We are all aware of the current state of petrol prices. Rather than cry in despair at these record high prices, though, this may be a good time to make a concerted effort to dramatically decrease our dependency on this non-renewable, expensive and environmentally damaging resource. With that in mind, we here at Bargain Shoppers Guide to Sydney have compiled some very useful information for our savvy shoppers so that you may make informed choices about how and where you spend your money. This Special Report is intended to give every individual some real money-saving options that also benefit our collective health and environment. There is no single, easy way for you to save money on fuel, but any combination of the following tips and options can and will make a difference.

LIFESTYLE
If you are serious about saving money, the first things you can usually look to change are your day-to-day habits. Consider the following and experiment for a week to see if any of them are viable alternatives.

• Walking: simple, but true. Enjoy the benefits of gentle exercise: if you can walk to work in under an hour, try it for a week and see if it works for you. Get up a little bit earlier if you need to and feel the glow of satisfaction as you walk past endless cars stuck at endless lights.
• Bicycling: for the same reasons as walking, bicycling is a wonderful alternative to driving but takes a slightly braver soul than most! Give it a go if you’re game.
• Public transport: apart from those suburbs designed in the car-focussed 80s and 90s that remain sadly untouched by any workable public transport system, there aren’t many areas of Sydney that can’t be reached by train or bus, or any combination of the above. Look into it — you will definitely save money (average saving $10 to $20 per week).
• Driving route: ok, so you have to drive, but are you actually using the roads to your advantage? Sit down with a map, plot a few different courses and try them out. Give each one a week. That way you will get a feel for the traffic and see which works best. It may be that you drive one way to work and another way home, if need be.
• Car pool: it may well be time to start getting friendlier with your work colleagues. Figure out who lives near you and propose a car pool system. This will save both of you a lot of money and will also allow you to use transit lanes in heavy traffic, cutting back on time spent idling and chewing up petrol.

DRIVING STYLE AND HABITS
According to endless research, moderating your driving style WILL save you petrol. The hardest part is becoming aware of how you actually drive and then breaking those built-in habits.
For example:

• Heavy accelerating and braking: this increases your engine’s fuel consumption by a considerable amount. By accelerating gently and avoiding braking at high speeds (where applicable) you can save between 10 and 20 per cent in fuel costs, not to mention reducing costly wear on your car and even more importantly, ensuring your safety.
• Speed: driving at or just below the speed limit has more advantages than being legal and safe — it is proven to save fuel. Driving in the left lane of a multi-lane highway at 10km below the limit will increase your fuel economy by 5 to 10 per cent. If you’re still not convinced, consider that every time you double your speed, you increase the wind resistance to your vehicle by four times — wind resistance seriously compromises your fuel economy. Also, driving in the highest gear possible (or drive economy mode in an automatic) reduces your engine speed and saves you fuel.
• Idling: turn your engine off when stuck in heavy traffic for longer than one or two minutes. Idling engines achieve zero fuel economy. By the same token, it is not actually necessary to warm your car up when you first start it in the morning. Driving is the best way of warming your car up, even in cold winter weather. Only use your airconditioner when absolutely necessary (or when driving over 80kms/hour). An open window at any speed higher than 80kms/hr increases drag and decreases fuel efficiency.
• Aggressive driving: a 2006 ABC Television experiment proved that “aggressive driving” (constantly changing lanes and overtaking) will save you a measly 30 seconds in time and cost you considerable extra per week in fuel costs. Not to mention wear on your car. Take a deep breath, relax and take your time.

CAR MAINTENANCE
Check the following on a regular basis and you are guaranteed to make substantial weekly savings.

• Tyre pressure: flat or splashy tires can increase your fuel consumption by up to 7 per cent. Check them every two weeks when they are cold and keep at the correct pressure (at least 32psi or higher if recommended by the manufacturer)
• Wheel alignment: faulty wheel alignment increases the “rolling resistance” of your car, much in the same way as flat tires, which will increase your fuel consumption and also wear your tires out quicker (costing you more money).
• Excess drag: take all unnecessary items out of your boot or back seat and remove your roof rack, if it is not being used. An extra 30kg of weight adds another 2 per cent to your fuel consumption.

ENGINE AND FUEL TYPES
As you are no doubt aware, most engines require standard fossil fuel or petrol. Time, however, is proving that petrol is very low on both economy and practicality. It is not an endless resource and its cost to our environment is reaching nightmare proportions. So, if ever there was a better time to consider some cheaper and less harmful alternatives, it would be now.

• Diesel: diesel engines generally produce fewer emissions than standard petrol and average 10c per litre less in cost. It is widely available and competitively priced, although diesel fuel itself, of course, requires a vehicle with a diesel engine, which are not as common in Australia as they are in places like Europe. Consider a diesel engine if you are buying a new car and it will save you in the long run.
• Gas: as this is such a hotly topical option, we have provided as much information as possible and broken it down into the following sections:
• Emissions and savings: Both Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) produce significantly lower amounts of emissions and are up to 70c per litre cheaper than petrol. CNG produces up to 30 to 40 per cent fewer emissions and LPG produces around 15 per cent fewer emissions than fossil fuels.
• Converting: converting your engine to gas will cost you initially (around $2000 to $2500), but with current government support and savings in fuel costs you should recoup your outlay well within 12 months. We say “should”, however, because with the recent petrol price boom and subsequent high demand for gas tanks, some gas fitters are cashing in and are now known to charge almost double what they were charging just a few months ago (recent quotes reached as high as $5000). We recommend you shop around for a competitive quote and seriously weigh up any high initial cost with long-term savings.

