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Paying for gas, especially if you do a lot of driving, is a large expense in your monthly budget. For some, it’s the highest cost involved in owning a vehicle. Though gas prices have eased slightly in the past few weeks, filling your tank can still be quite expensive. Experts are also predicting another spike in gas prices in the fall. To make the most of your hard earned dollars, we’ve put together some simple tips to help you get more for your money! You can improve your gas mileage by doing the following:
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Keep A Steady Foot. Doing a lot of rapid accelerating, hard braking and speeding all use up more gas than necessary. Slow, steady acceleration is much more efficient. It also helps to slow down before braking whenever possible and to travel at a consistent speed rather than picking up speed quickly and then braking hard.
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Move At Slower Speeds. On that note, it also helps a lot fo maintain lower speeds when possible. Though going faster than you need to can get you places a few seconds faster, it’s not worth the decrease in gas mileage. Whenever you travel over 50 km/h, your gas mileage decreases significantly. Those who travel at high speeds see a 10-15% reduction in fuel efficiency, so consider sticking to lower speeds when possible. Using cruise control can help you to maintain your speed as well.
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Travel Lightly. Carrying around equipment or other heavy items reduces your fuel efficiency. You use 1% more fuel for every 100 lbs of load you are carrying around. Whenever possible, remove larger and heavy items from your vehicle to ensure you’re getting the best gas mileage possible.
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Don’t Let Your Vehicle Idle. Idling costs you about 3 cents per minute, and even more right now with gas prices so high. Rather than leaving your vehicle running, opt to turn it off when you are stopped or running inside quickly and don’t warm it up longer than required.
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Check Your Tire Pressure. Underinflated tires are a huge drain on your fuel and a primary cause of gas wastage each year. For each tire that is underinflated by 10 psi, your fuel economy is reduced by 3.3%, so 4 underinflated tires means you’re wasting almost 15% of your gas! Check your tire pressure once a month and adjust as needed to ensure you’re getting the best fuel economy possible.
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Replace Bad Spark Plugs. Misfiring spark plugs can reduce your fuel efficiency by up to 30%. That’s a huge number with a simple fix to avoid all of that waste!
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Ensure Your Alignment Is Balanced. Imbalance tires wear faster and unevenly which affects your fuel economy by up to 10%. You’ll save on both gas and tire replacements by ensuring your wheels are properly aligned.
As you can see, keeping your vehicle well maintained is the simplest way to improve your gas mileage. Book in for a Service Appointment to check on things such as tire pressure, spark plugs and alignment. Not only will doing so save you at the pump, you may also be able to avoid a large repair bill or having to buy new tires sooner.
Come visit us today at your local Halifax Ford Dealership!
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