9 Proven Driving Habits That Save Fuel
Tired of spending your hard earned money on gas? With long commutes to and from work, weekend traveling, and your regular errands you can run through a tank of gas pretty fast. Even if you have a vehicle with better gas mileage than others, we all feel the sting at the gas pump.
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While paying for fuel is inevitable, there are ways to make your gas last longer. Changing your driving habits to save fuel is often overlooked, especially in the city, but you’d be surprised how much fuel and money it can save you.
Fuel Saving Driving Habits
1. Travel Lightly
Avoid hauling cargo on the roof of your car and remove excess weight from the inside. Hauling cargo on top of your vehicle creates an aerodynamic drag, lowering fuel economy. The wind resistance can reduce fuel economy by up to 8% in the city and up to 25% on the interstate, according to the US Department of Energy.When you can, remove all excess weight from the inside of your vehicle, especially heavier items. Extra weight can reduce fuel efficiency by about 1%.
2. Stay In One Lane
It’s a common misconception that weaving in and out between lanes decreases your drive time. In reality, there’s actually no significant decrease in your travel time. The constant increase and decrease of speed from doing so wastes fuel and can be dangerous.Save fuel by staying in one lane and being patient. It’s normal to become uneasy in traffic, but if you stay at a constant speed and avoid aggressive driving, you’ll end up saving fuel. You also won’t get to your destination in any shorter amount of time, so there’s no need to worry.
3. Use Cruise Control
Using cruise control is a great way to save fuel while driving on the highway. It helps you stay at a constant speed which will help you save on fuel. However, it’s not as effective while driving up steep hills, so it would be best to turn it off while on steep hills and turn it back on during long stretches of straight highway.4. Stop Aggressive Driving
Speeding, fast acceleration and braking wastes more gas than you think. Aggressive driving on the highway can lower your gas mileage by up to 30% and up to 40% in the city with stop-and-go traffic.Save fuel by driving the speed limit and accelerating gently. Remember that the faster you accelerate the more fuel you burn. When driving in the city look ahead to accelerate and brake accordingly. For example, if you’re approaching a red light a block or two away, there’s no need to accelerate to the light. You’re basically speeding to nowhere, wasting fuel.
While it is most important (and the law) to follow the speed limit, keep in mind that gas mileage tends to decrease at speeds over 50mph. Each car reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed, but it’s a good rule of thumb to add $0.17 per gallon for each 5mph you drive over 50mph.
5. Care For Your Tires
Did you know that under-inflated tires can cause fuel consumption to increase by up to 6 percent? To save fuel make sure all of your tires are properly inflated. If one of your tires has low air pressure make sure you air it up before driving. You can check your owner’s manual or the inside of the driver side door for the PSI.6. Carpool
There are many ways to keep from driving your own vehicle now to save fuel. If you live in the city, consider walking to your closest destinations. Carpooling is also a great way to save on fuel, even if it’s not you saving. Take turns with your friends to carpool in each others cars. You will all save a little on fuel and it’s good for the environment.And you know what’s great about car pulling? You can split the driving time and use the carpool lanes!
7. Minimize Your Daily Commute
Another way to keep from driving is to find a job that allows you to work from home. However, if you can’t find a job that allows you to work from home, ask your employer for a few work-from-home days. Companies that give their employees work-from-home days have found increased productivity within the company.If you’re not able to get any work-from-home time, ask your employer if you can come in at an earlier or later time. Avoiding peak traffic times could shave a significant amount of time off your commutes to work. The main point being, the less time you spend on the road the more fuel you save.
8. Choose The Fuel That’s Best For Your Car
Before you fill up next time, double check your owner’s manual for what quality of gas you should be using. Some think that the highest quality, and most expensive, is the best to use for your car. It’s a common misconception that’s costing you more money than you need to be spending.Premium fuels are not always the best option for your car and do not always guarantee better performance. Many cars are actually designed to use the regular low-octane fuel. So unless your vehicle specifically needs the higher quality opt for the regular, cheaper fuel.
9. Use The AC Sparingly
Unfortunately, using the air conditioner uses quite a bit of gas, and rolling down the windows can cause you to lose any aerodynamics that your car has. In fact, using the AC on a hot day during the summer can increase fuel consumption up to 10%.For many of us, not using the air conditioner isn’t really an option in the summer. Try to roll down the windows and blast the air conditioner while your car is stationary. It should help move the hot air out of the car, and you can drive somewhat comfortably for a while without needing to turn the cold air on full blast.
When the weather is right, use the flow-through ventilation instead of the AC to help save fuel. Even better, if it feels nice outside turn the air off and roll down the windows.
Save Money With Better Driving Habits
These driving habits are all proven and easy ways to save fuel. It may seem like each one only saves you a little bit here and there, but it all adds up. Especially when you establish these fuel saving driving habits and practice them everyday.You’ve probably heard before that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Challenge yourself for only 3 weeks to practice these habits and see how much it saves you. You’ll be surprised to find out how much less you need to stop at the gas station. And while your add it, kick those bad driving habits that put your safety at risk.
There’s no better time than now to start changing your driving habits. If you have any tips and tricks you would like to share on fuel efficiency or bad driving habits, let us know! We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter waiting to hear from you.
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