Possible petrol price increase...Here's what to do

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As motorists and even as commuters, we know that in the last few months the petrol price has seen some really nice drops.

This drop meant that travelling costs dropped significantly. 

Unfortunately, the joy of saving money at the pumps, may soon be coming to an end.

The Automation Association has warned that the petrol price could increase by a whopping 68 cents a litre in March, if the price of crude oil doesn't drop significantly. You can read more about the possible increase here.

So while us mere mortals cannot influence the price of crude oil, we can prepare ourselves for the a possible fuel increase. Here are a few tips to saving on petrol:

* It’s best to fill up in the morning rather than the afternoon. Fill up your tank in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Service stations have storage tanks buried below ground and the colder the ground, the denser the petrol. When it gets warmer petrol expands, so if you’re filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a litre is not exactly a litre.

* Look for more ways to share travel with others; carpools and lift clubs are a great way to start.

* Fill up when your tank is at half rather than quarter. Sediment from petrol settles at the bottom of every tank. When you let your petrol run low, you force your car to use the dirtiest petrol in its tank for fuel. The lower your car’s fuel level sinks, the more the dirt gets stirred up from the bottom of the tank. Thus you risk this dirt getting into your car’s fuel line and even into the engine. If this happens, you’re putting extra strain on the engine. And you’ll need to flush the entire fuel system if it clogs up with dirt.

* Do away with aggressive driving and don’t over rev your car. 

* Change to highest gear rather than driving in lowest gear.

* It is more economical to use the air conditioning system rather than driving with open windows.

* Don’t be hard on your accelerator or brakes.

* Service your car regularly and always check your tyre pressure to see if it’s correct.