While a switch to electric is the quickest way to reduce your car’s emissions, such a move is still unaffordable for many. The uptake of electric cars has been remarkable over the last five years. In 2016, there were less than 150,000 plug-in vehicles registered in the UK. By the end of 2021, that number leapt up to 740,000. New rules are making a big push in favour of EVs too.
From 2022 all new buildings, including homes, must have EV charging installed, and of course pure petrol and diesel engine vehicles will no longer be sold in the UK from 2030.
But as said, not everyone is able to ditch their current petrol or diesel car for a plug-in just yet. If this applies to you but you want to keep your car’s emission output as low as possible, we’ve got a few tips that can help in that department.
> The Ultimate Guide to Car Care
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Fuel additives
One needs to be careful not to get sucked into the claims made on the labels of fuel additive bottles promising better fuel economy and cleaner running. They seem like an ideal quick fix but you will only see a difference in older cars.
If your car is less than about 10 years old, fuel additives won’t do anything. The reason being that modern cars have onboard computers and sensors with the specific task of running the engine as cleanly and efficiently as possible.
Therefore, if you have an older car it may well benefit from a fuel additive to clean the fuel system. What a fuel system cleaner does (one of several types of fuel additive), is get rid of any buildup of carbon deposits and particles that accumulate in the fuel system (fuel injectors and valves and the like).
If you do want to try one of these products, we recommend STP Complete Fuel System Cleaner. There is a version each for petrol and diesel, and it is an effective fuel system cleaner for older vehicles that does make a bit of difference. It’s cheap and only needs using every few thousand miles.
Price: £9.89 | VIEW OFFER
AdBlue
AdBlue is now being used in a growing number of diesel cars to reduce the amount of these gases coming out of the exhaust pipe. It’s a solution made up of urea and water injected into the car’s exhaust system before harmful nitrogen oxide comes out of the tailpipe. Urea is an organic chemical compound that is found in the urine and blood of mammals and some fish.
AdBlue is fed into the exhaust and reacts with the nitrogen oxide gas produced by the combustion process, breaking it down into harmless nitrogen and oxygen.
If you drive a modern diesel car, there’s a high chance it uses AdBlue. As well as topping it up at a petrol station, you can buy AdBlue and have it at home on the shelf for your convenience.
We have a full guide on AdBlue for more information, but the 10-litre container of
Status Universal AdBlue is our recommended AdBlue to buy.
Oil
Engine oil is vital to keeping your car running smoothly and cleanly because it lubricates engine parts. These days oil needs changing every 6,000 miles or so, unless your car uses fully synthetic oil, in which case it only needs changing every 10,000 miles or so.
Check your car’s manual to find out which oil it needs. You can also read our guides to the best engines oils and synthetic oils.
But our top-rated oil is Castrol Edge. It’s a synthetic oil that makes use of ‘fluid titanium technology’ to allow the oil to keep protecting the engine even under extreme pressure. The oil is designed to ensure that all parts of the engine are protected keeping the internals safe from wear and enhancing the performance of your engine. It can also be used in diesel and hybrid engines.
Price: £31.23 | VIEW OFFER
Tyres
Tyres have a noticeable impact on fuel consumption and therefore emissions. The fundamental role of tyres is to make a vehicle grip to the road, and with that comes rolling resistance, sometimes called rolling friction or rolling drag. It’s the certain amount of resistance that occurs when tyres roll along the road.
Ideally, you want lots of grip and little rolling resistance but the two are kind of at odds with each other. Yet tyre manufacturers work hard to balance the two and some are making good progress. According to the British Tyre Manufacturer’s Association, ‘There is a difference of six percent in fuel consumption between the lowest and highest-graded tyres.’
Our latest round of summer tyre testing has shown that the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 manages to pull off this trick reasonably well, scoring respectably in both handling and rolling resistance tests.
Price: £89.98 and up | VIEW OFFER
But in regard to your current tyres, keeping them inflated to the correct pressure will help both with fuel economy and even tyre wear. You can get your own decent tyre inflator without spending much.
We recommend the Ring Automotive RAC635 because it’s small, reliable, and efficient. It is a digital tyre inflator with a clever auto-shutoff feature that kicks in when it reaches a pre-set pressure. But if you want to go for a budget version, there is the more basic, but equally well-made analogue RAC610 too.
Price: £38.68 | VIEW OFFER
Cycling
Last but not least, consider if you need to drive on a certain trip. Cycling is healthy, easy, and of course emission-free. With the emergence of e-bikes, this concept is more appealing than ever.
Read next:
Winter car check: a ‘how to’ guide
How to save money on car cleaning products with spray bottles
The Parkers guide to home EV chargers
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