Fuel Saving Tips!

Drive to maximize your fuel economy

How changing the way you drive can help increase your fuel economy...

Here are some small changes you can make to your driving habits to help conserve gas.

Combine Trips

Making lots of short trips means you’re driving with your engine cold. And that uses more fuel than making one long trip with an engine that’s warmed up. Try combining your short trips around town as much as possible to optimize your fuel economy.

Drive Sensibly

Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than just gas money.

Observe the Speed Limit

While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.

Remove Excess Weight

Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your miles per gallon (mpg) by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

Avoid Excessive Idling

Idling gets 0 mpg. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines. If you know you’ll be stopped for a while, it’s actually better to turn off your engine instead of idling.

Use Cruise Control

Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas. Use Overdrive Gears When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.

Source: www.fueleconomy.gov