10 Tips for Saving Gasoline
As we all know, gasoline prices keep going up. Below are some tips to help you save gas and keep more money in your pocket.
1. Always, keep your car well tuned up. Poorly running and maintained cars use more gasoline than the money you spend to keep your car in proper running condition.
2. Take the time to pre-plan trips to find the best driving routes and times to avoid unnecessary traffic.
3. Your air conditioner is blowing cool air, but sucking gas mileage. Use it sparingly. If you need to use it, try a lower setting. Just get the car cool, then turn it off and let the fan circulate the cool air.
4. When traveling at high speeds, keep your windows closed. Open windows cause additional drag and lower gas mileage.
5. Check your tire pressure. Over-inflated tires can actually reduce fuel efficiency, so don’t overfill. Under-inflated tires are one of the most commonly ignored causes of bad MPG. Tires lose air due to time (about 1 psi per month) and temperature (1 psi for every 10 degree drop); under-inflated tires have more rolling resistance, which means you need to burn more gas to keep your car moving.
6. If possible, change your work start time to avoid traffic. Stop and go traffic hurts gas mileage big-time. Another way to save gas is to simply reduce your speed. As speed increases, fuel economy decreases exponentially.
7. Take unneeded items out of the car. You don’t need to carry snow chains in the summer. Periodically go through your car and see what can be tossed into the garage or put in the house. It doesn’t take much to acquire an extra 30 or 40 lbs. of stuff, and the more weight your car tows around, the more gas it burns.
8. Try not to idle your engine for long periods. If you are stuck in traffic and you don’t think you are going to go anywhere in the next five minutes, turn your car off.
9. You no longer need to warm your car up for long periods of time, especially new cars. New cars are made to run when cold.
10. Drive the speed limit. What a concept! Ever notice how, in bad traffic jams, cars seem to constantly speed up and slow down, while trucks tend to roll along at the same leisurely pace? Constant speed keeps shifting to a minimum — important to those who have to wrestle with ten-speed truck transmissions — but it also aids economy. Remember, it takes much more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving. Rolling with the big rigs saves fuel.
