I submitted one of these articles before and during my research I came across more than 10 plus a few other ideas to help you car last longer and reduce wear and tear on your engine and parts. Here they are:
1. When driving especially on the freeway keep your windows closed. The folks who designed your car designed it to get the least amount of drag with the windows closed, so opening the windows while driving can increase air drag and reduce gas mileage. Doing this alone can increase your miles per gallon by as much as 10%!
2. Slowing down and speeding up while on the freeway can use excessive gas. This usually happens when somebody is weaving in and out of traffic and has to slow down when people in front of them are going slower than they are and speed up get around (you know what I’m talking about)! One side note to this is to also avoid tailgating. Tailgating is dangerous to both you and the driver in front of you and does nothing to improve your gas mileage! Another thing that would help a lot is to use your speed control whenever possible even in city limits! This will keep your speed constant and minimize acceleration and deceleration. Not only that but it will reduce little bit of stress from you!
3. When you approach a hill, start your approach early. Try to avoid accelerating up the side of the Hill as then you are fighting gravity as well is trying to move the weight of your car faster. If you accelerate before the hill you eliminate gravity from the equation and reduce your gas consumption as well.
4. While driving do not “ride the brake” or keep your foot lightly on the clutch. Riding the brake causes excessive mechanical drag and increases fuel consumption while keeping your foot on the clutch, even lightly, will cause your clutch to wear down prematurely and cause extra visits to the mechanic that could be costly.
5. Rough roads are a big problem when it comes to fuel consumption. Avoid rough roads whenever possible, because driving dirt, gravel or even on a very rough road even though it’s paved can rob you of up to 30% of your gas mileage! When driving on the freeway I even take it so far as to drive in the far left-hand lane. Because so few people drive there, the lane is much smoother than the right-hand lanes. It makes for a smoother ride and increases my gas mileage!
6. Look for alternate routes to and from your destination. There is always another way that is shorter, straighter and faster than the route you currently take. Corners, curves and lane jumping (like on the freeway) can use a lot of extra gas! Remember the shortest distance between two points is a straight line!
7. Although it may not seem like it, stoplights are usually timed with the driver in mind. Driving at a steady speed at the legal speed limit will boost your chances of having a “green light” all the way thus improving your gas mileage from not having to stop at every light.
8. I know that this one will not appeal to a lot of people who have this problem but I’m going to say it anyway… you know that cool vinyl top that you got with your car? Well, your car is designed to run without a vinyl top and a vinyl top simply disrupts the aerodynamic air flow of your vehicle. So what am I suggesting here? Remove your vinyl top! This returns your card to its aerodynamic shape thus improving your gas mileage… think about it!
9. When parking a car, be aware of where you’re parking. Park in such a way that, when you get in your car to leave, you can simply put your car in drive and drive away. Try to avoid backing into parking spots even though it allows you to pull out straight — this defeats the purpose.
10. Now this one is common sense but a lot of people don’t think about it. Get your regular tune-ups done to ensure the best gas mileage for your car. Regular tune-ups, scheduled maintenance and replacing air filters when you need to can all promote better flow of air through your car’s engine and thus increase your gas mileage.
And some extra tips on how to help your car run longer/better!
1. Have regular maintenance done on your car to include inspecting the suspension and chassis parts and so on, for occasional misalignment. Bad shocks, Bent wheels, broken springs, etc. all create drag, reducing gas mileage, and of course are unsafe for driving at highway speeds.
2. Say it’s summertime – do you still have your snow tires on? Do you regularly use off-road tires on the car/truck? Take the tires off unless absolutely needed! Running tires with deep tire treads ruins your miles per gallon and sucks up the fuel!
3. Your tires are designed by the manufacturer to be inflated to a certain pressure. Going over this pressure and over inflating your tires is dangerous and risks the possibility of explosion and blow-out. Running on under-inflated tires robs your gas mileage because the tires flex too much. When you have your tires rotated you should have them spun and balanced to make sure that they’re in perfect running order. Use radials as these have been proven to save fuel!
4. To avoid excessive wear and tear on your automatic transmission you should allow the transmission to cool down when your car is idling or traffic is at a standstill. Railroad crossings and long traffic lights are two other places that this can be done. Shifting into neutral helps your transmission cool off and reduces wear and tear on the inner workings.
5. Using your car’s air conditioning can reduce your fuel economy by 10 to 20%! This has a big impact on your miles per gallon. Also when traveling using the heater fan, power windows, power seats or pretty much anything electrical puts more load on your engine and therefore decreases your miles per gallon.
6. Empty your trunk; take extra weight out of the inside of the car and stopped toting around those heavy parts in the back of your pickup! All this extra weight in your car reduces your miles per gallon especially when driving up hills!
7. Think about using a carpool to make your way to and from work. It relieves you of the boredom, saves gas and reduces traffic congestion. If you are currently using a carpool, make sure to distribute the riders evenly throughout the car and remember to use your speed control!
8. Last but not least, in the wintertime please clean off your car! Not only is accumulated snow and ice on your car dangerous for other drivers but it is capable of adding another 100 to 150 pounds to your car. See what number 6 says about excess weight in your car! 1 Other Place that people don’t think of looking is behind the tires and under the car when you stopped at a rest stop or the next morning when you take off again. There’s almost always accumulated ice and snow behind the tires as well as underneath the car that should be gotten rid of before driving again.
I hope these tips and tricks will prove to be as helpful to you as they have to me! I’ve increased my gas mileage and made my trips faster and safer! I hope you can to!
Be safe!
Don Willson is, 53-years old and living in Richmond, Virginia. Not new to writing, he is often been told (I know everybody gets this) that he should try getting some of his work published.
For another way to increase your MPG by 50% or more Check THIS site out!
Of all the things I’ve lost in life I miss my mind the most!
