How far away do you live from your job? Ten minutes? Thirty minutes? An hour?
If you live far from your job or if you drive a lot, these fuel efficient driving tips will liberate you from spending precious minutes and dollars at the gas pump.
I’ve collected my own data to compile this list to ensure that you’ll come up with the same money-saving results I got. Take note that the more aware you are as a driver, the better results you will reap from this information.
I’ve had these tips put into practice with my own driving for years and saved hundreds of dollars on gas money.
Have a steady foot
You may not have heard of a steady foot, but how about a lead foot?
A lead foot is not ideal for gas mileage because the throttle is linear. What do I mean by that? Simply put, the harder you press the gas pedal, the more fuel is sent to the engine and burned up.
You’re never going to see that fuel again.
Being too aggressive with the throttle will use up your gas quickly. Instead, be light with the pedal. Never put it all the way to the floor. And if you really want to save gas, don’t even go past halfway.
You might be thinking, “I wish there’s some gauge or instrument that can help me out with this.”
Well, there is!
It’s called the tachometer and it’s the second large gauge next to the speed. Here’s a picture of it, the one with numbers 1 through 8.
Also called the RPMs (revolutions per minute x 1000), this gauge basically measures how hard the engine is working. The higher the number displayed on the tachometer, the more fuel is being used to move the car forward.
So, it’s easy to see how lower RPMs makes for less fuel consumption.
To keep the RPMs low, work on being easy with the throttle. As I put it before, have a steady foot.
My rule is to always keep the RPMs below 2000 or 2. Although I speed up quite slower than everybody around me, I am saving a ton of gas in the long run by doing this every time I start.
Prepare for the hills
For most of us, our daily driving doesn’t consist completely of flat road. To be more realistic, we have to throw in some hills, dips and slopes.
So, how do we prepare for this kind of terrain?
Think back to when you were a kid riding your bike down a hill. You could fly down that thing with no effort while still being fast.
Well, it’s the same thing for your car.
When you see a hill coming, slowly begin to accelerate enough to compensate for the hill but don’t exceed 2000 RPMs. Upon reaching the hill, adjust back to normal cruising RPMs. Try to keep it as low as possible. Personally, I aim for 1250. Your goal is to have the speed back to whatever your cruising speed was before the hill.
Note: I would not use cruise control unless you are on flat roads. The car’s computer does not anticipate terrain and therefore cannot adequately prepare for it.
Of course, the result you can get from this tip will depend on the size of the hill. After you reach the top, you can use the downhill slope to gain speed without using any gas.
Basically, you need to ride it like a roller coaster while using the gas pedal as little as possible.
Don’t use the brakes so much
On today’s roads, everyone is constantly driving bumper to bumper. Not only is this dangerous, but it wastes a ton of gas as well.
Be the smart driver on the road. Allow for plenty of room between yourself and the guy in front of you.
Why?
How many times have you approached a stop light and started braking 15 feet before you reached the light? You came to a screeching stop at the line only to realize that the light turned green and you need to start your car again.
There’s a big problem with this.
Your car uses a whole lot more energy to get going from a standstill. So, by stopping and starting constantly, you’re essentially throwing away gas.
Instead, as you approach a red light, start coasting as you get nearer. It will take you longer to get to the light and it may even turn green while you’re coasting towards it. This way, you won’t waste gas by starting your car from a full stop. Do this continually and you’ll be able to save a significant amount of gas money.
There are a ton of ways to save money on gas, but these are the most fuel efficient driving tips in my experience. Put these into use and start using that gas budget on more fun things!