Maintenance Required

When you own a car, maintenance and insurance are requirements. Filling up with gas is also the nature of the beast. If you’re on the road a lot, and you cringe every time you have to fill up, we have some great money saving gas tips to help you out.Here are a few things you can do today to get better gas mileage right away. To sum it up,  maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!

Change Your Filters

A well maintained car will operate with greater efficiency. You will have better performance, be safer on the road, and get the best fuel consumption. Something as small as a clogged fuel filter can restrict the flow of gas, which makes your car work harder, which wastes gas,and money! The same is true for your air filter. If your car cannot breathe fresh air, it struggles. Struggling uses more energy from the engine. More energy = wasted gas.

Use the Right Octane

If your car requires 87 octane, there is no benefit to using a higher octane. It’s not like any of us are dying to put 89 or 91 in with these prices, but remember you get the best performance from your engine when you use what the manufacturer recommends.

Check Your Tire Pressure

Finally something FREE! Having your tires filled to the correct tire pressure will yield you about 4 percent on fuel economy. Under inflated tires are like a person not picking up his feet when he is walking in the mud. You need more energy to move and more energy = more gas.

Junk in the Trunk

Take the junk out of your trunk! The heavier your car is, the more you have to lug around. Lose the weight and the car will have less to lug around. An extra 100 pounds can reduce your fuel economy by 1 to 2 percent.

Constantly Passing People

When you are  in traffic are you  a driver that  speeds up to weave in and out of the cars? Chances are, you will end up right next to the people you are trying to pass when traffic comes to a stop! You are wasting your energy, gas and your money!

Aggressive, Hard Driving

Hitting the accelerator pedal from a stoplight, braking hard, and speeding up to get to the next stop light? These are prime examples of wasted gas. Give yourself extra time to get to your destination and think “smooth and steady” as you drive. The DOT says that every 5mph you drive over 65 mph is equal to a 7 percent decrease in fuel economy.

Don’t Idle

Sitting in an idling car is a huge money waster. When a car is idling, it’s using fuel, and if you are just sitting there, you are getting 0 MPG. Try to limit your idling time with the gas prices the way they are.