Tips to Ease The Pain at the Gas Pump

The Alliance to Save Energy offers the following tips for cutting gas costs:

Before Hitting the Road&

Keep tires properly inflated. Properly inflated tires are safer, last longer, and can improve your gas mileage by 3% or more.

Use the recommended grade of motor oil. Improve your gas mileage by 1-2%. Select motor oil with “Energy Conserving” on the API performance symbol. It contains friction-reducing additives.

Keep your engine properly tuned. Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by about 4%, and replacing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve gas mileage up to 40%!

Check and replace air filters regularly. Replacing a clogged or dirty air filter can improve your car’s gas mileage by as much as 10% and keeps impurities from damaging the inside of your engine.

Plan ahead for the shortest, most gas-saving itinerary. You will save fuel and also wear and tear on your car. Combining errands into one trip saves you time and money. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer, multi-stop trip of the same distance with a warm engine.

If you own more than one vehicle, drive the one that gets better gas mileage whenever possible. Do you really need that SUV for trips to the video store?

Once You’re Behind the Wheel …

Don’t speed! Gas mileage declines rapidly above 60 mph. Each 5 mph increase above 60 is like paying an additional 10 cents a gallon for gasoline.

Road rage costs. Aggressive driving wastes gas and can lower your gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and 5 percent in town. Nix jack-rabbit starts in favor of slow acceleration from a dead stop.

Avoid excessive idling, which gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines usually waste more gas while idling than those with smaller engines.

Take advantage of cruise control. Using cruise control on the highway helps maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, save gas.

Use your overdrive gears to lower engine speed, save gas, and reduce engine wear.

Think Before You Commute …

Stagger your work hours, if possible, to avoid peak rush hours. You’ll spend less time sitting in traffic, consume less fuel, and avoid additional stress.

Take advantage of available carpools and ride-share programs. This cuts weekly fuel costs, reduces wear on your car, and allows you to use less-congested High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.

Consider public transportation. Check the American Public Transportation Association’s website for local information (www.apta.com/links/state_local/).

Consider telecommuting – working from home – if and when possible.

Taking a Trip?

Avoid carrying items on your vehicle’s roof. A loaded roof rack or carrier increases aerodynamic drag, which cuts mileage by 5%. Place items inside the trunk whenever possible to improve your fuel economy.

Travel light. Avoid carrying unneeded items, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk cuts a typical car’s fuel economy 1-2%.

When renting a car, ask for a model that gets better fuel economy.

Craving that “New Car” Smell?

When buying a new vehicle, think high gas mileage. Check out the DOE website (www.fueleconomy.gov) and the ACEEE website (www.greenercars.com) for information on fuel-efficient vehicles. Learn about current electric drive vehicles on the Electric Drive Transportation Association website ([sorry this link is no longer available]).

Consider purchasing a hybrid, which can provide a $1,500 tax deduction this year. Consumer Reports says that in its tests, the redesigned Toyota Prius hybrid – which gets 44 mpg with near-zero emissions – outscored four midsized family sedans and finished sixth out of 15 similarly priced sedans. The consumer magazine named the Prius its “Top Pick” in the Green Car category.

And Finally …

Get your exercise! Whenever possible, walk to your destination. You’ll lose weight, lower stress, save gas, and reduce pollution.

++++

Founded in 1977, the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) is a non-profit coalition of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders. ASE supports energy efficiency as a cost-effective energy resource under existing market conditions and advocates energy-efficiency policies that minimize costs to society and individual consumers, and that lessen greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global climate.