Increased gasoline prices are here and they’re here to stay. It’s been over 3 years since we’ve seen prices that are consistently under $2.00 a gallon, and they don’t seem to be headed down anytime soon. Instead of griping about the high cost of gasoline, we should instead adopt a positive attitude and look at ways that we can reduce our personal consumption of gasoline to bring the cost of fueling one’s vehicle back into the realm of reason. Here are some ways that you can make a gallon of gasoline take you a lot further.
Check Your Air Filter – Having a clean air filter can improve your gas mileage by up to 10%, and studies indicate that one out of every four vehicles desperately need a new filter. Purchasing a new filter will save you the equivalent of 25 cents per gallon alone!
Properly inflate Your Tires – The NHTSA says that the average car tire is under-inflated by 7.5 lbs of air pressure, causing a loss of 3% in fuel efficiency. Making sure your tires are properly inflated will save you 7.5 cents per gallon in gasoline
Get Your Car Aligned – If your vehicle is improperly aligned, your tires will wear out more quickly and your engine will have to work harder. This can reduce your gas mileage by up to 10%, or 25 cents per gallon!
Get a Tune Up – Getting your vehicle properly tuned up can improve your gas mileage by 4% according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. It might not seem like much, but that’s 10 the equivalent of 10 cents per gallon if the price of gasoline is $2.50
Keep Your Foot Off The Breaks – By avoiding using your breaks, you will reduce the wear and tear on them as well as dramatically improve your fuel efficiency. If you have a “heavy foot” you could improve your fuel economy by up to 35%
Drive the Speed Limit – For every 5mph of speed that you drive on the highway, you will reduce fuel consumption by 7%. If you switch from driving 70 on the highway to 65, you’ll save 19 cents per gallon of gasoline.
A lot of people think they need to purchase a new car to get better fuel economy, but that’s just not the case. You can do a lot with the car that you already have to improve the efficiency of your engine.