Four Great Gas-Saving Ideas

Here's a list of good gas-saving tips from CNN Money (see end of their article):

• Make sure your tires are properly inflated for starters. Besides posing a safety hazard, underinflated tires can reduce your fuel economy slightly, based on Edmunds.com's 2005 study.

• Removing excess weight from your car can also help save you gas. The Department of Energy estimates that drivers can save anywhere between 3 and 6 cents a gallon (assuming gas prices of $2.97 a gallon) just by removing those golf clubs and other unnecessary weight from your trunk.

• If your car comes equipped with cruise control, make sure you use it, especially on long trips. Edmunds.com's study revealed that using cruise control at highway speeds offered an average fuel economy savings of 7 percent.

• But the biggest fuel saver is driving the speed limit and driving sensibly. Rapid starts and stops and exceeding the speed limit will dent your pocketbook. Just by adhering to one of those, the Department of Energy estimates that drivers can save anywhere between 15 and 98 cents a gallon, again assuming pump prices are at $2.97 a gallon.

Here's how I do on these:

1. Yep. I know I should pay more attention to this. I still need to buy that air compressor too.

2. I do a fairly decent job of keeping the back of my truck clean -- though it has a tendency to get filled with junk during basketball season (my son plays and I coach.) That said, basketballs don't weigh very much.

3. I NEVER use cruise control. Why? First of all, if I did, I think I'd fall asleep. Second, it just seems like I have more control of the car if I'm managing the accelerator.

4. I always go a bit (but only a bit) faster than the speed limit, but I do not accelerate or brake rapidly when driving. So at least I have something going for me, huh? ;-)

Comments

[Karen]

My trunk is clean. I use cruise if I'm on a highway if the traffic isn't bad and people are maintaining a constant speed. I do need to check my tires. And I've started becomming more aware of my starts and stops.

I always calculate what my gas mileage was after I fill my tanks. Usually I run 27-28 mpg. Every once in a blue moon I am 29 mpg. But this last tank--with the awareness of stops and starts and trying to take tem slow--I eeked out 31.222 mpg! Yippie. The savings won't buy me a house, but with gas at $3.35 a gallon around here now, every little bit helps!

[sj]

Points 1 & 2 completely makes sense.

But dont know if alot of people will follow 3 & 4. Driving at posted speed ? When was the last time anyone did that :)