With gas prices steadily on the rise, making your vehicle fuel-efficient has never been more important. Luckily, there are several simple things that you can do to enhance its fuel efficiency.
Rapid acceleration and high speeds consume fuel quickly, so be sure to use cruise control whenever possible. Also, keeping tires inflated reduces drag, helping with fuel economy.
1. Slow Down
Acceleration and deceleration use a lot of fuel. To save more on gas mileage when driving in town, using gentle acceleration instead of abrupt acceleration is often more fuel efficient. When approaching speed bumps, slow down and ease slowly through them rather than hit them at full throttle.
Slamming on the gas to stay ahead on a highway can be costly both in terms of fuel usage and potential tickets (if pulled over). Instead, utilize cruise control where safe to do so to maintain an economical cruising speed while decreasing brake usage–a major fuel drain!
2. Turn Off Cruise Control
Cruise control can be useful on flat surfaces like highways, as it helps maintain a constant speed to reduce fuel consumption. On inclines however, your vehicle uses much more energy accelerating as it climbs or descends and this type of driving may be dangerous; manufacturers generally do not advise it.
Avoid using cruise control when driving on hilly or snowy terrain, as your vehicle’s slow response to gradient changes means up to 5% more fuel will be used when climbing or descending hills with cruise control enabled. When driving uphill, try anticipating and accelerating gradually prior to reaching the top in order to save fuel while reducing risk from icy roads.
3. Avoid Rapid Starts and Stops
Sudden shifts in speed or hard stops use up plenty of fuel in stop-and-go traffic. Accelerating gradually from stops or hills may save money and protect against unnecessary wear on brakes.
Fuel efficiency quickly decreases beyond 50 miles per hour, so stick to the speed limit and use cruise control on long highway trips. Carrying more weight means using more fuel; consider taking steps such as removing extra luggage, tools or sports equipment to cut fuel costs and save.
Maintain a large gap between your vehicle and the one ahead to reduce unnecessary braking. Idling can waste considerable amounts of fuel; shutting off your engine for just a few seconds instead is much more fuel-efficient.
4. Keep Your Vehicle Clean
If your vehicle’s fuel efficiency has been declining despite regular maintenance, it could be because it has become overloaded. Remove anything unneeded from your vehicle (particularly items mounted to roof racks). Each 100 pounds added will reduce fuel economy by one or two percent.
Smooth acceleration and gentle braking will increase your vehicle’s mileage per gallon (mpg). Utilizing cruise control on highways will also save on gas consumption. Avoid aggressive driving and excessive idling as this wastes energy without providing any return in travel distance gained. Finally, use only high quality gasoline and oil recommended by your manufacturer as well as keeping tires inflated to the proper pressures.
5. Combine Trips
Combine trips when running errands to reduce stops and start-up times; shorter, multipurpose journeys start by heating your engine may consume twice as much fuel than multiple short ones that start from cold starts.
Warmer weather poses no major problem here; however, in winter your engine takes more time to reach its optimal operating temperature each time it starts up, using up an inefficient amount of energy and costing you extra fuel while driving. Idling can use up most of your driving fuel costs; thus wasting precious resources.
Plan your errands so that your car doesn’t run on empty during the week; this will help your tank hold more fuel and give you greater flexibility at the pump.
