Once you get a car, there never ending dilemma starts – how to be able to drive wherever you like without filling the tank every day. Knowing the fact, that gas today is not the cheapest thing, a few tips which might help out to save money might be pretty handy. So, we are going to share a few pretty simple tricks that will help your car be with a full tank and you with a fuller wallet!
Empty the trunk Each pound of unnecessary stuff in the trunk increases fuel consumption. Let’s calculate: for example, your car uses 5 gallons of petrol and weighs 1.5 tons. For example, a gallon of gasoline costs 2 dollars. Thus, 2 pounds transported from two cities 1 hour away from each other will cost you around 1.5 cents. So, each additional pound gets expensive. Of course, these are not precise figures, but the significantly lighter car really uses less gas. Many drivers who clean their truck from unwanted items can get rid of at least 5 pounds, and that might drastically decrease your gas needs.
Check tires pressure At least once a week, check the tire pressure as well. Even a small reduction in pressure significantly increases fuel consumption. If you drive a fully loaded car or going to carry something heavy, inflate tires to have more air. Usually, manufacturers recommend increasing pressure for about 10 percent. If tires are inflated substantially more than recommended, you will use less fuel, but solid as a rock tires wear out much faster and have less adhesion to the road. So such saving technique can result in severe accidents, and you should do that responsibly.
Cruise control Automatic cruise control “plays” best with the accelerator pedal so that the engine operates in more cost-effective mode. Only very experienced drivers are able to drive more economical than the system. But take notice that you should not use that if you are driving on slippery surfaces or in the city – it is unsafe.
Rolling from the mountain How to roll downhill? One group of people are saying that you need to turn on the free gear, and others say that you should keep the gear going. In fact, it is a game with the car and its dynamics. If you are rolling the gear motor does not use fuel. Meanwhile, if you are running free gear, engine runs idle speed and consumes an average of 0.3 – 0.6 gallons of fuel per hour. So try not to use the brake pedal – use the gearbox and take advantage of the inertia of the car.
Air conditioning Probably one of the best things in the summer is air conditioning. Unfortunately, the turned on air conditioner increases fuel consumption up to a half of gallon per around 60 miles. So, if possible, turn on air conditioners to a minimum or turn it off in general. By the way, one note – sometimes driving out town with turned on the air conditioner can be a more cost-effective option than fully opened window.