Here are some useful tips that can help you cut your gas costs and reduce vehicle emissions.
Regularly check your car’s tire pressure. You can improve your gas mileage by several percent just by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. To check the pressure, don’t look on the tire. Check your owner’s manual or the label on the inside of the driver’s door for the correct PSI rating. The number on the tire’s sidewall is the maximum PSI and should not be used.
Make sure you check your tire PSI when the tires are cold. Maintaining the correct PSI, or pounds per square inch, in your car’s tires will give you better gas mileage, so check pressures once a month before you start driving and add air accordingly.
Drive with care. Slow down and don’t drive aggressively. You’d be surprised at how much cash you could end up saving. Speeding costs money. For every mile an hour over 55 you travel on the highway, your fuel economy goes down by 2%.
Keep you vehicles as long as possible, and find a local mechanic you trust.
Based on total ownership costs over five years — including insurance, fuel, repairs and depreciation — the results are firmly in favor of hanging on to your old car. If your car is not covered under a warranty, it is a good idea to develop a relationship with one repair shop manager.
Find someone that you like and trust and make sure he or she knows you are a faithful customer. A little effort will certainly pay off in the long run by saving you money. If youve ever had an unexpected emergency, its always good to have someone on speed dial that can help you out quickly, and wont nickel and dime you.
Take the stuff out of your car. The heavier your car is, the more gas it burns. An extra 100 pounds in your trunk can lower your gas mileage by 2%, and luggage on a roof rack can decrease your gas mileage by 5%, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Carrying around items you dont need only will make your vehicles fuel economy worse. Remove all the excess stuff from your car when youre not using it. If you can take your roof racks crossbars off when youre not using them.
Always pay attention to the oil light. When it comes to oil, you’re bettor off being safe rather than sorry. We recommend that all drivers get to a service station right away if the oil light comes on.
It’s critical to change the oil when necessary. But doing so more often than your vehicle’s manufacturer recommends simply doesn’t always pay off. Everyones vehicle is different, so use the manual’s recommendations for oil changes.
Invest in technology like GPS navigation. With gas prices this high, GPS navigation is your new best friend. High fuel prices are putting the squeeze on drivers but theres not much we can do about it. Instead, lets focus on consuming less gas. GPS helps drivers get to their destination as quickly and safely as possible. The Aberdeen Group, an independent research firm, concluded in 2008 that a GPS fleet tracking system can reduce a drivers fuel costs by 13.2% on average.
For most people, once you have a GPS, you can never drive without it. GPS helps put an end to wasting time and gas on behavior like driving around in circles looking for your destination, and to backtracking because you missed a stop. Modern GPS navigation systems, such as the Garmin Nuvi 3750, have real-time traffic alerts, so the devices will calculate the best route for your journey.
For businesses, the savings can really add up. A GPS fleet tracking system has proven time and time again to reduce fuel costs. For example, if a fleet of 25 vehicles reduced idling time by only 15 minutes per day, it could easily result in fuel savings of 562.5 gallons reducing costs by roughly $1,986 per year at current diesel gas prices. If you reduce idling time by 60 minutes, it would result in a fuel savings of 2,250 gallons at a cost of almost $7,500 per year!
Select the most fuel efficient vehicle the journey. Don’t take the family SUV or a big truck when you can drive a smaller and more fuel efficient vehicle.
Don’t let you car warm up before you start driving. Modern vehicle technology built in the past 10 years allows your car to operate at very near its top efficiency the moment it starts. Letting a car idle while you wait for the engine to warm up or for the heater to kick in is a waste of gas.
About the Author:
Codi David
GPS Fleet Tracking and
Fleet Management
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