Federation University researcher Truong Phung has backed the core principles of Australia’s National Fuel Security Plan, saying the government’s fuel‑saving recommendations are “good advice” grounded in engineering and research.
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Dr Phung, who examined the plan’s technical guidance, said the potential fuel savings could vary widely depending on driving habits and vehicle conditions, but the underlying science was solid. He pointed to the concept of hyper‑mileage an extreme efficiency technique where drivers strip unnecessary weight from their vehicles and accelerate as slowly as possible as evidence of how dramatically consumption can change.
He noted an American experiment, widely available online, showing that such methods can deliver fuel savings of more than 15 per cent. “That’s pretty decent,” he said, adding that even simple measures recommended by the Department of Infrastructure such as inflating tyres to the manufacturer’s maximum recommended pressure could improve efficiency by up to 5 per cent.
But Dr Phung warned that tyre pressure is a balancing act. Higher pressure reduces rolling resistance and tyre wear, but it also reduces the tyre’s contact with the road. “You want traction, which means friction, but you also want to minimise rolling resistance,” he explained. With lower pressure, tyres flatten and grip the road more firmly, improving traction and comfort on rough surfaces but at the cost of efficiency.
His analysis underscores the complexity of fuel‑saving strategies: while the science supports the government’s advice, drivers must weigh efficiency against safety, comfort and vehicle performance.
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