Best Ways To Save On Gas

The first step is to determine how much fuel your car consumes. This is measured in miles per gallon (MPG), or in litres per 100 kilometers (L/100km).

The easiest method is to reset your trip meter when you fill up your car. Then, when you're empty and have to fill up again, take note of two things - the mileage on your trip meter, and how much fuel the pump gives you. Then, divide the mileage by the gallons. It tells you how many miles per gallon your car does. Let's say you did 300 miles with 10 gallons - you have a fuel consumption of 30 MPG (300 divided by 10).

To convert MPG to L/100km, all you have to do is to divide 235.214583 by your MPG. For example, 30 MPG is the same as 7.84 L/100km. Once you know how your car performs, you can then try to save gas and compare with future calculations. This will tell you if your efforts have been worthwhile!

The above formula also works to convert L/100km to MPG - 235.214583 / 7.6 L/100km = 30.94 MPG.

What is the best speed ? Not too fast, not too slow. Each car is different, but at a speed of 55 MPH, you pretty much have the best of both worlds. It can be tough to go "so slow" if you have the habit of driving fast, but you will get used to it. At least, your wallet will!

In fact, it is not that slow. Let's say you have to drive 70 miles to go somewhere. Obviously, at 70 MPH, it takes an hour. By driving at 55 MPH, it takes only 16 minutes more. As I demonstrate in Strategy #3, faster speeds really eat up fuel!

It is globally accepted that manual transmissions offer sightly better fuel economy. For new cars, it also means you can save from $1000 - $1500 compared to an automatic.

Personally, I prefer manual - you have a lot of control over your car and, if you ever lose your brakes, you can at least use engine compression. You can also put yourself to neutral to slowly decelerate and avoid unnecessary braking, which you cannot do with automatics. The only downside I can think of is when you get into a massive traffic jam, then manuals are a pain !

The best tip when driving a manual is to keep your RPM fairly low, when you can. I like to shift up every 12-13 MPH - this gives me enough power, while reducing unnecessary engine revolutions. With an automatic, once you reach your ideal speed, you can let go of the gas pedal just for an instant - depending on your car, it may shift up while keeping the same speed.

This may sound really stupid. You paid big bucks for your car, and I'm telling you not to use it ? The rule is to not use it too much. You will not only save on gas, but also on future maintenance costs. Also, a car with lower mileage will sell for more. Ask for lifts, carpool, and plan ahead to avoid unnecessary driving. This can save you a lot!

Most tires require 30-32 PSI to be at maximum efficiency. Keeping this pressure ensures your tire will last longer. More importantly, less pressure means a higher fuel consumption, about 0.5% for each PSI below ideal pressure. Check your tire pressure twice a month to be certain you are not wasting precious gasoline!

There are three main forces that work against your car. They are called friction, gravity and air resistance. Unfortunately, you cannot do much against friction and gravity.

To understand what air resistance is and how it works, imagine yourself walking in a pool of water. It is harder than walking "in the air", because water has a higher density than air. However, your car is much larger and goes much faster than you do - and it fights against tremendous air pressure.

Air resistance is exponential. At high speeds, a 10% increase in speed will mean more than that in air resistance, because your engine is working a lot harder just to gain a few MPH.

So, could it be true that the slower a car goes, the less fuel it burns? Yes and no. Under a certain speed, your car does not need much power to move - however, even at 1 MPH, your engine consumes a lot just to keep itself alive and to power accessories. Headlights and air conditioning demand quite a bit of power from the engine and has a direct impact on fuel efficiency.

When driving at 55 MPH, depending of your car, you don't have too much air resistance. But can you do better? What if you don't have to make yourself a path through a huge mass of air? By letting another car doing it for you! When you follow someone, there is much less air pressure behind the car than ahead of it. I have measured this effect myself. Where I live, there is a road on a hill that is about 1 mile long. When going down this road on neutral, my car still slows down - air resistance brakes it even though it goes down! But, when I do the same thing while following another car (about 50 feet behind), my speed remains constant. If you do this, just don't follow others from too close!

Riding a pick-up or SUV might be fun and practical, but also expensive. If you think about changing your car, there are quite a few options to consider.

Small gasoline cars. This includes vehicles such as Chevrolet Aveo, Hyundai Accent, Honda Fit, etc. They are ordinary cars that are small and light enough to have a good fuel consumption, but also big enough for everyday uses. You will have a decent size trunk, and the ability to attach a trailer.

Diesel cars. Golf and Jetta TDI comes to mind, among others. Excellent fuel economy for car size. May be a little expensive to buy, because owners usually want to keep them!

Smart. Made by Mercedes, they are very small, so much that you won't fit your grocery bags in. But, they are very economical and are perfect to go to work and / or to travel long distances. They come available with a lot of options are are fun to drive - I speak from personal experience!

Hybrids. Not all of them offer decent economy to offset their steep price. One thing is certain however, over the next years we're gonna see a lot more of them, of better quality and design.

Motorcycles. The smaller ones offer plenty of performance along with a good MPG ratio. Also a fun and exciting way to move yourself around!

For small to medium distances, you may enjoy using your bicycle. Maybe you have an old one that you can re-use, or buy a new or used one for a fraction of what you would pay in gasoline. This is my personal favorite alternative. Not only will you be saving a lot of cash, you will put yourself back in shape while at the same time contributing to a greener world. In urban areas, this is a lot better than being stuck in traffic jams - in fact, you will be going faster!