My last tank of gas wasn’t the success story of the tank before. Unlike the previous tank, which I wrung 685 kilometres out of, this one only took me 615 kilometres. This works out to 7.9 l/100 km and 8.7 l/100 km, respectively. It’s still an improvement over the 520 kilometres/tank I’m used to, however. A contributing factor was my being sloppy with the tire pressure.

After the fill-up, I checked the pressures and two tires were down more than 6 P.S.I. while the other two were close to spec. I’ve read that low pressure is a factor in fuel economy and given how a flatter tire will deform more, it makes prefect sense to expect more losses due to friction.

Some recommend checking tire pressure monthly, which seems entirely too infrequent for my tastes. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson. Despite the lower figure of 615 kilometres, the tank of fuel still did last me nineteen days. No, I’m going to have to visit the pump weekly from now on … the air pump, that is.