What else you need to know:
• Keep in mind that some car models may be unsuitable for a gas tank. Check with a gas fitter if this is an option for you.
• Most cars keep their petrol tank when converted to gas and drivers are able to switch between both when necessary. This means that you’re not struggling to find a “gas” station.
• Despite media “alerts”, there is no hard evidence to suggest that a gas-run car is any more dangerous than a petrol-run car.
• Keep in mind that converting to gas is only really a short-term solution. It is not a renewable resource so it is likely to eventually suffer the same fate as petrol and other fossil fuels.

• Hybrid: a happy combination of electric and petrol engines, a hybrid car is the perfect solution for city drivers. The car switches to petrol only when sudden acceleration and speed is required, then switches back to battery when cruising or idling. This cuts back dramatically on both emissions and fuel costs. The new Toyota Prius is a fantastic example of an efficient hybrid car. It can get you around 1000kms on 30 to 40 litres of petrol and is the number one vehicle listed on www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au for fuel efficiency and dramatically reduced emissions.
• Ethanol: a renewable resource that cuts back on fuel emissions in direct proportion to how strongly it is mixed with petrol (currently at a proportion of between 5 and 10 per cent), ethanol costs roughly 4c less per litre than straight petrol. It is available at an increasing number of service stations across the country, although it is not suitable for every engine (check your owner’s manual). Car manufacturers in Spain are currently developing an engine that can run on 100 per cent ethanol. This may well be the engine of the future.
• Biodiesel: biodiesel is a bit of a winner all round, exceptionally low on both emissions and price. Unlike Europe and the US, however, Australia is yet to properly catch on to the all-round benefits of this greener-than-most resource. Still, you can actually make your own with a few core ingredients and a bit of patience. Log on to www.gfb.cc or www.biodys.com to find out how. Once you have set up your “home grown fuel” lab, it will cost you 40c per litre to make, or if you buy it from one of the 70 service stations currently stocking biodiesel in Australia, it will cost you around 80 per cent less than regular fuel. The only downsides are that it is not currently stocked at every petrol station in the country and you need a diesel engine in order to use it.
• Small versus big: if you don’t actually need a large 4WD because you’re not going “bush” every weekend, smaller cars are definitely the way to go. Sure, the flashy big Jeeps and Range Rovers make us feel safe and secure but they have very low fuel efficiency coupled with very high emissions and are proven to cause horrific damage to other cars in a serious accident. Consider models like the Toyota Echo, Hyundai Getz and the Holden Barina — they can do everything that you would require of a car and use less than 7 litres of fuel per 100kms (a savings of up to $1500/year when compared to larger vehicles). Or go hybrid and save yourself even more. Biggest, it seems, is very definitely not best!

DISCOUNT VOUCHERS
Big, multinational corporations such as Coles Myer and Woolworths are falling over themselves to offer you cheap petrol deals if you spend money in their stores. In a cooperative business relationship with Shop-A-Docket and major fuel companies that appears to be screaming for a Michael Moore-type retaliation, these business giants have joined forces to “help you save money”. And it appears to be working, mostly because they do actually save you money on petrol. A Shop-A-Docket voucher from Coles or Woolworths valued at over $30 will save you anywhere between 4 and 14 cents per litre at supermarket-endorsed fuel stations, depending on the type of deal being offered at the time. This kind of partnership has ensured that Coles Myer now controls a whopping 60 per cent of the petrol market.

All political and socio-economic repercussions of this monopoly aside, shopping at supermarket chains like Coles and Woolworths will not save you enough money to truly justify their 4c per litre off petrol offer. On a 55-litre tank, saving 4c per litre on petrol will add up to a savings of just over $100 a year for the average driver (just under $400 a year with “14c off” deal). Shopping at much cheaper outlets (refer to our tip sheet on Supermarket Shopping for further details) will save you around $1500 a year, clearly far outweighing any saving that you will make on Coles-endorsed petrol. Fuel for thought, yes?

And finally: some advice on when and where to fill up.

• Don’t wait until your tank is almost empty to fill up as this will force you into the nearest (and likely expensive) petrol station.
• When you see a cheap fuel price, pull in and fill up. If you do this regularly, you can save roughly $10 a week on fuel.
• The cheapest petrol price day in Sydney is currently Wednesday. Fuel prices can drop to 4 or 5 cents a litre cheaper on this day due to low demand. Keep your eyes peeled for this kind of pattern. It is likely to change as demand grows and ebbs over time.
• Don’t drive out of your way to fill up at a cheap fuel station unless you are sure that you are not using more fuel than you are spending per litre to fill up.