Long road trips can be a fun adventure and are often cheaper than buying flights for several people if traveling cross-country. However, that’s not to say that a long road trip is always inexpensive. The cost of gas alone can be quite high.
Fortunately, there are a handful of things that you can do to make your car more fuel-efficient. Read on for a few different ways to improve your car’s mileage and save gas money.
Save Gas Money Through Maintenance
The best thing that you can do to reduce how much you spend at the pump is to keep your car in good shape. By staying on top of regular maintenance like flushing the oil and checking the tire pressure, you can ensure that your vehicle is running at peak efficiency. Not only will this save you money on gas every time you fill up, but it will also reduce the cost and frequency of more serious repairs down the road.
Reduce Drag and Weight
Another thing that you can do to make your car efficient is to reduce the amount of drag that your vehicle experiences. Things like a roof rack can catch the wind and make your engine work harder to accelerate.
In a similar vein, you should reduce the amount of excess weight that your car is carrying with it to improve your fuel efficiency. Take off bike racks, spare tires, or other heavy items that you aren’t using to make your vehicle lightweight and responsive.
Fuel Additives
If you have a diesel engine, you may want to consider using diesel fuel additives. This is because diesel engines can develop a build-up of gunk and grime, which can gum up the moving parts of your engine and cause your fuel efficiency to plummet. Additives will work to dissolve that gunk and get your engine working at peak efficiency again in no time.
Cruise Control
Braking and accelerating excessively on the highway are a quick way to burn through excess gas. Making use of cruise control can help you maintain a steady speed and keep your fuel consumption at a steady and lower rate.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there is an optimal speed for maximizing your fuel efficiency. Staying in the 55 to 65 miles per hour range will help you achieve the best mileage depending on the make and model of your car. You should avoid speeding wherever possible.
Do Whatever It Takes to Save Gas Money
Keep in mind that to save the greatest amount of gas money possible, you should put as many as the above tips into practice as you can. Combining cruise control with a lighter vehicle will save you much more than picking one gas-saving technique over the other.
For more information about maintaining or repairing your vehicle, check out the rest of our website!