Right now, gas prices are soaring to record highs all over the country.
Even after being adjusted for inflation, they’re still some of the rarest prices we’ve seen in the last 50 years, including the energy crisis in the 1970s.
Despite this, most drivers in America have no choice but to continue to drive to work, pick up their kids from school, and run daily tasks like getting groceries. Right now, learning how to drive with maximum fuel efficiency is more important than ever.
In this article, we’ll tell you 12 great driving tips on how to save fuel so you can protect your bank account.
1. Use Smart Driving Techniques For Maximum Fuel Efficiency
The quickest way to start saving more fuel is to learn how to drive more efficiently. There are several subtle changes that you can do to your driving habits that will save gas. Let’s take a look at a few.
Accelerate Gently
The harder you accelerate to build speed, the more fuel you use. You can use less fuel by stepping on your accelerator gently. To be as fuel-efficient as possible, take around 5 seconds to get up to 10 mph. Make this a general habit to aim for.
Imagine that there’s a cup of hot coffee on your dashboard that you don’t want to spill.
Coast to Decelerate
Whenever you use your brakes, you waste valuable forward momentum. When driving, always look ahead and predict how traffic is behaving. You can often see when you’ll need to slow down.
For instance, if you can see far away that a yellow light is turning to red, stop accelerating and coast to slow down instead of braking too early or late. This will help you conserve fuel.
Maintain a Steady Speed
The more your speed fluctuates, the more fuel you’ll use. When you’re on the highway, consider using your cruise control function to maintain a steady speed.
Avoid High Speeds
Here’s a simple one — don’t go too fast! Most cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans are at their most fuel-efficient when they’re going around 30 mph to 50 mph. Once you get higher than that, you start burning fuel at an accelerated rate.
Anticipate Traffic
Always look forward and predict what driving conditions are coming up. Keep a comfortable distance between you and the next car, but look closely at what other drivers and pedestrians are doing. The further you can predict what will happen, the more you can save fuel by slowing down or speeding up early.
It’s also way safer to drive like this!
Avoid Idling Your Vehicle
Turn off your engine when you’re stopped for more than a minute (unless you’re still in traffic).
Depending on the type of car, idling your car wastes up to 1/2 gallon of fuel per hour.
2. Get the Right Tires
Every car is designed differently by its manufacturers. Your car needs a very specific size and speed rating to maximize fuel efficiency. If you bought aftermarket wheels and tires that are of a different size or speed rating, it can lower your car’s fuel efficiency.
Don’t know what tires you need?
Just open up your door and you’ll see a tire placard on the inside frame of the door. You can also find the information in your car owner’s manual.
When you buy tires, you can also get tires with low rolling resistance. This kind of tire helps reduce friction on pavement, which will help you further save gas.
A study at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found that drivers who used low rolling resistance tires saved $150 per year on fuel.
3. Measure Your Tire Pressure Every Month
The lower your tire pressure is, the more rolling resistance it causes. This means you use more fuel to get going. Make sure you check your tire pressure at least every month, ideally every week.
Again, if you don’t know what your car’s tire pressure should be, just check the driver’s side door jamb for the information.
Make sure you don’t overinflate your tires either. Although it can further reduce rolling resistance, it lowers your safety and ride comfort, and increases tire wear.
4. Don't Carry Unnecessary Weight
The less your car weighs, the less fuel your vehicle will use to move. Remove all unnecessary stuff from your car, such as sports equipment, furniture, or other things. For a mid-size car, fuel consumption rises by about 1% for every 50 pounds in the car.
5. Limit Aerodynamic Drag
Aerodynamics plays a huge role in maximizing your car’s fuel efficiency. When being designed, they spend countless hours shaping and reshaping the panels of the car to find the perfect balance between style and aerodynamic efficiency.
Adding aftermarket parts like bike racks, roof-top cargo carriers, body kits, ground effects, or spoilers can significantly increase your aerodynamic drag.
Not only can taking these things off reduce the weight of your car, but driving with a cargo carrier can reduce fuel efficiency by up to 25% at 60 mph.
Drive a truck? Make sure you keep that tailgate up. Although it might logically seem correct to leave the tailgate flag to reduce aerodynamic drag, that’s not the case.
The designers of the truck designed it specifically to be more efficient to drive normally, with the tailgate up.
6. Use Your Air Conditioning Sparingly
As cars become more sophisticated, air conditioners have become much more efficient, but they are still powered by the engine, which lowers your fuel economy.
Although there is an argument to be had on whether driving with windows down creates drag that equally reduces fuel efficiency, the fact is that limiting your AC use will save fuel.
If you’re driving in the city, open your windows for air. When on the highway, use the flow-through ventilation with the windows up. If you do want to use your air conditioning, use the re-circulate option so you don’t waste any cool air.
