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TRENDS: FUEL EFFICIENCYText: Per-Erik Nordström and Per-Ola Knutas Photo: Staffan Ehde, Freek van Arkel and Scania archiveIllustration: Semcon Informatic Graphic SolutionsEvery dropof fuel countsIn uncertain times, fuel expenses come even more into focus foroperators and hauliers. Here Scania experts share their tips onhow to save money with fuel efficiency.DRIVERS AND FUEL today account for morethan half of the costs for a typical operator.So fuel economy has a large impact on anoperator’s business and capacity to earn money.This is obvious to Erik Dahlberg, who works withinScania’s Research and Development. “Scania has along tradition of putting every conceivable effort intooptimising the vehicles’ fuel economy. It permeates all ourdevelopment projects, from nuts and bolts to cab design.”But now, Dahlberg says, there is also an increasedinterest from operators. Today they spend a lot of timediscussing the most fuel-efficient vehicle specificationswith their sales representative. “They are often down toadjusting the last decimal,” he says.Here are some realistic steps toward optimising fuelperformance that are available to most operators. But, saysDahlberg, “there is no magic formula, so it’s the constantengaging in details that counts.”Keep the vehicle in shape• Continuous monitoring ofvehicle and driver performancemakes it possible to takeaction with minimum delay.• Regular maintenance takeson a crucial role to make sureeverything stays in optimumshape; faults can be detectedbefore they have a chance tocause much harm.• Get the gearing right for theapplication. At 40 tonnes withtoday’s high-torque engines,going for economy gearing,i.e. cruising below 1200 r/mininstead of 1350 r/min, willsave up to 3 percent of fuelwithout any severe effects ondriveability.• Keeping down the unladenweight will automatically savefuel. Specifying low-weightoptions could reduce weightby 500 kilograms and saveup to 1.5 percent in hillyterrain.• Checking axle alignmentpays off. Adjusting a 1 degreemisalignment may save up to3 percent of fuel.Tyre pressuresOne bar too little in the tyresmay cost up to 2 percentof fuel. Keeping up the tyrepressure at all times willsecure consistent rollingresistance, minimum tyrewear and maximum roadsafety. An easy way isto specify tyre pressuremonitoring (TPM), a systemthat allows pressures tobe read from the cab andthat alerts the driver if thepressure drops in any of thetyres. In addition, around 5percent of fuel can be savedby specifying tyres with lowrolling resistance.30 SCANIA REVOLUTIONS • N o 3/2009 www.scania.com