Electrification is taking the automotive industry by storm, and Shell wants to be at the forefront of its development. That is why it established Shell Recharge, dedicated charging docks islandwide for EVs. This initiative was conceptualised in 2009, and more stations are popping up in various petrol stations.

In partnership with the Land Transport Authority, Shell will also install up to 4,847 charging points in 415 Housing Development Board carparks in due course. These will be located in the North and North-East regions of Singapore. Even with its electrical advancements, Shell is a firm believer that petrol-propelled vehicles are here to stay and will continue to dominate the industry. Hence, Shell has debuted its latest and most advanced fuel formula yet.

Held at the Cloud9 Piazza of Jewel Changi Airport, the launch exhibition provided guests with key insights on how Shell has gone into the development of this new formula, as well as the foreseeable benefits that drivers can expect to gain from it. The existing traits that help with corrosion protection and wear resistance have been improved, alongside a new fuel formulation that promises a significant improvement in fuel efficiency for vehicles. 

Shell FuelSave 95, 98 & Diesel

The Shell FuelSave fuels, which include 95, 98, and Diesel, have improved deposit-targeting technology, designed to deep clean your vehicle engine’s fuel system components of efficiency-sapping deposits.

Shell claims its FuelSave fuels are now able to remove up to 65% of these deposits, as well as to protect against future build-ups. This may seem like small increments, but it would present a 2% improvement in fuel economy or an increase in 15km of range per tank of Shell FuelSave 95 and 98.

V-Power Pride

For drivers who pump Shell V-Power, they can expect the new fuel to now clean 100% of performance-robbing deposits from crucial fuel components of their engine. Shell V-Power claims to contain up now to three times more cleaning and protection molecules than Shell’s regular fuel, ensuring that your engine will continue to run optimally.

Seems too good to be true right? Well, if you’re someone who has doubts, Shell will openly welcome you to test the new fuel formula yourself.

From 6 April to 30 June 2023, drivers can pick up a mileage tracker after they pump at Shell, and this tracker would enable you to view just how much further each tank of fuel can bring you.

You can win big on social media too

Shell is so confident, it even wants you to share your fuel economy gains all over social media.

Drivers can post photos of their completed tracker card in the comments section of Shell’s Facebook page contest post and share how that extra mileage can help them do what they love. Winners shortlisted by Shell can stand a chance to win a total of 15,000 points (worth $500) on the Shell GO+ app. You may find this contest post here.

Those that post photos of their completed mileage tracker card to Instagram instead can tag their posts with the hashtag (#Shell15km!). This will provide additional chances of winning. For visibility, don’t forget to set your profile to public.

Read more automotive news at AutoApp, or check out our latest videos on Ignition Labs TV!

It’s a rite of passage every petrolhead goes through, and it probably starts with “I heard about this tip back then about…”.

With petrol prices ever increasing, plus the onslaught of inflation and global conflicts, car owners worldwide are always looking for ways to help increase the fuel efficiency of their cars, in a bid to return to petrol stations with less of an empty wallet.

While there are certain truths being passed around when it comes to saving fuel, there are also several “myths” that you can dismiss as being true. Conveniently, the AutoApp team has broken down some of these for you.

Myth 1: Keep your car idling, it saves more petrol than restarting it

Picture this. You’re early to your kid’s tuition class, and you are waiting in the car park. Instead of shutting down the car, you keep it running, thinking that while idling you are saving fuel.

Sorry to burst your bubble pal, but leaving your engine running while your car is idle actually uses up more petrol than it is required to restart it. A study conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund, a non-profit organisation based in the United States, you should turn off your car’s ignition if you’re waiting for more than 10 seconds.

While idling, you consume roughly between 1/3 and 1/2 of a litre of fuel, depending on your vehicle. Plus, modern vehicles with direct fuel injection and electronic ignitions start more easily and suffer less wear and tear in the process.

Plus, idling in enclosed spaces is illegal anyway, so next time it’s a good practice to switch your vehicle off.

Myth 2: Coasting in Neutral helps save petrol

While yes, it is true that when you place your car in neutral, the engine starts to idle and consumes a small amount of petrol. But, you may not know that as you start slowing down, the engine begins to work harder to prevent the vehicle from stalling.

This is because the wheels are not turning the engine, so the engine has to inject fuel into the combustion chambers in order to maintain idle RPM.

Therefore, with modern automatics that are designed to be as efficient as possible, keeping your car in Drive will save you more petrol.

MYTH 3: Air-conditioning vs winding down windows

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of rolling down your windows on a cool day and feeling the cool breeze on the open road. It does feel good, and you would think that it is an effective method in saving fuel too, as you may not need to use your air-conditioning.

But, when your vehicle’s windows are down, you allow air to flow into the vehicle instead of where it would traditionally flow over, thereby inducing more drag. Like mini parachutes, these small pockets of air can produce enough drag that inadvertently affects your vehicle’s overall drag coefficient.

For best fuel efficiency, you would need to keep the windows up and turn off your air-conditioning. This is pretty extreme though, and we do not recommend it, especially in our hot and humid climate.

Thus, our suggestion would be to turn on your air-conditioning, but keep the temperature and fan speed to respectable levels. This will enable you to be efficient, and save fuel in the process! Don’t blast, or your fuel will go fast.

MYTH 4: Cruise control can help to save petrol

This is true to a certain extent. While cruise control might be effective on flat roads when your vehicle maintains a constant speed, rapid and sudden acceleration on steeper terrain may burn out a lot of fuel.

Since the vehicle is given a speed to maintain, its internal computers will try their best to keep up, even if it means revving the engine to death.

If you’re planning to use cruise control whilst driving, be cautious and anticipate any upcoming incline. Before cruise control can intervene, you can try applying slight pressure to the accelerator pedal slowly and as needed. This allows you to maintain speed without sudden engine revs induced by the cruise control system.

MYTH 5: The smaller the car, the more frugal it is

If you were to look at cars purely by body size, one popular belief is that smaller cars get better fuel efficiency numbers due to their lighter builds.

However, with technology improving by leaps and bounds over the recent decades, a car’s efficiency is now determined by various other factors such as under-the-hood performance, materials, and body aerodynamics, not just its size.

Our advice is to get a vehicle that fits your needs. A large SUV sounds excellent on paper, but it doesn’t really make sense when you’re driving it alone all the time with no one else to ferry around.

MYTH 6: Petrol consumption increases as a car gets older

Wear and tear is perfectly normal on a vehicle, especially if it’s of an older age. However, as long as your car is well maintained, fuel consumption over time should remain the same, or at the very least, increase ever so slightly.

Regular maintenance will keep your engine running at peak efficiency, so don’t worry about getting about an older car!

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