saving gas

you and your best friends are

rushing down the highway suddenly One

turns off the AC and puts the windows

down

they wanted to help you cut some gas

costs and just made one of the classic

mistakes

turning off the AC and opting for a

natural Breeze helps while you're stuck

in traffic while you're driving with

your windows down on a highway you're

creating unnecessary wind resistance

your car now needs more energy to move

forward and you end up burning more fuel

per ride

while you're struggling through traffic

inside the city limits though turning

off the AC isn't a bad idea it might not

be the most comfortable ride on a hot

day but you're here to save some money

right

now a quick Common Sense test you have

two routes to choose from one is shorter

and another looks longer on the map

What's it gonna be common sense is

screaming the first one duh but in fact

the shortest route isn't always the best

choice in terms of gas usage you gotta

pick the one with the least stop signs

traffic lights and traffic jams

this route will require less speeding up

and slowing down both major gas heaters

so plan your route wisely you can

consult apps that show real-time traffic

data or interactive maps with stop

lights

do you also have a bag of sand your old

inflatable bed a pair of shoes and five

water canisters in your trunk or is it

just me

well you gotta declutter if you want to

save some cash losing a hundred pounds

that you carry around in your vehicle

will decrease your gas usage by up to

one percent per gallon relative to your

vehicle's weight

more weight means more fuel used that's

some simple traffic math

brake and accelerate less driving at a

steady speed above 50 miles per hour

helps you save some gas costs

every time you hit the brakes or take

off at a rocket speed at the stoplight

you're making your engine work hard and

it feeds on fuel you know

plus aggressive driving is bad traffic

etiquette so speed up slowly and Coast

to a breaking stop smoothly

don't go zero to 60 or floor the car

until you have to break abruptly

cruise control can help you with that

drive calmly and steadily when you're on

flat terrain like the highway once you

approach some hills or mountains cruise

control will make your car eat too much

gas for no good reason so turn it off

and let the speed go down a bit as you

ascend and then slowly speed up as you

go down this will take some workload off

your engine

Park your vehicle a couple of blocks

away from your destination the next time

you make the seventh trip driving around

the block searching for a parking spot

it will make all perfect sense when you

sum up the frustration your time spent

on those searches and of course extra

gas costs you'll be okay settling

somewhat further from a busy shopping

area Business Center or your favorite

popular restaurant

don't wait until the last minute to

refill your tank make it a habit to do

it once it's three quarters empty or

whenever is more comfortable for you

this way you won't have to frantically

stop at the gas station nearest to you

when it's time to refill

instead you'll have your time for some

research there are special gas finding

apps to help you find the best deal in

your area

sometimes it can be across the state or

region border and it's never ever by the

highway

once you're ready to settle down with

one gas brand don't hesitate to ask for

something in return

sign up for their loyalty program save

an app get a card whatever it takes to

get a discount cash back extra points

and other perks from them

some grocery stores partner up with gas

chains letting you use the points you

earn at the store to get a discount on

gas

even five cents per gallon can make a

difference so inquire about those

hybrid vehicle owners this one's for you

try turning on the AC while your car is

still plugged into the charger it will

help extend the vehicle's range when you

get on the road which means less money

spent on gas

if you're driving one of the newer model

cars your engine must automatically stop

when you idle your car if that's not

your case avoid idling to save fuel

waiting for the traffic lights to turn

green takes 45 to 120 seconds

and starting your car requires only 10

seconds of gas so if you have to stop

for more than 10 seconds turn your

vehicle off

if you let it run it can eat up to an

extra half a gallon of fuel per hour

now in case safety isn't one of your

primary concerns at least take good care

of your car for reasons of economy

check if your tires are well inflated at

least once a month

when under inflated they wear out

quicker drag and waste gas

check your car's manual to see how often

you should tune up your engine it

depends on the age and model

clean the filters to keep the car going

while eating less gas use the right

motor oil otherwise your car will have

to work harder than it should and waste

gas

there's no need to play it cool and fill

up with premium fuel unless you have a

high performance engine that really

can't run on anything else

that will cost you much less in the long

run and won't make your vehicle go

faster cleaner or get better mileage if

your car's manual recommends but does

not require premium

at least go with lower grades for extra

savings

gas chemistry has advanced over the past

decades so don't worry about the quality

of regular gas it's all good

if you have an older car check out your

gas cap seal once it weakens it lets

oxygen leak into the gas tank when that

happens gas Burns way faster you can

replace the gas cap but be prepared that

the sensors might not recognize the new

one

unless it comes from the manufacturer or

authorized supplier

if you have a manual transmission you're

in luck you have complete control over

your RPM that's revolutions per minute

lower gas means higher RPM the higher

the RPM the more torque the engine

produces and the more fuel it's using

so shift into the upper gears quickly it

differs from car to car but an optimal

solution would be to change to Second by

about 15 miles per hour and move to Top

Gear by the time you're going at 30 to

35 miles per hour

that cargo container and the bike rack

you have on the roof of your vehicle

will have to go they increase your car's

wind resistance so the engine must do

more work to maintain the speed

it could mean up to 20 percent extra

fuel consumption on the highway and up

to eight percent in the city

if you do need that extra storage opt

for rear mounted cargo boxes

for those in car buying mode right now

look into a hybrid electric plug-in

hybrid electric or all-electric one

I mean you'll definitely cut gas costs

with an electric car

suppose you aren't ready for that much

of a change

in that case many popular models

actually come in hybrid form Toyota RAV4

Hyundai Sonata and Volvo XC90 are all

yours to go

and here comes the bonus tip that will

help you cut driving costs by 100 are

you ready for it

don't drive okay okay let me explain

don't drive whenever it's possible walk

or bike to work or use public transport

if that's too much for you at least swap

driving responsibilities and gas costs

with colleagues living in your area.