How to Improve Your Gas Mileage
Improving gas mileage doesn't requiring purchasing a new hybrid vehicle, nor does it require converting your combustion vehicle to run on alternate fuel.
Efficient driving habits and simple improvements can help you increase gas mileage from your current car. Most of the tips are pure common sense, and you'll be
suprised at the substantial mileage you can save! Stop throwing away money on gas and follow our simple tips to greater fuel efficiency!
Driving Efficiently
Inefficient driving can lower your mileage substantially! Driving smart means more miles out of your car... and less chance of getting a ticket. Here are some simple tips to follow for efficient driving.
Avoid aggressive driving
Aggressive driving, such as rapid acceleration and braking, speeding, and weaving in and out of traffic, can lower your gas mileage by 8% in the city and by as much as 33% on the freeway!
Keeping Within The Speed Limit
Fuel efficiency takes a huge nose-dive as soon as your vehicle accelerates above 60mph. Optimal fuel levels are usually below this number, so the next time you feel like you want to lead-foot it, think about all the gas you're burning.
Removing Excess Weight
Removing dead weight from your vehicle can have a minimal, but long term impact on your overall mileage, especially for compact vehicles. For example, an extra 100 pounds in your vehicle can reduce mileage by 2%, or roughly .05 cents a gallon.
Maintaining Your Vehicle
You'll find additional gas mileage increases by maintaining your vehicle. Following a few simple tips can go a long way in saving you money!
Keep Your Engine In Tune
Always maintain your engine for maximum fuel efficiency. Performing a tune-up on an engine that's noticeably out of tune can result in a 4% increase in mileage.
Replace Dirty Air Filters
Dirty air filters are a common occurrence that drivers don't give much of a thought to. How about this for a thought, a dirty or clogged air filter can reduce your fuel efficiency by as much as 10% and could potentially cause damage to your engine!
Maintaining Proper Tire Inflation
Keeping your tires at the proper recommended inflation level can increase your mileage by 3 to 4 percent. Nitrogen inflation is recommended for the best performance.
Planning To Reduce Trips
With gas prices at all time highs and no sign of letting up soon, planning trips can be essential to saving the most money. Rather than make several trips to several locations over the course of several days, make adjustments so you can accomplish everything in as few trips as possible.
Combining Errands
Already hit upon, combining errands WILL save you time and money. Making several short trips from a cold start can burn twice the fuel of making a single trip over the same distance. A warmed engine doesn't work as hard as a cold engine, so making single trips inleu of multiple trips can save money.
Commuting
We all have to work and, unless we work from home, that involves commuting. There are several things you can do to cut down on your commuting. Try joining a car-pool or ride-share program at your place of work. Many interstates and freeways now have car-pool lanes (also known as High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, or HOV for short). Not only will you save money on gas, you'll also get to work faster and emit less pollution into the environment.
If car-pooling isn't your cup of tea, you should find out if your place of work allows telecommuting. Telecommuting is where you work from home and tap into your company's network. Telecommuting is becoming a more popular option as fuel prices continue to rise.
Finally, if car-pooling and telecommuting don't work out, there's always public transportation via the public transit system. Although not the first choice as a gas-saving measure, it's still a viable one.
Final Thoughts On Gas Mileage Tips
Of course, if all else fails and your gas guzzling monster is emptying your pocket book, it may be time to trade up to a more fuel efficient vehicle. Nothing quit beats the efficiency of the best hybrids, even if you follow all of these gas mileage tips.