Whether it’s to do your part for the environment or simply to help out your pocketbook, minimizing your fuel consumption is always a good idea. Fortunately, there are several key things you can do, from replacing your current vehicle with a more fuel-efficient model, to adopting some new driving habits to boost the fuel economy of the vehicle you have now.

Here’s a list of eleven tips to help you get the most miles out of every gallon:

Anticipation and Strategizing – This is perhaps the single most effective way to conserve fuel. By anticipating what is happening ahead, you can drive in such a way as to minimize acceleration and braking, and maximize coasting time.

Smoother Driving – Related to the suggestion above, accelerating and braking aggressively considerably decreases overall mileage of any vehicle. Adopting a smoother driving style can hep you save a lot of gas, and reduce wear and tear on your car as well.

Avoid Idling – If you’ll be idling for more than thirty seconds, turn you engine off. Don’t concern yourself with the burst of fuel needed to restart; you will still conserve overall by not idling.

Use Cruise Control – Keeping your driving speed steady and at a constant moderate pace is quite fuel efficient, and using cruise control takes the guess work out of it.

Keep Your Car Well Maintained – A dirty air filter or spark plugs that are in poor condition can reduce your fuel mileage up to 20%.

Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated – Not only are under-inflated tires dangerous, they also waste a lot of fuel. Over-inflated tires also reduce efficiency, so it is best to keep your tires properly inflated, balanced and aligned.

Optimize Your Travel – Try as much as possible to consolidate your trips, and, if at all possible, schedule your travel to avoid the busiest times.

Refrain from Overfilling Your Tank ­– Trust the auto-shutoff at the gas station, as overfilling can be wasteful

Reduce Drag and Mass – A tremendous amount of your vehicle’s energy is expended in overcoming air resistance. This workload can be dramatically reduced by removing luggage or bike racks, using lower profile tires, emptying your trunk of unnecessary items and rolling up your windows. 

Ensure that Your Gas Cap is Snug-Fitting – If your gas cap isn’t sealed, gas is simply vaporizing!

Use the Right Octane Level for Your Car – You can save money by using the lowest octane gasoline that your car will tolerate. Though there may be performance loss, some vehicles that call for higher octane fuel can in fact run on regular unleaded. We suggest that you check your owner’s manual to be sure.
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We hope you enjoyed this post. If there is anything else we can do to help you feel free to call us at (805) 466-2446 (Atascadero) or (805) 239-8752 (Paso Robles). And be sure to stay connected with us on Facebook as well!