How You Drive Can Make A Difference on Gas






by Karen McFarland


There are several factors on the amount of fuel your vehicle uses. One of these is how you drive your vehicle. You might increase fuel consumption by speeding. You can also burn excess gas by punching the gas when a light turns green. Not only will speeding get you a ticket, it will burn gas. Will using the cruise control make a difference in my gas mileage?

Driving erratically will guzzle a lot of gas. Proper gas consumption can be obtained by driving at a steady speed. If you have problems fluctuating speeds, cruise control will help. Cruise control may relax you. It was actually designed to help gas consumption. When the speeds you travel are kept at an even pace your MPH will increase. You can also save gas by using your overdrive gear. To reduce risks of accidents, use the cruise control and overdrive.

Overdrive is a default feature on most cars that are automatic. These are created to save fuel. An automatic car will shift in and out of overdrive as necessary. You may manually have to take the car out of overdrive. Overdrive kicks in at 43 MPH. If you go down a steep hill, you may want to take the car out of overdrive.

How much gas does it use up to drive at higher speeds? If you want good gas mileage, don't speed. Keeping a constant speed saves on gas and so does leaving stop lights at a steadily increased speed rather than jumping out from the light. Other driving habits like following too close to the car in front will mean a loss of good gas mileage. Close following g means more breaking. Breaking hard will mean more fuel usage. You'll conserve more fuel if you drive defensively. You need to make sure your vehicle has time to slow down. Leave home sooner, so you aren't speeding. When traveling at 70mph, there is more resistance than at 50. It is best to keep your pace at around 55. You'll be be spending 20 cents more on every gallon for every 5mph you travel over 60.

Other Considerations

Keeping windows rolled up will spare gas. Also, having items attached to the exterior of your vehicle like bikes or skies or luggage racks will cause wind drag and decrease your gas mileage.




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