12 Tips For Fuel Economy
Do you dread the thought of filling up your car fuel tank because of the huge dent that it makes in your budget? Then you must monitor your fuel economy regularly and make use of these suggestions and see whether they make a difference to you.
12 things that you can do to help you to getter better mileage --
1. Make sure that your vehicle is maintained according to the norms suggested by the manufacturer. So if you attend to the spark plugs, fuel filters and air filters, and clean them or replace them when required, the car will appreciate this by giving you a few extra miles per gallon.
2. See the gas that you use has the right octane number and the oil that is in the engine is of the recommended grade.
3. Fuel economy can improve by over 3 % by just the simple device of seeing that your car tires are always inflated to the standards suggested. This should be a part of your car manual, and available with most service stations. Buy your own tire pressure gauge and check it regularly and inflate the tires if necessary.
4. Make sure that you are not carrying any loads in your car that are not necessary. If there are more than 100 pounds of unwanted material lying around in your car or the trunk this could affect your fuel economy about a percent or two. Use your roof luggage rack only when necessary, as items on the rack, create wind drag and require the car has use more power, thus reducing your MPG.
5. Drive at the speeds the traffic will allow you, so you do not have to use the brakes excessively. Never drive faster than 65 mph as every 5mph over this will cause you to use 7 % more gas. Driving at the speed limit set by your local authorities would allow you to go through green lights at all junctions, and if you do not use brakes, you save fuel.
6. Cars give the best efficiency at the highest gear as this requires the least effort from the engine. So if you drive in a lower gear than the speed warrants you would just be wasting fuel.
7. Put your car into cruise control only if you are very sure the road will remain the same way for a long level stretch of it, like on the highway. Hilly roads do not call for the cruise control.
8. Improve the aerodynamics of your car by keeping it clean and well waxed always. This will help the fuel economy. And avoid from putting on a board, or plates that will add to the drag on the car.
9. Idle your car only if you are sure that you are going to take off within a minute. Anything longer will only cause you to burn more fuel. So waiting to pick up your child or your pizza needs you to judge how long you are going to be on idle mode.
10. Running the car air-conditioner does use more fuel, but open windows also increase the drag on the window. So use your air-conditioner only on the highway, where open windows could cause drag at high speeds, and lower the windows and switch off the air-conditioner when you are in city traffic and driving slowly.
11. See that you do not make additional trips or errands when only one would have sufficed with just a bit of extra planning. A short trip can play even more havoc with your fuel economy because the cold start that you make at both points could use more fuel.
12. If your trips are short, see whether you can persuade yourself to walk down and save your self the trouble of parking as well. That's better than driving an environmentally friendly car. And you would be also helping your health and the environment by just walking and not using the car.