India is a vast and diverse driving landscape, with widely varying road conditions, payload habits, terrains and driving skills. So, getting the best mileage out of your light truck is about optimising all these several affecting factors – at the same time.
Here are some general tips towards ensuring that you squeeze the best fuel efficiency out of each litre.
- Check those wheels: You'll use less fuel if you keep your vehicle well-tuned, and that includes monitoring your tyres. Read your owner's manual and make sure your tyres are inflated as the manufacturer recommends. Under-inflated tyres create a drag that lowers fuel economy. For accurate pressure readings, examine the tyres when cold, as driving heats the air inside and effectively increases the inflation reading. It also helps to check tyre pressure before going on a long trip, and always before moving heavy loads.Also, remember to periodically inspect your truck's wheel alignment, because you won't get optimum mileage if your truck isn't rolling straight.
- Stay steady on the road: Continuous up and down acceleration and braking reduces your fuel economy. While doing this is probably difficult through towns, cities and at checkpoints, you can optimise your pace on the highway. Maintain a constant speed and take it slow and easy on starts and stops. Slow down a little in general if you can, because the truck uses more fuel when you drive at higher speeds. Again, reading your owner’s manual should give you an idea of the optimum speed range recommended for your lcv.
- If you’re not moving, turn it off: If you're stopped in traffic, turn the vehicle off, don't sit there and idle for whole minutes at a time. When you’re at a rest stop, park the truck and then attend to your meal, vehicle cleaning, paperwork or any other requirements.
- Try and stick to the recommended payloads: This may not always be a factor you can control, but it does impact your fuel efficiency to always be driving with an over-burden payload.
- Well-oiled is well played: As a vehicle owner you must know that the engine oil is responsible for smooth functioning of the engine. Oil acts as a lubricant for its parts and fights the two biggest enemies of any motor: friction and heat. Since the engine oil plays a large role in protecting your vehicle, it needs to be replaced regularly. Check your owner's manual to figure out the right intervals of oil changes for your Tata 709 or LCV. Also, make sure that there's no leak. If so, get it fixed in time.
We believe following the above tips will help to improve the truck mileage and improve your truck performance.
