Top 5 ways to improve your gas mileage Today
Gasoline prices are up to around $3 a gallon again in the US, and the wacky boycott emails are making the rounds again. If you really want to make an impact on the pricing and demand, the only realistic ways are to reduce consumption by not driving or increase your fuel efficiency.
Here are 5 simple things that almost anyone can do to increase your mileage rates.
- Remove unnecessary weight from your car/truck
- Inflate tires to the maximum recommended pressure
- Coast to red lights and stop signs
- Accelerate slower than normal (ease up on the gas pedal)
- Turn your engine off at any drive through window or long traffic lights
1. Check your trunk, back seat and glove compartment. I know I had about 20 lbs of stuff I didn’t need.
2. Most people drive with under-inflated tires which hurts mileage and wear.
3. Includes timing lights, opposite of racing to stop signs (which seems to be popular near me)
4. It surprised me when I was reading about the new EPA ratings, that the old mpg rates were based on slower acceleration than the average person uses. If you accelerate at the rate of a big rig instead of a race car you can greatly improve your mileage. One of the main reasons the new EPA ratings decrease is because of this change.
5. The crossover point for saving gas on this is only about 10-15 seconds for most cars, so it should be a no brainer at any kind of drive through window, but it seems like very few people do it.
Most recent inspiration for this article was cleanmpg.com which surprised me by showing most vehicles can better their EPA ratings. There are lots of interesting methods and ideas, many of them beyond what most people would consider practical. (Probably 50% of the methods could inspire road rage in the driver behind you.)
(I forgot to mention that this was also inpired by problogger.net !, it inspired me to write a post with content, even if it’s not on my originally intended subject matter)
May 7th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
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May 8th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Thanks for great tips! I am reading through the ProBlogger.net Group Writing Project entries. I will try to link back soon to your very helpful info. I always thought it would burn more gas to turn the engine off & on, but they are telling us to do this in the school carpool lane, too, for “Healthy Little Lungs” campaign. Take Care, Sherri
May 8th, 2007 at 10:12 am
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May 9th, 2007 at 5:19 am
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May 9th, 2007 at 8:04 am
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May 9th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Ive always wondered about this. Years ago I was in Switzerland, and it is common for people to do this. Nearby drivers will even give you a dirty look if you don’t turn off your car at a long light. Good to hear about the 10-15 second crossover level.
May 9th, 2007 at 9:42 am
[…] Top 5 ways to improve your gas mileage Today by Mike […]
May 9th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Great tips - there is also the idea to drive smaller cars or to walk:-) These have been more and more inviting when we see the oil prices and naturalistic damage increase. Thanks for the ideas here:-)
May 9th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
People would laugh if they knew this about my car. It looks like a trash can…yes I have a 2 year old. Every toy she seems to get in the car never seem to get out of the car. There is just stuff everywhere, the full back seat and some on front usually.
Anyways, you would laugh to know that the trunk. It has quite literally nothing but a spare tire at most times. The glove compartment simply has every service bill ever gotten since I got the car and nothing else.
May 10th, 2007 at 2:33 am
[…] Top 5 ways to improve your gas mileage Today by Mike […]
May 10th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Funny you mention coasting. My dad used to brag about the gas mileage he got out of coasting and clever driving to avoid braking and losing momentum. I do a bit of coasting myself (probably because of my dad), but I’ve never heard anybody else mention it as a way to save on your mileage!
May 25th, 2007 at 3:44 am
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May 29th, 2007 at 9:36 am
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