ALT-16 What you can do to Save Money on Gas
Gas prices are rising with no ceiling in sight. We are all looking for ways to save money on our commutes as the price per gallon escalates. Whether you are driving an SUV or a compact car, making your vehicle as fuel-efficient as possible is important to us all. There are several things that anyone can do to improve fuel efficiency. Here are a few suggestions:
Check your tire pressure: Under-inflated tires can cause the vehicle to lose gas mileage. It is also a safety hazard. Check your tire pressure often and make sure that it is kept at the manufacturer's specified psi.
Slow down: High-speed driving burns more gas than driving at lower speeds. Optimum speed for fuel-efficiency tends to be between 55 and 65 miles per hour for most vehicles. The faster you go, the more gasoline you burn, so keep that in mind the next time you merge onto the highway.
Lose the weight: Quit hauling around all of that unnecessary stuff. Additional weight can drastically affect fuel efficiency. Think about how heavy all of the extra stuff you have in your vehicle weighs. It is dragging your car or truck down, and its hitting you where it hurtsin your wallet.
Keep up with your vehicles maintenance: Fuel efficiency can be dramatically improved with timely changes of your air and fuel filters and fuel injection cleaning.
Plan your trips: Plan your trips to consolidate destinations and errands and to make your driving time as efficient as possible. Fewer miles and fewer starts on a cold engine will create a noticeable savings on your gasoline bill.
Carpool: American's hate being without the independence of driving their own cars, but we may learn to love carpooling when we realize that we are not only saving hundreds of dollars per year on gas, but also sparing our cars the mileage as well. The average work commute for an American is between 20 and 25 minutes each way. Think about how much money you can save by sparing your vehicle over a hundred miles per week by catching a ride with a co-worker. It's a win-win situation for all parties involved.
These gas-saving suggestions have been ones that will apply to all vehicles on the road. There is the question of alternative fuels which can lead to significant cuts of fuel costs for those that want to make an initial investment. Hybrid vehicles, flex fuel vehicles, and bio-diesel are all alternatives to paying high prices at the pump. Both hybrid vehicles and flex fuel vehicles use new technology and tend to have a higher price tag than their gasoline powered counterparts. Bio-diesel can be manufactured to run in any diesel powered vehicle and is extremely cost- effective. A small bio-diesel processor can easily produce diesel fuel from used vegetable oil for approximately one dollar per gallon. Now that is getting your money's worth!
