With fuel prices always on the rise, fleets should be sure to watch their fuel dollars carefully. Over the life of your fleet's vehicles, poor fuel efficiency can lead to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in added expense.
Here are six tips to maximize your vehicle and fleet's fuel performance:
1. Check Your Tire Pressure
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average driver could boost their fuel efficiency by 3% simply by keeping their tires properly inflated. Your fuel costs start to increase per mile if your tires are under inflated by just 1 psi. The correct tire pressure can also provide a safer ride and help reduce tire wear. Grainger offers a wide array of easy-to-use tire gauges to help you keep your tire pressure accurate.
2. Change Your Air Filter
A clogged air filter can damage internal engine parts and rob up to 10% of your engine's efficiency. According to the federal government, a vehicle's fuel mileage could improve by as much as 10% with a clean air filter. In addition to the fuel and monetary savings, replacing your air filter every 12,000 miles will help protect your engine.
3. Clean Your Fuel System
Even the smallest deposits, such as carbon and resin, can lead to poor engine performance and excessive fuel consumption. You can flush out the fuel system, including the fuel injector, intake valve and combustion chamber by using a cleaner such as 3M™ Intake System Cleaner Kit. Easily perform this cleaning in your own facility using the 3M™ Aerosol Adapter Kit.
4. Relax and Slow Down
Driving relaxed with smooth acceleration and deceleration can improve fuel economy, as does driving your vehicle while it’s warm. The EPA estimates that accelerating rapidly and braking hard can reduce your vehicle’s fuel efficiency by as much as 5%.
5. Take off the Weight
Believe it or not, an extra 100 pounds in or on your vehicle can reduce fuel efficiency by up to 2%. Remove any unnecessary tools and equipment. In the winter, don’t just clean your windshield, scrape the entire vehicle—snow and ice add weight.
6. Plan Your Routes
Consolidate trips to destinations so that you don’t have to retrace your route. This will reduce miles driven, but also save you wear-and-tear on your vehicle.
Through Grainger, you have access to over 30,000 fleet/vehicle repair and maintenance items to keep your fleet running efficiently. Order any way you like: call Grainger Customer Care at 888-326-8605, order online at
Grainger.com or in-person at more than 420 local branches. As an FTS Plus+ member, you save up to 24% on catalog pricing and get free standard shipping on stocked, catalog items.
Learn more about the Grainger savings program at ftsplus.com/grainger.