Ten Tips to Reducing Your Miles per Gallon

Everyone who owns a car these days wants to know how to get the most for your money. With the rising gas prices, it’s a concern we all have. If you spend around $4 a gallon, it’s a justifiable worry. What should you do to get the best mileage out of your car? How do you save gas and make every gallon count?

Gas credit cards are a great way to save money and earn cash back. With 5% back you receive around 20 cents off a gallon at the current $4+ per gallon rate this is a great deal.

One of the ways you can save money on gas is to get better gas mileage out of your car. Here are a few tips that can help you improve your gas mileage and get the best performance for your money. First thing you have to do is calculate how much your gas mileage actually is. An easy way to do this is to fill up your tank, note how much you have on your odometer and go about your usual business. Note down how much your odometer has gone up when you’re near empty. Fill up your car again and do the same thing. Subtract the first number from the second and divide it by the gallons your car can take. This is your miles per gallon.

1. If you can afford to, get a fuel efficient car. Park your SUV in the garage and use smaller, lighter and more compact vehicles. Fuel efficient cars use less gas per kilometer and give you more gas per mile than bigger, fuel-eating cars. Using a car like this actually saves you more in the long run. Hybrid electric/gas cars are also an option, especially if your daily commute is short.

2. Don’t go too fast. The faster you drive, the harder your engine needs to work to pump the gas through. Driving below 50-60 MPH can significantly reduce your gas mileage.

3. Make sure your car is in good working condition. A well-maintained car uses gas more efficiently than one in bad condition. This includes keeping your tires inflated correctly, replacing your filter, changing oil and other basic maintenance. This dramatically decreases your fuel consumption by more than 25%.

4. Don’t idle. Idling wastes a lot of gas. If you need to be in one space for more than 2 minutes, turn that engine off. You might think you’re saving gas but you’re actually wasting the gas because your car is still using it.

5. Use the right fuel. While it might be tempting to use lower grade fuel for your car, using the right octane level for you engine actually saves you more gas in the long run. This is because your car is designed to run best with that kind of octane level. Buying lower octane fuel might make you think you’re saving, but you’re actually just cheating yourself.

6. Drive smart. Use overdrive and cruise control. These place less pressure on the engine. Also, plan your routes so that you will cover the most distance in the least amount of car time—this means that you’ll use less fuel going around.

7. Drive nice. Aggressive driving actually reduces your fuel efficiency. Weaving and stop-starting use up more gas than when you drive defensively.

8. Reduce the weight of your car. Remove unnecessary objects from your trunk and from inside your car. A lighter car needs less force to get moving and you save more gas that way.

9. Streamline your car. Close windows, don’t pack stuff on top of your car and if your car has wind drag accessories, consider adding more. A streamlined car has less drag than a non-streamlined one. This improves your movement and saves your gas since it takes less time to move forward.

10. Don’t use air conditioning unless absolutely necessary. This is one of the things that actually drive up your gas consumption.

Using these tips can easily help you improve your gas mileage. This simple advice can save you a ton of money and keep your car in tip-top condition. Fill up your tank and calculate your MPG now.

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