The price of gasoline has stabilized recently but it’s still outrageously high in most parts of the country. It’s for that reason that, yet again, we’ve put together a list of some of the best tips and tricks for getting the most miles out of every gallon of gasoline you put in your tank. You may already have heard of some of these and, more than likely, you’re already using some but, the way we see it, any tip that we can give you to help you save money on gas is a tip well written. Enjoy.
- Unless you have a high-end luxury or sports car, there is almost no reason at all to purchase high-octane gasoline. When you consider that regular is generally about 30% less per gallon, just using regular will save you a large sum of cash every single week.
- Unless you’re driving a vehicle for work and it’s loaded with tools, there’s no good reason to have heavy stuff in your car, no matter what it is. Get rid of that extra weight and you will definitely get more miles of every tank.
- When accelerating from a dead stop, most people realize that jackrabbit starts are mileage killers but most don’t realize that speeding up too slowly is also a bad idea. If you can get from 0 to 40 in about 6 seconds you’re doing just fine and using the least amount of gas while your car gets into a higher, gas saving gear.
- Inflating your tires to their maximum PSI has been shown to give the best gas mileage. Checking once a week to make sure that your tires are properly inflated is an excellent idea as well, especially when you consider that the average car’s tires will lose 2 to 3 psi per week.
- If you have the ability to check the spark plugs on your car, check them and make sure that they are always properly gapped. Also, if they have a lot of carbon buildup they should be either cleaned or replaced.
- Do you use octane boosters in your car that you buy at the auto part store? If so, you’re wasting money. The fact is, most of these products have been tested and found to be severely lacking. In most cases, if they actually do give you a little bit of extra mpg per gallon the cost negates any savings you might get.
- Changing your oil regularly is an excellent idea but changing it every 3000 miles, unless you are constantly in stop and go traffic, probably isn’t necessary. Most of today’s synthetic oils can be ridden up to 5000 miles between oil changes without any risk to your car’s engine or your MPG.
- If you’re keen on passing someone in front of you, always make sure that you do it on either flat ground or while you’re going downhill. Passing or speeding up while you are on an uphill climb will definitely use more gas.
- It’s been shown by numerous studies that the best speed to travel on the highway is right around 65 mph. Over this and the wind resistance that your car encounters will drastically reduce your mileage.
- Speaking of driving on the highway, closing the windows and using the air-conditioning if you’re doing over 55 mph is your best bet to saving fuel.
- If you’re going to be stopped for more than 30 seconds, turn off your engine. An engine at idle for 30 seconds or more is going to use more gas than it needs to be started again.
- If you have cruise control and you can use it safely, definitely use it to keep your car’s speed maintained properly. Speeding up and slowing down constantly is one of the worst things you can do as far as your MPG is concerned.
- If you have a multitude of small errands to run every week, try to do them all at the same time and during the same trip. This will not only save you precious time but also precious gasoline.
- Of course one of the best ways to decrease the amount of money you spend on gas is to use your automobile as little as possible. Riding your bike to work, carpooling and working from home are three excellent ways to drastically cut back on your gasoline consumption and will also save you money on car maintenance in the long run.
- Lastly, getting your car serviced regularly and keeping it well-maintained is an excellent way to save money on gas as a well maintained car engine will always use less gas.
If you’ve never heard any of these tips before you are either a new driver or have been living in a cave. If you have heard of them but aren’t using them yet you should be living in a cave because you’re wasting gas, polluting the environment and wasting your money. (Hey, we call them like we see them.) Anyway, if you have any questions about how to get the most out of every gallon of gasoline that you purchase, please let us know and I’ll get back to you with answers and solutions ASAP.