4 Tips to Improve Gas Mileage

With 2020 as the exception, my son and I take an annual roadtrip. It’s typically a week long so we use quite a bit of gas as we drive 1,200 – 1,500 miles. As I look at ideas for this year’s trip, and see gas prices rising rapidly, I decided I would share some tips on how to get better mileage. Below are a few offered up by AAA:

1. Plan your trips. If you need to make more than one stop while out running errands, map out a route before you go so you don’t end up backtracking. And avoid rush hour if you can.

2. Watch your speed. Fuel economy peaks at around 50 miles-per-hour on most cars, then drops off as speeds increase. So not having a lead foot on the highway helps. Also rapid acceleration and hard braking can lower fuel economy by 40% in stop-and-go traffic.

3. Don’t idle. A car engine consumes around a half gallon of fuel per hour when idling, but a warm engine only takes around 10 seconds worth of fuel to restart. So if you’re going to be stopped for a couple minutes, it’s better to just turn the car off.

4. Maintain your car. Cars that aren’t maintained well are less efficient and use more fuel. Stuff like missed oil changes, under inflated tires, and dirty air filters can all lower your fuel economy.