It may be an unfortunate truth that we have all grudgingly accepted the new, high price of gasoline. Though that hasn’t seemed to stop the oil business from shocking us with forty and fifty cent price jumps at the pump.
Nothing will ruin you day quicker than handing over even more of your hard-earned dollars unexpectedly. However, all is not lost. Jody’s crew five simple tips on getting the most mileage from internal combustion vehicle.
Optimal Speed It’s about the journey, not the destination, right? According to the EPA and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory anywhere from 50-65 miles per hour is going to get a driver optimal fuel efficiency. This all varies according to the weight and design of the vehicle among many other factors.
Chill out! Information from both the EPA and the Economist reported that driving habits like, hard braking, aggressive acceleration and speeding (defined by the EPA as driving over 70MPH) will significantly decrease fuel efficiency. Up to 33% according to the EPA.
Idle Engines The California Energy Commission found that 2 minutes of idling equals up to 1 mile of driving. If you think about all the idling drivers do over a year, that is a lot of gallons of gas spent not getting from point A to point B!
Tire Trouble This one is an oldie, but a goodie, keep your tires inflated to their proper PSI. Many, many tests by people like the EPA, Popular Mechanics and even the pop science geeks from Myth Busters have proven time and again that properly inflated tires saves on gas.
Lose Some Weight The EPA estimates that loosing 100lbs of weight your vehicle carries could increase fuel economy up to 2 percent. Smaller cars will benefit more from shedding pounds. All of that “stuff” you endlessly carry around in your backseat, truck bed or trunk. Get rid of it!