1. Tires & Fuel Economy:
Keep Tires Properly Inflated
You can improve your gas mileage by over three percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Under inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4 percent for every 1 psi (pounds-per-square-inch) in all four tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer!
- Check your tires with the gauge twice for effectiveness
Tire Pressure and Load Limits
- Manufacturers of passenger vehicles and light trucks determine this number based on the vehicle’s design load limit, that is, the greatest amount of weight a vehicle can safely carry and the vehicle’s size. The proper tire pressure for your vehicle is referred to as the “recommended cold inflation pressure”
- Check the tire pressure before your drive to get the cold inflation pressure reading
- The correct pressure for your tire is what the vehicle manufacturer has listed in the owner’s manual, NOT what is on the side of the tire itself.
- Because tires are designed to be used on more than one type of vehicle, tire manufacturers list the “maximum permissible inflation pressure” on the tire sidewall. This number is the greatest amount of air pressure that should ever be put into the tire under normal driving conditions.
Fuel Economy Benefit: Up to 5%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: Up to $.12 per gallon
www.fueleconomy.gov
2. Speed, Attitude and Fuel Economy:
Drive Sensibly
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 3 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so it will save you more than gas money.
- Maintain steady speeds for the best fuel economy. A car uses extra fuel when it accelerates.
- Try to minimize the need to break by anticipating traffic conditions and being alert for slowdowns and red lights.
- Travel at moderate speeds on the open road. High speeds require more gasoline use to overcome air resistance.
Observing the Speed Limit:
While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.
- As a general rule, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.21 per gallon for gas.
- Observing the speed limit is also safer.
Fuel Economy Benefit: 5 – 33%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: Up to $0.71 per gallon
www.fueleconomy.gov
3. Load Weight and Fuel Economy:
Remove Excess Weight
Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.
Traveling
A roof rack or carrier provides additional cargo space and may allow you to meet your needs with a smaller car. However, a loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel economy by 5 percent. Reduce aerodynamic drag and improve your fuel economy by placing items inside the trunk whenever possible.
Fuel Economy Benefit: 1-2%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: Up to $0.08 per gallon
www.fueleconomy.gov
4. Car Maintenance & Fuel Economy:
Keep Your Engine Properly Tuned
Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4 percent, though results vary based on the kind of repair and how well it is done.
Take care of car-care “incidentals” that can affect fuel use. For example, a defective radiator thermostat can waste gas by extending the engine’s warm-up time or decreasing the engine’s operating temperature. A stuck brake caliper can create drag, which also wastes fuel.
Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40 percent.
Fuel Economy Benefit: 4%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: Up to $0.16 per gallon
www.fueleconomy.gov
5. Check and Replace Air Filters Regularly
Replacing a clogged air filter can improve your car’s gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Your car’s air filter keeps impurities from damaging the inside of your engine. Not only will replacing a dirty air filter save gas, it will protect your engine. Check the air filters twice a year, or more often in dusty conditions.
Fuel Economy Benefit: Up to 10%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: Up to $0.40 per gallon
www.fueleconomy.gov
6. Carpooling
Consider carpooling as an alternative to driving to work by yourself on a daily basis. Carpooling saves fuel by spreading the costs around multiple drivers. It also helps reduce carbon emissions and wear-and-tear on your vehicle since it will be used less often.
Carpools can be arranged in one of the following ways:
- One person may drive all the time, while the passengers contribute only to gas and parking.
- Participants may alternate driving and not exchange money.
- The carpool driver may pick up passengers at their homes, or they may meet at a central location like a park-and-ride lot.
- Carpools can and do include family members.
- Collectively, the carpool participants make up the rules and determine the schedule.
Relax and Enjoy the Ride!
Carpooling is the most popular way to rideshare, saving up to thousands of dollars a year on gas, car maintenance and wear and tear - - plus you don’t have to deal with the stress of fighting traffic every day. You are also doing your part to help ease traffic, reduce smog and cut fuel-use. So you can sit back and use the ride to work to catch up on the news…on your work…or even on your sleep!
Fuel Economy Benefit: Save up to thousands of dollars a year
http://www.pacommuterservices.com/
7. Focus on Engine Idling and Air Pollution
When you leave your car or truck running while it’s parked or sitting still, the engine produces air pollution. This pollution contributes to problems like smog and global warming, as well as being harmful to everyone’s health.
Isn’t it better to keep a car running than to keep turning it off and restarting it?
Actually, it isn’t. Frequent restarting of a car’s engine has little effect on it; but excessive idling can actually damage a car’s engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs, and the exhaust system. Plus, contrary to popular belief, idling is not an effective way to warm up most car engines. Today’s automobile manufacturers recommend waiting no more than 30 seconds before you begin driving, even on the coldest days.
Other benefits of cutting down on idling include:
- You’ll protect your health, and that of others. By turning your engine off when it isn’t moving, you and others around you, including children and people with respiratory problems, won’t have to breathe unhealthy exhaust fumes from a vehicle that is going nowhere. Recent studies have shown a direct link between many respiratory diseases and the pollutants found in vehicle exhaust.
- You’ll help protect our climate and air. You’ll reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to problems such as smog and global warming.
- You’ll reduce wear and tear on your vehicle’s engine.
Fuel Economy Benefit: Idling a vehicle for 10 minutes a day uses an average of about 22 gallons of gas per year. If gas costs $4.00 a gallon, you’ll save $88 per year, just by turning your key.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0402011.html
8. Use Cruise Control
Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas. First, it smoothes out the driver's accelerator input by preventing nervous "surging." Second, it makes the driver take the long view of the road rather than reacting to every change in the traffic around them.
Fuel Economy Benefit: Up to 14%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: Up to $0.6 per gallon
http://www.edmunds.com/
9. Additional Tips for Fuel Economy:
Use the Recommended Grade of Motor Oil
You can improve your gas mileage by 1-2 percent by using the manufacturer’s recommended grade of motor oil. Also, look for motor oil that says “Energy Conserving” on the API performance symbol to be sure it contains friction-reducing additives.
Planning & Combining Trips
Combining errands into one trip saves time and money. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multipurpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Trip planning ensures that traveling is done when the engine is warmed-up and efficient.
With a little planning, you can avoid retracting your route and reduce the distance you travel as well. You’ll not only save fuel, but also reduce wear and tear on your car. Find one location where you can take care of all banking, grocery shopping and other chores. “Comparison shop” by phone, online or through newspaper advertisements.
Use Overdrive Gears
When you use overdrive gearing, your car’s engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.
Check Your Fuel Grade
Check your vehicle owner’s manual. If your vehicle does not require premium or mid-grade fuel, purchase less expensive regular gas. Shop for low gasoline prices locally, but don’t waste gas driving to a distant filling station to save a few cents.
Park In The Shade
Gasoline actually evaporates right out of your tank, and it does so faster when you park directly in the sun - winter or summer. Parking in the shade also keeps it cooler inside, and you will need less A/C to cool off when you get back in. If there is no shade available, park so that your gas tank (the actual tank under the car, not the valve to fill it) is facing away from the direct sun.
Fuel Economy Benefit: 1-2%
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: Up to $0.6 per gallon
www.fueleconomy.gov
Success at all these gasoline tips can give you an average savings of $1.25 PER GALLON!