Gas Saving Tips from LotPro.com

With gasoline prices reaching new highs around the country, now is a good time to look at your car and your driving habits…

Your Car

There are a number of things that you can do to your car to make it more efficient:

1. Have your car tuned up. This was much more important twenty years ago when tune up intervals were 25,000 miles instead of 75,000 -100,000 miles. Still, you need to pay attention to your vehicle’s performance. According to AutoZone, a bad oxygen sensor can adversely affect gas mileage by as much as 15%.
2. Check your engine air filter and fuel filter. If they’re dirty or clogged, replace them.
3. Check your tire pressure and vehicle alignment. Under or over inflated tires as well as misalignment will not only affect gas mileage, it can cause premature tire wear and pose a safety hazard.
4. Remove the junk from your trunk. Hauling around less means better gas mileage. You can increase fuel economy from 1 to 2 percent for every 100 pounds you throw out.

Your Driving Habits

Now that we’ve taken care of your car’s maintenance, it’s time to “tune up” the person behind the wheel:

1. Drive smoothly. According to the EPA, you can improve gas mileage by as much as 20% by avoiding fast starts. Let the car next to you win the race to the gas pump.
2. Slow down and observe the speed limit. Aerodynamic drag rises with speed. While it is different with every car, 60 mph seems to be the optimum speed. Decreasing your “over the limit” driving style can save you anywhere from 7 – 23% in fuel costs, not to mention the added bonus of avoiding speeding tickets.
3. Use your cruise control. According to Consumer Reports magazine, you can realize up to 14% savings in fuel in most situations.
4. Avoid long warm-ups and idling. Even in cold weather, you shouldn’t have to warm up the engine for more than 1 minute. If your car will be idling for more than a minute, shut off the engine (there are a number of reasons that the Toyota Prius gets great mileage and the automatic engine shut-off feature is a big one).
5. Combine your errands. Instead of taking 3 short trips, combine them into 1 longer trip. Driving with a warm engine saves gas.

Your Non-driving Habits

Other ways you can save on gas:

1. Park your car. Ride your bicycle to work one or two days a week. Walk to the market for small items if it is only a few blocks away. Your car uses no gas when it is parked in your driveway and you might actually feel better after the exercise!

The Bottom Line

If you follow most of the rules outlined above, it will save you money while reducing stress and increasing your physical fitness. That’s something those of us at lotpro.com would take any day.