Get More Miles Out of a Gallon

Top 10 Fuel Saving Tips

Whether you drive a two-seat hybrid or a three-ton SUV chances are you can squeeze a bit more distance out of each gallon of fuel.  These ten fuel saving tips that will help you improve your car’s fuel economy and take some of the sting out of high fuel prices.  Most of these tips will give you a very slight increase in miles per gallon (MPG) – but use several together and the gas mileage improvements will really add up.

1. Check your air filter
A clean filter is the key to good fuel economy. A dirty air filter restricts the flow of air into the engine, which harms performance and economy, plus it’s better for the environment.

2. Check your tire pressure
Next to the air filter, under-inflated tires are one of the most commonly ignored causes of crummy MPG. Buy a reliable tire gauge, check your tires when they are cold (driving the car warms up the tires and the sir inside them, increasing the pressure), and keep them properly inflated.

3. Slow Down
As speed increases, fuel economy decreases exponentially. If you are one of the “ten-over on the freeway”, try driving the speed limit for a few days.  You’ll save a lot of fuel and your journey won’t take much longer. Just be sure you keep to the right, so you won’t impede the less-enlightened.

4. Hang with the trucks
Ever notice how, in bad traffic jams, cars seem to constantly speed up and slow down, while trucks tend to roll along at the same leisurely pace? A constant speed keeps shifting to a minimum – but it also aids in economy, as it takes much more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving. Rolling with the big rigs saves fuel (and aggravation).

5. Accelerate with care
Jack-rabbit starts are an obvious fuel waster – but that doesn’t mean you should crawl away from every light. If you drive an automatic, accelerate moderately so the transmission can shift up into the higher gears.  Stick-shifters should shift early to keep the revs down, but don’t lug the engine – downshift if you need to accelerate to speed then have to brake right away, that’s wasted fuel.

6. Get back to nature
Consider shutting off the air conditioner, opening the windows and enjoying the breeze.

7. Back off the bling
New wheels and tires may look cool, and they can certainly improve handling.  But if they are wider than the stock tires, chances are they’ll create more rolling resistance and decrease fuel economy.

8. Clean out your car
The more weight your car has to haul, the more gas it needs to do the work. It doesn’t take much to acquire an extra 40-50 pounds of stuff.

9. Don’t drive
Not a popular thing to say, but the fact is that if you can avoid driving, you’ll save gas.  When you can, consolidate your shopping trips. And before you get in your car, always ask yourself: “Is this trip really necessary?”

10. Get rid of  your old gas guzzler
Check out the new fuel efficient Acura’s today!