Better Gas Mileage in 7 Easy Steps
As gas is getting more expensive every day, those of you with a long commute or many driving miles can feel the weight of ever growing gas expenses.
Luckily it's easy to lower your gas bill and below I list seven strategies that are easy to implement and does not require you to invest money in a new car or snake oil add-on kits.
1. MAINTAIN PROPER TIRE PRESSURE
Driving with under inflated tires is not only dangerous as the tires could overheat, it also uses more gas than driving with properly inflated tires.
Inflate your tires at least to the maximum allowed by the car's instruction manual, and check the pressure at least once a month using a reliable pressure gauge.
Many hypermilers inflate their tires more than that, to the maximum pressure printed on the sidewalls of the tires themselves. This can be as much as 60 percent more than the vehicle manufacturers recommendation and results in additional fuel savings due to the lower rolling resistance of a hard tire.
The downside is a harder and less comfortable ride. And I can't even recommend you to do this, even if it IS safe, as there is a possibility of uneven tire wear in some conditions.
2. REMOVE SKI BOXES, TRAILERS AND ROOF RACKS
If you thought it's too much of a hassle to remove the roof rack or ski box when it's not needed or to unhook the trailer, think again!
Anything that you attach to the outside of the car will spoil the aerodynamics of the car and with that your fuel economy. Always remove roof racks, bicycle holders, ski boxes and trailers when not needed and use a truck bed cover to enhance the aerodynamics of your pick-up truck.
3. TURN OFF THE A/C
Even if some argue that the air conditioning unit does not affect fuel economy, it actually consumes lots of energy. That energy is taken stright from your tank and from your fuel economy. Turn it off when possible and if that's too uncomfortable set it to a higher temperature as that will make it use less gas.
TIPS: Park the car in the shadow, have the doors open for a minute before leaving, drive at night if going for a longer trip in hot weather.
Keep in mind that driving fast with all windows open is worse for your MPG than turning on the A/C, thus use the air condition instead of opening windows.
4. BETTER YOUR DRIVING STYLE
Your driving style is one of the biggest factors affecting your fuel economy. Keep your top speed below 60MPH or 100KM/H, avoid breaking by letting the car roll to a stop when you're not in the way for other traffic and do not push the pedal to the metal when accelerating.
5. WALK
Many times if you're not going that far, walking or biking is a lot more economic than taking the car. You'll save a lot of fuel and you'll also avoid the other maintanance costs associated with driving.
6. FIX YOUR FUEL LEAKS
Obviously if you have a fuel leak you will spill your hard earned gas on the ground costing you money and polluting the environment. Repair all fuel leaks immediately.
TIP: If the gas cap is broken or missing a lot of gas will evaporate through the missing or broken cap and escape into the air.This is especially true in hot climates and when parking in the sun. The loss can be sizable and the gas vapors will harm the envirnment.
7. FIND A CAR POOL
Sharing a car on your daily commute can be a fair amount of hassle compared to going alone but you'll save more gas and money than from using any of the other tips except for actually walking or biking.
Joining with just one other person to use the same car for your commute will save you half your monthly commuting cost.
ADDITIONAL GAS SAVING TIPS
Those tips are the easiest, most readily available, low cost ways you can save lots of fuel. A no gadgets needed gas saving bag of tricks.
There are many additional ways to improve your gas mileage. You can get a more fuel efficient vehicle (hybrid, diesel, smaller car), make adjustments to your driving style, improve your cars aerodynamics, use tires with a low rolling resistance, plan your trips, adjust for extreme weather conditions and a lot more that this article is too short to cover.
There's also many ways to NOT save gas, like installing one of those fuel saving gadgets advertised everywhere. They usually cost a lot but give barely measurable improvements in MPG.
To keep track of your actual gas mileage you can use a handy online gas mileage calculator or you can use the fuel consumption display that's included in many new cars or an aftermarket fuel consumption display that can be installed in most newer cars.
Questions and Answers
Article Tags:
save gas
,fuel economy
,fuel efficiency
,miles per gallon
,mpg
,fuel mileage
,fuel saver
,save fuel
You will learn seven painless, low coast and widely available methods to instantly save gas and improve your cars fuel economy. No expensive investments or fancy gadgets required.
With gas prices going up and up, there seems to be no relief. With high prices at the pump and few dollars in wallets, it's getting harder to get places. The question often arises - how can I get...
Discover Get Free Gasoline Water Hybrid FuelIf you search the internet for hydrogen powered car engines you will discover hopeful sounding reports forecasting that hydrogen powered vehicles are becoming available in at some time in the near future and you will find all sorts of views about how gas powered automobile engines can or cannot be upgraded to hydrogen hybrid.Some of these stories actua...
The economy continues to struggle and gas prices remain high. The cost to fill up the gas tank in an average car is over $60. If that is breaking your budget, there are two things you can do about it. You can try to improve the gas mileage in your car or you can replace it with a more fuel efficient one.
With gas prices in a seemingly never ending upward spiral, there has never been such interest in how to improve gas mileage. It seems likely the price of gas will only increase further in the future and so knowing how to improve gas mileage is much more important than it once was. And of course making efficient use of your gas is beneficial not only to your wallet but also to the environment. Here you will learn some of the best ways to increase the mileage that you get from your vehicle.
International vehicle transports service providers offer facilities for shipping you vehicle across to the new country. These vehicle transport companies have the legal authority, the right infrastructure and a wide network to carry out their operations.
Thinking about cars brings to mind parts like the engine, brakes and radiators as these are indispensible for proper functioning of the vehicle. But there is another important part which deserves mention and that is the windshield. Irrespective of whether it is bought online or from local auto glass shops, a windshield is manufactured from a special glass which is different from the normal sheets.
Imagine the day when you finally have your very own car after years of commuting, working and saving for it.
Are you thinking of buying a fancy car like a Pontiac or a Porsche? Do you have an old car you want to get rid off while at it?
Compact crossover sport utility vehicles, also known as small crossover SUVs, combine the attributes of compact cars and larger sport utility vehicles.
While Google is the leading search engine, and will most likely continue to be that for a long time, there is several thousand lesser search engines that work hard to gain a part of the search marketplace for themselves. The marketplace for search is dominated by a few big behemoths. According...
Where I live, on the west coast of Finland, winter just arrived with the first real batch of snow. This means slow traffic as many vehicles haven't been switched to snow tires this early in the season. Yesterday I was doing a 60 mile trip on smaller rural roads where the...
With winter arriving there is again the need to adapt to snow and ice on the road. Here is seven tips to keep you on the road and out of accidents this winter.
There is nothing better than a mouth watering cheesecake to end a good meal or to have with the coffee. Try this delicious strawberry cheesecake from the cookbook 91 Cheesecake Recipes.
Discuss this Article
