High Gas Prices: How to Save Money on Gas for Your Car

Do you feel that your car gas pump is sucking out your money? Well you are not the only one! High gas prices have disturbed the budget of every car owner in today’s date.

In the recent times owning a car has become a necessity for everyone. However, most of the car owners fail to implement fuel efficient driving tips.

The prime reason behind high gas prices is because of the rise in world demand. For instance, developing countries like China and India are experiencing high energy requirements. In the recent past the oil and fuel consumption in China itself has risen by striking 350% from what it used to be in 1980’s.

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This extreme demand for fuel in the recent years has not only lead to high gas prices but has also severely affected every car owner’s budget. The need of the hour is to understand how to save gas and implement techniques which can improve gas mileage.

By opting for fuel saving tips for your car and by making few simple tweaks in driving habits the car owners can easily save money on gas.

Here are few simple money saving tips to Tackle High Gas Prices for your car

 

1. Plan Your Trips

It is important to plan your move before heading out as it may help you avoid making several small trips.

• A car’s engine cools down when parked for few hours, thus uses more fuel for the first few miles. Combining all your daily chores together may therefore help in saving money on gas.
• Make sure you don’t warm up your car for more than 30 seconds during winters as the cars nowadays are electronically controlled and don’t really need that. So, you may just end up wasting fuel.
• Using carpool may help you in cutting down on your fuel costs. So, if you have neighbors who are travelling to the same destination, don’t shy away from carpooling.

2. Gear Up Smoothly

The best way to deal with high gas prices is to keep a steady pace while driving. For instance, driving at a speed of 55 mph in the highest gear is an ideal pace which may help you save money on gas.

• According to Ron Montaya, Senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds, the car owners can save about 37% on car fuels if they drive steadily and don’t accelerate hard.
• Consumer Reports Magazine’s Deputy automotive editor Jon Linkov conducted real-life road tests a few months back and concluded that while moving from 55-65 mph, he lost between 4&8 mpg. Once he paced up to 75mph fuel consumption increased by 5-7 miles per gallon.

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3. Don’t Overload the Car

If you really want to improve your car’s fuel efficiency, you must avoid putting unnecessary cargo over its roof. An overloaded car which puts pressure on its aerodynamics is likely to make the engine work harder. This would further affect its fuel mileage.

• You can remove the roof racks if not needed as it creates wind drag.
• An excess 100 pounds may utilize about 2% of extra fuel. So, you must ensure that you don’t put excess weight over the car’s roof.

4. Tires Must be Properly Inflated

A car having lower tyre pressure won’t have a direct impact on the car’s fuel mileage. However, they may affect the car’s pace and braking.

• Checking out tyre pressure every fortnight is recommended by the experts.
• You can find the figure close to the lock at the driver’s door.

5. Avoid Idling

This is important if you want to save on gas. Keeping your car idle for more than a minute consumes half to one gallon of gas/hour and in return emits CO2 into the atmosphere. Contemporary engines consume much lesser gas when turned off and restarted rather than keeping it idle for long periods.

6. Choose Appropriate Gas

If you really want to save on gas bill then you must ensure you choose the appropriate octane gas for your car.

• The gas fuel’s engine knock resistance abilities can be measured with the Octane ratings.
• High octane rates usually have higher prices so you must check the owner’s manual to understand your vehicle’s exact requirement.
• You should restrain yourself from buying ‘premium gases without knowing your vehicle’s requirement as only about 6% cars sold in the market actually require it.
• Buying ‘special gas’ for bringing out the engine’s peak performance is a myth so getting regular unleaded gas can also be a car fuel saver.

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7. Avoid Taking Rough Routes

It may sound weird but can work as an excellent gas saving tip. Rough patches in the roads lead to dirt accumulation in your engine which may exceed your fuel requirement by 30%. So, if you really want to cope with high gas prices you must avoid driving on bad roads.

8. Put Off the Air-Conditioner

Most of us love being comfortable while on the go. However, this comfort may cost higher fuel consumption. Avoiding the use of air-conditioner unnecessarily may definitely work as a fuel saver.

Wrapping up

Using cars maybe a necessity, but since car gas and fuel prices are at its all time high it is suggested that the car owners opt for ways to utilize these resources to the fullest. Using alternative transport option once in a while may also help you in saving on your daily fuel expenses.

The fact is that high gas prices don’t really stop the car owners from using their vehicles. It is therefore advised to compare gas prices and opt for the one that matches the vehicle’s requirement and the owner’s budget.

This is the right time to act and implement ways to save gas and improve gas mileage of our cars. After all what we save today is what we get to use tomorrow!