Here are a few more tips for using the AC less:
- When you start your car, roll your windows down to allow the hot air to leave, then turn on the AC
- Turn off your AC once your car gets to a cool temperature
- Set your automatic climate control to a higher temperature setting
- Park in the shade to keep the cabin of your car cooler
- Use a windshield sunshade when parked
The less you use your AC, the higher fuel efficiency you’ll have.
7. Use a Fuel Consumption Display
Many newer cars feature fuel consumption displays on the dashboard or on the built-in screen. Keep this displayed so that you can monitor how your driving is affecting your fuel efficiency.
Newer vehicles will even analyze speed variations, shift points for manual transmission cars, and driving behaviors like acceleration and braking points.
8. Maintain Your Vehicle
There are several aspects of your car that need to be maintained regularly to keep your fuel efficiency at the maximum. Let’s go over a few things you should check out.
Change Your Spark Plugs
Your spark plugs have a limit to how much they can be used. For example, they might last for 100,000 miles. If you’ve driven them for 80,000 miles, they’re 80 percent worn.
At this point, they can cause misfires or incomplete combustion more frequently, which can cost you hundreds of dollars in fuel.
You’ll have to replace the spark plugs soon anyway, so get them early to reduce wasted gas. Replacing the spark plugs an extra time over the life of your car is still much cheaper than the amount of gas you’ll waste otherwise.
Change Your Air Filter
A dirty air filter can increase fuel consumption by almost 10%. Change your air filter whenever you get your oil changed, around once a year. If you drive in dirty or dusty conditions, you’ll need to do it even more frequently.
Keep Your Car Aligned
If your car’s tires are even just a little bit misaligned, it will drag your tires sideways and cost you hundreds of dollars a year in wasted gas. It will also wear your tires faster, costing you hundreds more in tire replacement. Make sure you’re checking to see if your tires are aligned regularly.
Change Your Oil Regularly
Even your engine oil can affect your fuel efficiency. As your oil breaks down and becomes dirty over the course of normal use, it develops a sludge that creates drag and reduces fuel economy.
Get your oil changed at the recommended intervals to save gas.
9. Plan Ahead
When you drive every single day for a variety of errands and work, it’s normal for us to turn our brains on autopilot to get things done. But if you’re trying to save as much money as possible on fuel, plan ahead to make sure you’re doing things efficiently.
- If you’re going on a long trip, map out your route
- Avoid roads that have lots of stoplights and intersections
- Use four-lane highways when possible
- Listen to traffic reports to avoid accidents or construction
If it’s possible, try and carpool with family members.
10. Combine Trips
When you head out of the house to take care of your errands, combine all of your trips instead of taking several smaller trips. Once your engine is warmed up, it’s much more efficient than starting a cold engine several times.
Even if the total mileage is the same, the warm engine will be much more efficient.
11. Get a More Fuel-Efficient Car
Of course, this isn’t an option for everyone, but if you’re planning on purchasing a new car, getting a fuel-efficient car should be at the top of your list.
This can include hybrids, plug-in hybrids, four-cylinder models, and electric vehicles. Getting a fuel-efficient car will not only save you lots of money in the long run, but it has several other benefits as well.
Fewer Greenhouse Gases
Gas and diesel-powered cars produce Greenhouse Gas Emissions that release CO2 gasses. This contributes to climate change on a daily basis. Getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle helps the environment enormously.
Reduced Foreign Oil Dependence
One-quarter of the oil we use to power our vehicles is imported from other countries. By getting a more fuel-efficient car, we can help save money for ourselves and our country in the long run.
Less Air Pollutants
Most of the smog and harmful air pollutants in the environment come from highway vehicles. Choosing a car that is more fuel-efficient has far less harmful emissions and reduces air pollutants.
Increased Energy Sustainability
Oil is a non-renewable source. Our world is running out of this resource faster than people think. By cutting back on oil use, we allow ourselves more time to find better renewable alternatives that will help save the planet in the long run.
Save Money!
According to a study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy, electric car owners can save as much as $14,500 on fuel costs by owning an electric car over a period of 15 years. That’s almost $1,000 dollars a year!
12. Drive Less!
Here’s the obvious one — the best way to reduce fuel consumption is to drive as little as possible.
- Walk or bike to where you need to go
- Use public transportation
- Join a carpool and not only save gas but help the environment
- Work from home when possible
Every day you don’t drive, you can reduce the amount of fuel you use by as much as 20%.
Key Takeaways
Although we can’t control external forces in the world that are causing fuel prices to increase, there are several factors of fuel efficiency that we can control.
By planning ahead and practicing more fuel-efficient driving, we can not only help save our wallets but our environment as well.
If you’re looking to buy a more fuel-efficient car, you can get your car financing approved in a matter of minutes. Apply now and find your perfect car today!