With the scare at the pumps in recent months, many people were second guessing whether or not they should even drive. Many people opted to buy smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. People were looking for quirky ways to cut their costs, or they just decided to ante up and pay, no matter what the cost. But with these simple tips in mind, you will save a significant amount of money while using your vehicle.
Tires Need Pressure. You should always keep your tires inflated to the max of recommended labels. Soft tires can lead to a lot of lost fuel and mileage.
Check Pressure Regularly. Remeber to check your tire pressure regularly, at least two(2) times per month, but weekly is best.
Use Regular Fuel. If your fueling with premium gas (91 octane) your costing yourself more then needed. Most modern cars only need regular fuel (87 octane) and are designed to use it. This doesn't apply to older vehicles though. Check your owners manual.
Your car is not storage. Don't store everything in your car, if you have lot's of heavy objects these are costing you more money in fuel. Remove the things that are unnecessary.
Buy Fuel on Wednesday. Statistically Wednesdays are usually cheaper to buy gas. However it isn't always true every week. Wednesdays are usually only cheaper over a large period of days.
Take it to the Car Doctor. Keep your vehicle properly tuned. Lack of maintenance can lead to larger more costlier problems. Having your car tuned also saves money on fuel, cause you vehicle utilizes it better and less goes to waste.
Be Zen with your Tank. Never let your gas get to low, or fill up too high. When you gas get's low, it will start to get more of the dirt in your tank to, and this will end up in your engine. However, you can save by not filling up to high, as the extra weight of you fuel costs you too.
Cold Gas = More Gas. Buy gas when it's cooler outside, the density of gas is higher at cooler temp
Exhibit restraint. Accelerate gently and brake gradually. The less strain on your vehicle the better. You can dump a lot of fuel into your tank by breaking abruptly and starting like your racing.
Plan your routes. When making several stops, plan your routes before leaving the house. Knowing exactly where your going can make sure you don't go out of your way when you really needed to be somewhere else.
There are so many ways to save, but there is also a lot of conflicting advice too. Should you leave your tailgate up, or down on a truck? When keeping cool should you roll your windows down, or use your a/c. Chances are your better off if you could do without you air conditioner.
Tailgate Up or Down? The jury is out over whether or not leaving your tailgate up or down helps with saving fuel. Leaving it down, can damage yours or someone elses vehicle. Leaving it up, some people say is good cause it creates a vaccuum in the truck bed, and causes the air to flow over the way it should, instead of into the bed.
Keeping Cool. Some say it's bad to drive with the air conditioning, but in some cases it's probably a better idea then opening your windows, especially when going fast. Your windows open will cause more drag, but in slower speeds, air conditioning is better. Especially if your in a traffic jam. Either way cooling yourself will cause your fuel consumption to go up.
Lisa Hallman, owner of Thrifty Canadian and publisher of many articles on Savings advice for Canadians.