All motorists aim to increase gas mileage as much as possible in order to save money, especially in these tough economic times. Fortunately, you do not need fancy equipment or advanced technology to do so. All you need are a few very simple tricks that you may not even realize.
- Park your car in the shade. If you live in an area where it’s mostly sunny, parking your car in the shade would help keep your car cool. This is an advantage because when you re-start your car, your air conditioner would not need to work as much, consuming less power. Remember that your car’s air conditioner is operated by the car engine’s drive belt. This means that when you turn on your air conditioner, the drive belt works double ways—running your aircon and propelling your vehicle. If your engine needs more energy to work, you will also burn more gas. So when the weather is cooler, it can also be good to use the vents and keep the natural air flow inside the vehicle.
- Keep windows closed at highway speeds. As mentioned before, it is sometimes better to keep windows down to let air in. This is only more fuel-efficient when you are in stop-and-go city traffic. But when you are driving at very high speeds, it is better for gas mileage if you would keep your windows up and the air conditioning. This is because the car’s aerodynamics can improve because keeping your car closed lessens the vehicle drag.
- Avoid long idle times. If you are expecting long waiting times, it is better to turn off the engine than let it run. Idling burns more gas than restarting the engine. So if you know that you will take a long time in drive-thru windows, it might be better to park your car and go inside.
- Keep the tires properly inflated and aligned. Gas mileage is influenced by other car components. Having regular wheel alignments and properly inflating your tires can help improve your gas mileage. For instance, if your tires are not properly inflated and you go around a curve, your tires would not be able to properly grip to the road and you will find yourself braking harder. This lowers your fuel-efficiency.
- Avoid carrying unnecessary items in your car. The heavy extra weight can also decrease your gas mileage. Even worse than excess weight, is if you would place that extra weight outside or on top of your car, because of unnecessary wind drag. Thus, if you must carry some items, it would be better to put it inside.
- Tighten and replace your gas cap. If this part is not tightened enough, or if you maintain missing or defective gas caps, some of the gas can vaporize into the atmosphere, which when accumulated, can amount to millions of gallons per year.
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