Posts Tagged ‘mpg’
7 Steps to Better Fuel Economy
Gas is getting more and more expensive and if you have a long commute or if you just like to drive the gas bill can become a burden.
Luckily there is easy ways to lower your gas bill and I’ll list seven that are easy to do and does not require you to invest money in a new car or snake oil add-on kits. I’ll show you seven ways that are commonly available and easy to do.
1. MAINTAIN ECONOMIC TIRE PRESSURE
Driving with under inflated tires is not only dangerous as the tires could overheat, it also uses more gas than inflated tires.
Inflate the tires to the max pressure allowed by your cars manuals, and periodically check the pressure using a trustworthy pressure gauge.
Many hypermilers inflate their tires more than that, to the maximum pressure printed on the sidewalls of the tires themselves. This is often as much as 60 percent more than what the car manufacturer recommends and it will give additional gas savings due to lesser rolling resistance.
The downside is a harder and less comfortable ride. And I can’t recommend you outright to do this, even if it’s safe, as there is a possibility of uneven tire wear in some conditions.
2. REMOVE ROOF RACKS, SKI BOXES AND TRAILERS
If you thought it’s too much of a hassle to remove the roof rack or ski box when it’s not needed, think again! The same goes for driving with an empty trailer or a pick up truck with no flatbed cover.
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.
3. TURN OFF THE A/C
Even if some would argue that the A/C does not affect MPG, it actually uses lots of energy. That energy is taken right from your tank and from your fuel mileage. If at all possible, turn it off. If that’s too uncomfortable set it to a higher temperature as that will use less fuel.
TIP: Park your car in the shadow, keep the doors open for a minute or two before driving somewhere to cool off the seats of the car and, if possible, drive at night to avoid hot temperatures and sunshine during the day.
Just remember, driving at high speed with the windows open is even worse for the fuel economy than using the A/C.
4. DEVELOP YOUR DRIVING STYLE
Your driving style is one of the biggest factors affecting your fuel economy. Refrain from breaking by letting your car roll to a stop when you’re not in front of other drivers, keep your top speed below 60MPH or 100KM/H and don’t push the pedal to the metal when you accelerate.
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 ANY 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 your gas cap is missing or broken and you live in a hot environment, especially if you park in the sun and the car gets really hot, a lot of gas will evaporate and escape through the missing or broken cap into the air. The loss can be significant and the gas vapors will harm the envirnment.
7. PARTICIPATE IN 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 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 FUEL SAVING TIPS
Those tips are among the easiest, most readily available, low cost ways you can save tanks of fuel. And that’s a no gadgets needed bag of tricks.
There’s many more ways you can save gas. You can get a more fuel efficient car (hybrid, diesel, smaller vehicle), change your driving style, improve your cars aerodynamics, use tires with a low rolling resistance, plan your driving, plan for extreme weather 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 fuel mileage calculator