‘Ten second rule’ that makes full tank go further and save you from being stranded
A MOTORING expert has shared the “ten second rule” that can make your fuel last longer and save you from being stranded.
Ryan Kluftinger from FortNine took to YouTube to explain the art of “hypermiling“, which allows you to get more bang for your buck at the pumps.
Ryan explained that a common error could actually see you wasting fuel and hamstringing yourself when it comes to getting better mileage out of a full tank.
According to Ryan, the idea that it is more fuel efficient to leave your motor idling at a red light rather than turning it off and on again is actually a bit of an urban legend.
He said: “Desperate times call for the ten second rule.
“Fuel consumption generally works…where the amount an engine burns for ten seconds equals the amount it burns on startup.
“[This means] if you must sit longer than ten seconds, killing the bike saves gas.”
Ryan was using motorcycle engines as an example but the same goes for cars too.
Linda Gaines, a transportation systems analyst from the Argonne National Laboratory, added: “Some drivers think that idling uses less fuel than restarting, but our research has found that drivers save fuel and reduce emissions by shutting down for stops as brief as 10 seconds.”
Ryan also busted another common myth, which is that you can extend your mileage by accelerating hard and then coasting in gear to keep revs up and the engine operating steadily.
This is very much the case for modern motors but for older vehicles this can actually do more harm than good.
That’s due to something called Deceleration Fuel Cutoff (DCF), a feature in cars and bikes that use electronic fuel injection where the onboard computer stops delivering fuel to the engine as you roll off the throttle.
If your car is more than around 40 years old it likely works on a carburettor rather than fuel injection, likewise for many bikes from before the early noughties and even some more recent models.
Carburettors will always feed fuel through the system while in gear so you need to coast in neutral instead.
This is best achieved by simply holding down the clutch as you coast before lifting it as you accelerate again.
Not only can the two tricks he shared help you avoid running out on the road, they can also save you money as improving your fuel economy by even 1mpg can stack up to around £100 across the year for the average family car.