Hello,

Can you please provide some tips to conserve fuel and have better milage for my Maruti Suzkuki Alto ??

Cheers

1. Drive smoothly - Aggressive driving can use as much as a third more fuel than safe driving*. Avoid accelerating or braking too hard & try to keep ur steering as smooth as possible.

2. Use higher gears - The higher gear u drive in the lower ur engine speed is, which can improve fuel efficiency. So change up a gear whenever u can, without labouring the engine.

3.Tune & service ur engine - A well-tuned engine can improve fuel economy by up to 4%**, so change ur oil & follow ur car manufacturer’s recommendation on servicing.

4. Keep ur tyres at the right pressure – Correctly inflated tyres r safer & last longer. A tyre that is under inflated by just 1psi can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 3%**. An under or over inflated tyre is also more susceptible to failing.

5.Avoid carrying excess weight – For every extra 100 lbs (45 kg) u carry ur fuel efficiency can drop by 1-2%*. So keep ur boot or back seat clear of unnecessary items that just add weight to ur vehicle.

6. Keep the windows closed - Wind blowing through an open window will slow u down. To compensate, u may put ur foot down harder, using more fuel.

The fuel economy of the engine depends a lot on the way it was driven in the initial period just after buying it.
Still here r a few things that might add up to the fuel economy:
-While parking or crawling thru heavy traffic,use the over-ride in the clutch for the 1st & the 2nd gears instead of using the accelerator & clutch combo to move.
-release the clutch smoothly so as to prevent that sudden jerk.
-Change gears at correct speeds(do not rev the engine too much nor make it knock).Here is a presumably good gear change chart:
1st gear-5-10km/h
2st gear-10-20km/h
3st gear-20-35km/h
4st gear-35-45km/h
5st gear-45+km/h
-While overtaking or going up an incline,shift to a lower gear than flooring the accelerator on a higher gear,this prevents excess fuel from entering the engine which eventually is wasted if the accelerator is floored.
-Keep the filters clean & the mobil in a decent condition(Change mobil as per ur maruti service stn mechanic,he knows the best).
-Do not get conned by the ads of friction buster fuels with additives & things like that the engine was designed to perform the best with the normally available petrol.(preferably HP).
-When u r going to switch on the ac do not do so from a cold engine start,wait for a good 5-10 minutes to pass by then do so this saves quite a bit of fuel.
-Driving habits mentioned by the previous answerer r certainly to be kept in mind.
-Do not park the car in hot sun,find some shade prevents petrol from evaporating inside the tanks,results in reduction of oil pressure in the fuel lines.
Follow these & hopefully u will gwt a mileage better than the rest of the alto owners who do not pay any heed to this.