No one buys a BMW M2 Competition with fuel efficiency in mind. Especially if you turn your M2 Competition into a track-day car like YouTuber Joe Achilles has. However, no one likes wasting money, especially with fuel prices as high as they are at the moment. So Achilles invited a world-record hyper-miler to ride along with him to help figure out how to be fuel efficient, even in a car like a heavily modded M2 Comp.
You have your obvious tips, such as optimizing your car. Which means ensuring that your engine is well-maintained and is running at its best. If it isn’t running well, it won’t run efficiently and will waste fuel. But also make sure you have efficient tires on your car and you don’t carry unnecessary weight. While Achilles was carrying a set of wheels and tires in the back of the car, few people are going to do that. However, many people carry extra fluids—extra oil, coolant, and even wiper fluid—in their trunks, which can add unnecessary weight. Sure, those things are great to have in case of emergency but, if you’re looking for efficiency, ditch ’em.
Also, you obviously don’t want to keep the revs high, so short shifting earlier than you might think is helpful for keeping the engine from working hard. However, it isn’t just rpm but speed. The faster you go, even if your car has long, tall gears that can keep the engine rpm down, the worse your efficiency will be due to aerodynamic drag. As speed increases, so too does drag and the amount of power needed to overcome it. That wastes fuel.
Again, few enthusiasts who own cars like the BMW M2 Competition will care too much about efficiency but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. Fuel is incredibly expensive at the moment and saving precious drops when you’re not hooning your performance car could end up saving you quite a bit of money, which can then be spent on fuel for the race track.
