mileage too. 

4. Shift gears at correct RPM according to the vehicle specification and guidelines. Shift up at 3500-4000 rpm and shift down at 2500-2000 rpm. This will give very good engine life. Never rev your accelerator unless required. 

5. Use Google Maps in National and State Highways to understand the traffic situations and travel time. This can save your time and petrol. Choose the right time to start your journey according to the traffic situations. You may depend on maps at 90% of the time if you are travelling in state and national highways, however maps may not be effective in remote villages.

6. Use Fastag for Tolls - In busy highways, waiting time at tolls can be 10 mins average. This will waste your time and make you tired while driving. If you are crossing more than 10 tolls in your trip, you may loss around an hour in tolls and reduces your average speed, mileage and increases the travel time too. Using a fastag can help you zip through the fast lane without waiting. All major banks and wallets like PayTM provides fastag services. 

7. Take breaks at regular intervals - Taking break is good for vehicle as well as the driver. You may prefer taking break at every 200 kms during long drive considering the ideal distance to drive by single person in a day is 600 Kms. If your vehicle is not having a better engine cooling mechanism, it is good to leave the vehicle ON for 10-15 mins during break and then turn-off the ignition. This will help improving engine life of the car/bike. 

8. Keep your windows up and drive - Driving with open windows will reduce your mileage as the backward pull of your vehicle will be high and that requires more power to move forward. People may think open window drive can save fuel by not turning on AC, but if you are driving above a speed of 80 Km/h, then it won't save much fuel. Instead you can turn on AC and save more fuel in reality, especially in highways. This will improve the aerodynamics of the car that helps in zipping through the highways with better stability and mileage. 

There may be more tips you can suggest, please comment with your suggestions.