I woke up extra early one day because I was too excited to yet again participate in Shell’s FuelSave Good Choice Driving Challenge. Two years ago, Shell hosted a Fuel Save Driving Challenge which was participated by mom bloggers and I was one of the participants. That was back in 2012 and I was still pregnant with lil’ Mr. GJG. It was fun driving around the city and taking on the challenges. The pregnant me and my pumping partner won! Knowing how much fun we had made us say yes again to this year’s Shell FuelSave Good Choice Driving Challenge which happened last month.
A rare moment for me to catch the sunrise.
The event proper was held a Mango Tree in BHS. We had a brief introduction on what’s about to happen while we had our hearty breakfast. We are to head out to Batangas for the driving challenge and in between getting there, we need to complete certain challenges at the pit stops.
Team # 3. Kris of OC Mom in Manila & I.
We are the seven teams who took the challenge. Different personalities came together to participate. From media to us bloggers, even professional drivers and celebrity driver of the year, Bianca Gonzales engaged in the whole day activity. Off to Batangas we go!
Fellow blogger friends Mish of Momma N’ Manila and Sarah of Fashion Eggplant. They too, like us, have a competitive spirit.
We so wanted to win the challenge and save on fuel that my partner Kris even downloaded an MPG app. This app helped us track our fuel economy. It gets really annoyingly noisy, alerting us when we’ve revved up or burned much fuel. My partner Kris drove going to Batangas (first leg of the challenge) and it was a steady ride. We discussed about our strategy to further help us with fuel efficiency. We picked up some tips from our previous Shell FuelSave Driving Challenge and applied it. One of which is limiting the use of air conditioner. So that’s what we exactly did. Kris brought an electric fan (yes, a compact rechargeable one) and while she was driving, I was holding it. Soon, it ran out of batteries so I use the ever reliable fan. So funny ‘coz whenever the convoy would pass by and take photos and videos of us, we would pretend we’re basking the cool air and hide the fan. Hahahaha!
After completing the challenges at the two pit stops which were Shell stations, we arrived at Citai by Corito’s Garden in Batangas, where immediately, we were offered refreshments. Later on while sipping our drinks did we learn that leg 1 wasn’t the start of the fuel save challenge. OMG. All that sweat and fanning (Dakota Fanning!) and the race hasn’t even started. Why did we (all four of us bloggers) not know of this? Aaaah yes, we remember now. We were too busy enjoying our breakfast and catching up that we weren’t listening! Hahahahay.
Still, it was worth it. A little paradise somewhere in Batangas. Cintai by Corito’s Garden is a sweet escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was the perfect place to relax and have lunch after all that sweat. Hihi.
It was picturesque in almost every corner. Sarah & I were joking, had we know, we would’ve brought our outfits and shoot our OOTDs. Haha! But then this photo of mine is enough of a souvenir, I want to go back with my family & our friends next time.
It feels like we were in Bali, all thanks to its Balinese-inspired architecture.
The double door is made for having the perfect bridal entrance. It was a beautiful place to hold an intimate wedding.
After lunch, we listened to Mae Ascan, a senior fuels scientist for Shell Global Solutions and is the only Filipino in her field, discuss how our car, engine, particularly fuel works. I honestly have no idea that fuel varies in terms of its composition and how it can work well with an engine. She also explained that Shell FuelSave has detergents that work to help keep the engine clean and unclogged from fuel build up, which helps extend the life of your car’s engine- making it run more efficiently.
Quick tip: to know how much fuel your car consumes, simply divide the total distance traveled by the number of liters of fuel consumed on a particular trip to find out how many kilometres per liter.
Remember that whenever your engine needs to work harder, it will burn more fuel. To avoid this, here are a few tips we’ve picked up on how you can help run your car efficiently which in turn can help you save on fuel.
Regularly check your car’s tires if it has the correct psi. Every time you gas up, have your tires checked. Check the driver’s side or your car’s manual for the correct psi of your tires. I’m very cautious with my car’s tires. If I feel like my steering wheel’s a bit hard to maneuver, I go straight to a gas station to have it checked.
Avoid carrying excess weight. Storing unnecessary things in your trunk means your engine needs to work harder. If you’re a parent going to work everyday for five days, I suggest leave your child’s stroller at home and load it over the weekend should you go out with your family.
Keep RPM below 2000. For economy’s sake, its wise to remain under 3000 RPM and shift into the next gear before the engine gets much beyond its optimum RPM level. For AT, slowly step on the gas pedal until your engine automatically shifts gear.
Air con control. Having your air con on full blast makes the engine work harder. Just keep it in a comfortable temperature and you’re already contributing to your fuel efficiency.
Idle not. If you’re stopping for more than 10 seconds, its best to shut off your car’s engine instead of it being idle.
Break it gently. Sudden stop can cause fuel consumption. Try breaking gently instead of immediately breaking. This I am not really good at and I need practice! Heehee.
Be steady. Highway driving is more fuel efficient as the long road is a good venue to achieve a steady speed. The average 60-80 KPH is a good running speed- this might be challenging for most of us who get stuck in the city driving in traffic.
Car check. Have your car regularly serviced. Check for oil change, fluids, and tune up should your vehicle needs to have any of these done. It’s not a scheme of car manufacturers to have your car frequently visit their service centre, it’s being done to avoid unwanted accidents and of course to help maintain your car’s performance.
The second leg of the challenge happened after the insightful talk of Ms. Mae. We went back to Fort in Taguig but had two more pit stops before driving back to Mango Tree Bistro. Again, we had to fan our way for oxygen and once in a while have our windows down.
But then again we realized that it’s not a good idea to roll down our windows when driving. The drag can cause the engine to work harder, thus consuming more fuel. Yikes.
Last pit stop where they had to evaluate our gas. We consumed 4 liters of gas from Batangas to Taguig. We weren’t expecting to place as we find 4 liters too much, compared to our previous driving challenge around the Metro where we only consumed 2 liters.
Driving back to Fort, we realized some of the things we did that contributed to our 4 liter fuel consumption:
We rolled down our windows from time to time.
While waiting for the convoy at a toll station, we decided to shut down our engine, for it was more than 10 seconds of waiting but not more than a minute so we figured, the stop and start of the engine consumed more fuel rather than save.
We didn’t break it gently. We could’ve done a much better job at managing the pedals.
After dinner, the program started and soon, winners were announced. We weren’t really expecting to place at all given how much fuel we consumed. Although we aced the challenges at the pit stops, we didn’t feel it would guarantee us a spot.
But surprisingly we placed third. Yay! 🙂 It was an all-ladies teams who placed. Kris & I placed third, Bianca and Rio placed second and Mish and Sarah placed first. Woohoo! Girl power!
Wefie-ing with Bianca.
Thank you so much Shell for the fun and informative Shell FuelSave Good Choice Driving Challenge.
I was convinced at how FuelSave is a good choice so we gased up at Shell for our Halloween trip.
Read more about Shell’s FuelSave and other promotions at www.shell.com.ph
This was such a fun day! I’m so happy that we were able to experience this together Jackie! I think we spent half the day laughing so darn hard and that was what made it all so fun! Hooray for mom bloggers and hooray for GIRL POWER by Shell Fuel Save!
So much fun Mish! So glad we did this together! 🙂