115
W
ARNING
LIGHTS AND MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
CAR
MAINTENANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICA
TIONS
INDEX
DASHBOARD AND CONTROLS
SAFETY DEVICES
CORRECT USE OF THE CAR
DRIVING STYLE
Starting
Do not warm the engine with the car at
a standstill or at idle or high speed: under
these conditions the engine warms up
much more slowly, increasing electrical
consumption and emissions. It is therefore
advisable to move off immediately, slow-
ly, avoiding high speeds. This way the en-
gine will warm faster.
Unnecessary actions
Avoid accelerating when waiting at traffic
lights or before switching off the engine.
This and also double declutching is ab-
solutely pointless on modern cars and al-
so increase consumption and pollution.
CONDITIONS OF USE
Cold starting
Short journeys and frequent cold starts do
not allow the engine to reach optimum op-
erating temperature. This results in a sig-
nificant increase in consumption levels
(from +15 to +30% on the urban cycle)
and emission of harmful substances.
Traffic and road conditions
Rather high consumption levels are tied to
situations with heavy traffic, for example
in queues with frequent use of the lower
gears or in cities with many traffic lights.
Also winding mountain roads and rough
road surfaces adversely affect consump-
tion.
Traffic hold-ups
During prolonged hold-ups (level crossings)
the engine should be switched off.
Gear selection
As soon as the conditions of the traffic and
road allow, use a higher gear. Using a low
gear to obtain brilliant performance in-
creases consumption.
In the same way improper use of a high
gear increases consumption, emissions an
engine wear.
Top speed
Fuel consumption considerably increases
with speed. Avoid superfluous braking and
accelerating, which cost in terms of both
fuel and emissions.
Acceleration
Accelerating violently increasing the revs
will greatly affect consumption and emis-
sions: acceleration should be gradual and
should not exceed the maximum torque.
109-120 Abarth GB:109-120 Abarth GB 8-06-2009 13:38 Pagina 115
