GOOD MOTORING
Do you rev up the engine?
H. Kishie Singh

There are two ‘habits’ (what else can they be described as?) that Indian drivers have that defy explanation.

One is revving up the engine several times before switching off. Why? No one knows for sure, especially those who do it. It serves no purpose other than to burn extra fuel. That’s exactly what you don’t want to do.

I think this habit dates back to the time of tired-out, unreliable cars which had dying batteries. Revving up the engine meant the dynamo would put out a few extra amps. This was meant to charge up the battery.

Today’s batteries don’t need this extra power. The alternator does an almost perfect job of keeping the battery at peak performance.

The proper procedure to shut down is to let the engine idle for half a minute. During this time, apply the hand brake, shift into neutral, switch off the lights if necessary and flip up the sun visors if they are down. Then just switch off, it is that simple. A short idling stint before shutting down is like jogging on the spot after a long run. This is recommended.

There’s another sight which baffles: only sarkari drivers of Ambassadors indulge in this ridiculous habit. After getting a tank full, they rock the car, to take on an extra point of fuel. Then they put their back against the car, grab it under the wheel arches and, bracing their feet, try and lift the car to take another point, may be. All this exercise to take on, at the most, another 150-200 ml of fuel, which will overflow and spill out. Do not overfill. It’s expensive and dangerous.

Refuelling should be done when you are not in a rush. It is also recommended to take on a full tank every time, rather than Rs 100 or Rs 200 worth of petrol at a time. It’s a time-saving exercise. Also a full tank means clean fuel is being pumped into your engine. If the fuel level is low in the tank, the fuel pump could pull in some sediment. There is always sediment at the bottom of a tank.

Filling the tank slowly with an ‘auto-cut’ nozzle means you will get the proper quantity of fuel. When fuel flows at a fast rate, some bubbles are formed. This will give you a wrong reading. What has gone into the tank could be less than what the pump meter shows.

We talk about fuel efficiency and getting the maximum number of kilometres per litre. This exercise starts at the time of re-fuelling at the petrol pump.

The first thing to do is to make sure the meter is at zero. This is where the motorist makes his first mistake and the attendant makes his extra buck.

Notice one more thing. The attendants at petrol stations never change. Why? They are past masters at shortchanging. They know how to manipulate the machinery.

The age-old wisdom of the ancients applies here: "Let the buyer be wary!"