AS HARI Raya Aidilfitri approaches, many Malaysians are making their final preparations for 'balik kampung', the annual exodus back to their hometowns.
While many send their vehicles for servicing to make sure it's "all systems go" for their journey, there is one area many often overlook: tyre pressure.
Even on a day-to-day basis, car owners rarely give their tyres a second look before they drive, risking a flat one while paying more than they should for fuel.
If only they knew that a less-than-ideal tyre pressure would cost them more fuel. Will it?
Verdict:
TRUE
Now, we don't expect anyone to 'berhutang Budi95' with us, but it is a cost-saving fact that lower tyre pressure results in higher fuel consumption, while higher tyre pressure results in lower fuel consumption.
A study from the Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) found that there is a significant correlation between tyre pressure and fuel consumption.
An experiment was conducted using the same vehicle but with three different tyre pressures: 170kPa, 210kPa and 250kPa, with the 210kPa being the recommended pressure.
The result showed that the drive with 170kPa tyre pressure resulted in 1.9litres of average fuel used, while the drives with 210kPa and 250kPa resulted in 1.43litres and 1.41litres of average fuel, respectively.
This means that maintaining proper tyre pressure can lead to better fuel efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.
According to the US Department of Energy, for every 1 PSI drop in pressure on all four tyres, fuel mileage decreases by 0.2%.
If a vehicle's tyres are underinflated by 10 PSI, they could be losing up to 2% in fuel mileage.
Although seemingly small, it accumulatively is a silent wallet breaker, especially for those who do a lot of driving.
With that being said, it's time to get pumping! Because aren't you tyred of paying for more fuel in this economy?
Reference:
1. https://publisher.uthm.edu.my/
