Gas Mileage Series Part 2
In the last installment of the gas mileage series (https://www.freequotesandlowinsurancerates.com/2012/07/5-tricks-for-better-gas-mileage/), we talked about the top 5 things that you can do to get better gas mileage. I mean, lets face it, gas prices aren’t going to go down any time soon, so getting more bang for your buck might really be worth it.
This time, we are going to talk about driving techniques that can help you save money.
Most people think that in order to save money driving, you have to drive like those little old ladies going 40mph in the fast lane, but this is not the case. It’s more about keeping a steady speed than going slow. Actually, many cars optimum speed is around 60, but that doesn’t really help when you’re not on the highway.
Think about using the break as little as possible. Remember the speed limit is a limit, not a goal. Accelerating as fast as possible to get to the limit uses a lot more gas than slowly easing the car faster. Every time you have to hit the break, that’s wasted gas, and the faster you are going before you slam on the break is all that potential energy going to waste.
Of course you are going to actually going to have to use your break, whether it’s for the car in front of you, a red light or a stop sign. And every once in a while something surprising is going to jump out in front of you and you will have to slam on your breaks (especially in Vegas). However, if you can see a stop coming up, take that foot off the gas and let the car slow down before you have to hit the break. This allows your car’s momentum to propel you forward for a while instead of the gas.
Now, for those of you that enjoy the standard shift cars, as much fun as it is to rev the engine to very high rpms before shifting, it’s actually costing you a lot of money. The less your car has to work, the less gas you have to use. Unless you really have to accelerate fast, like to get onto a freeway for example, shifting sooner will be easier on your car’s engine. This will save you money, not only on gas, but on maintenance too.
So go ahead, challenge yourself, see how many miles you can clock on your next tank.