How to save up on gas mileage while driving your dream car
Love your SUV? Who wants to take the bus anymore anyway? We all like the comfort of our car when getting from place to place. But there is that one little glitch of rising gas prices. If you asked a random expert on how to save money on gas, they would give you the obvious answer of using your car less and less and using methods like car pooling, using the bus more often or walking. But that is not the answer we look for is it?
Fuel Economy
What we need to know is how to save money on fuel while continuing to use our vehicles. Sure, we want better fuel economy from our next vehicle, if that's possible. In the meantime, here are a few tips that we can use to save money on fuel and increase gas mileage.
The easiest and best way to save fuel and thus save time, frustration and money, is to plan your day. By having a proper plan for your day that lists down what errands you need to run you can plan the best route to take to get all your work done in one go. This will give you the best roads to take and what roads to avoid in times of heavy traffic and will give you a basic idea of your fuel economy estimates. After a while, not only will you realize that planning saves a lot of time, but also that as you use the best routes to your destinations you will save dollars from your improved vehicle mpg.
The use of a GPS can come in quite handy as well, but don't fall into the trap of letting the gizmo do the thinking for you. You need to use your brain as well, and be ready to override the thing if you know a better route.
If you're thinking that you need to change your car, hybrids are the way to go these days. Hybrid vehicles now come in all shapes and sizes. So you need not downgrade your SUV to a smaller hybrid car, but can upgrade to a new hybrid SUV which comes with the latest technology and gadgets. A hybrid car does many more miles per gallon than a conventional car. If you feel that you cannot afford a hybrid and live in a highly urban area, a less expensive choice is a car with automatic shifting than manual transmission, since shifting gears when you are stuck in traffic definitely uses up more gas. And we want you to save gas.
Other Ways to Save Gas
What if you have no intention whatsoever in changing your car? There are still simple and foolproof methods of increasing your gas mileage while driving your dream car. The first one of these, as any mechanic and car aficionado will tell you is proper maintenance. One cannot simply overemphasize the importance of proper maintenance of a vehicle. This means the timely servicing of your car as specified by the car manufacturer and changing engine oil and oil filter at the specified time among others.
What else can you do to maintain your car in a tip-top condition and get better gas mileage? Well, you can fine-tune the engine, maintain proper tire pressure, use the proper grade of motor oil, replace your air filters when needed and balance and align your vehicle's wheels. A car is like any other machine. Maintaining it in supreme condition will help it run at an optimum efficiency, meaning that you will get better vehicle mpg than someone with a poorly-maintained car.
Further Tips to Save Fuel
What can you do to maintain high miles per gallon while you're driving? One thing is to drive nice and smoothly. Not only will your passengers, if any, complain of nausea and motion sickness but you will also burn up more gas if you drive aggressively. If you're driving on the highway, stick to the posted speed limits and cruise... And if you're in traffic, try to anticipate your next stop ahead of time rather than having to brake suddenly. Any sudden movements such as starting up quickly and sudden braking consume more gasoline and hinder your fuel economy, as does driving with a 'lead foot' on the accelerator pedal.
If you have a cruise control facility in your car, don't be afraid to use it. Driving in the proper lane also helps you save gas as there is a continuous flow of traffic.
Sometimes, when we have a passenger in the car and we need to run to the drug store, we tend to leave the car with the engine running. While we don't realize it, any amount of time that the engine is working it's burning up gas. When you stop the car, switch off the engine.
Do you also have everything from extra clothes to garden tools in the trunk of your car? Remove them immediately. The weight of your car is directly related to drag and more weight means less miles per gallon. Also if the surf board or bicycle from your last trip is still on the roof of your car, take it off as they hinder the aerodynamics of your car.
These are only a few things that you can do to improve the gas mileage of your car. A combination of these will definitely help you with your fuel economy estimates.







