Graham Hill Reviews Some Great Automotive Gadgets

Wednesday, 1. June 2011

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My gadget of the week isn’t really my gadget it’s a list of them courtesy of Auto Express. We are all looking at ways of saving fuel as it hits a new high every week so it was good of them to list out a few gadgets aimed at saving fuel and money. Top of their list is a portable sat-nav. It’s called the Vexia Econav (www.vexia.co.uk) and uses a car database to provide a real time indication of your fuel use. It also displays the best gear to be using and the speed for the road. The next sat-nav that takes this to a higher level is the Garmin (www.garmin.com) called the ecoRoute HD.

This connects to your diagnosis port to give fuel consumption readings and analyse each journey. It also provides the driver with route options that are aimed at saving fuel. They may take longer but cover fewer miles and avoid any high speed driving. Tyres are critical on a car when it comes to fuel usage.

Critical to fuel saving is the rolling resistance of the tyre you buy in the first place. Auto Express publishes its findings each year although compulsory labelling comes into force earl next year. The labelling will include an economy rating to assist drivers. Next on the list is the tyre pressure.

Two gadgets aimed at keeping pressures topped up are Ring’s Digital Tyre Guage and RAC630 12v compressor (www.ringautomotive.co.uk). A tyre pressure monitor like Tyrepal (www.tyrepal.co.uk) will provide a visual check. Pressure Guard valve caps (www.speeding.co.uk) show if air has been lost.

Even changing your headlight bulbs can save fuel. Philips EcoVision units (www.philips.co.uk) claim to use 20% less energy saving energy and fuel. So there you have a few money saving gadgets, Do you have any to add to the list? By Graham Hill