Save gas, increase your miles per gallon

drive

High gas prices are here to stay. The challenge is to not increase the fuel budget in spite of increasing costs at the pump. In addition to finding the cheapest gas (gasbuddy.com) or finding discounts (many grocery stores have gas incentives tied to their frequent shopper programs), you can also adopt a few driving techniques to help save.

Steady on the brakes

A car consumes most of its gas while accelerating, so if you can lay off the hard braking, you can eliminate the need to fast accelerate especially in heavy traffic. One way to do this is to space further away from the car in front of you giving you more time to slow by natural deceleration, lifting your foot off the gas pedal. Also look in front of the car in front of you. If you can anticipate a block in the flow of traffic you can gently decelerate in order to avoid the hard brake.

Turn off the air conditioner

The compressor for the air conditioner loads the motor of the car reducing fuel economy. Park your car in shade and roll the windows down a tiny bit to keep the air circulating. Think about turning the a/c off a few minutes before you reach your destination.

Turn it off at long, long stops

As you turn on the car, it uses a bit of gas. When the car is idling, it uses a fixed amount of gas over time. Depending on the car, the energy balance is positive if you turn off the car for more than 20 seconds. At a long traffic light or at a railroad crossing, it will save money to turn the car off and wait until it’s time to go.

Reduce weight

Do you really need to keep the grill in the trunk for the occasional tailgate party? No, it’s costing money each time you take off.

Extra thoughts

Cruise control often helps with fuel efficiency especially on a longer drive. The overdrive gears will keep your RPM down and that helps with costs. Shift into neutral when you are standing still and that will reduce transmissions drain and cool off the transmission. Close your windows and drive slower.

Source: Open Travel Info


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