Gas Savers Tips for the Rest of Us

12 Gas Savers Tips

Many of us are just regular working folks who have not wanted or been able to buy new top fuel efficient cars, or even had the time to explore alternative fuels for cars.

So we, at least for now, are going to do everything we can to save on fuel using our current vehicles.

Check out our 12 gas savers tips before your next trip:

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1. Keep your tank half full only. Weight and drag seriously affect fuel efficiency, so based on your tank size, you will be hauling around 75-100 fewer pounds of fuel. Just remember not to run out.

2. Cut the lead foot. Accelerate at a modest pace rather than pedal to the metal style and you will increase your gas mileage for sure. You can do this while getting out of the way of other drivers if you experiment with what reasonable acceleration feels like. We have to stop being lead foot gas guzzlers, but rather gas savers.

3. Don't drive so fast you have to hit the brakes all the time. This accomplishes four things: You are saving gas by not hitting top speeds, you are likely reducing your chances of an accident, and you are decreasing wear on your brakes, and you are probably not going to get a big fat ticket for speeding. Win win.

4. Plan around traffic jams. Idling, braking and accelerating in a traffic jam is unavoidable, and coupled with the fact that traffic jams last a long time, jams are eating up your gas further.

5. Don't rule out carpooling. There are many activities we go to that really could work. You can organize yourselves and take turns driving kids to after school activities where groups of parents are all going to the same event. College kids make the rounds of your friends and take turns driving. Adult co-workers can do the same, even though most of us don't want to spend extra time with co-workers. If this is the case with you, don't miss our page on the best home based businesses!

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6. Here's a little known gas savers tip: Fill your tank when it's cold outside. It is a fact that fuel is at it's most dense when cooler. Since your engine accepts fuel by it's weight, yet the pump dispenses it by volume. Cold fuel equals more fuel in your tank.

7. Drop the weight. Empty out anything heavy in your trunk or backseat you don't really need, and remove the roof lockers, bicycle and ski racks off season.

8. Drop the drag. Aerodynamic drag hurts gas mileage, so roll up the windows by the time you him 55 mph. Drag is a gas savers, well, drag.

9. Combine Trips. Organize yourself so that you have at least three stops to make when it is errand day. Don't allow yourself to just run out one trip at a time, say for that milk you could have got while you were in town yesterday.

10. Likewise, organize yourself by week or by month, taking care of the big three places you always have to go, other than work or school. For many families this means the grocery store, the gas station and an assortment of errands. Do them all, big time, in one day every two weeks and you will have lot's of gas left.

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11. Here's a techie gas savers tip: Get traffic alerts automatically sent to your cell phone, or check your iphone for google maps. The freeways are shown as green for go, yellow for congested and red for jammed. Ah, technology.

12. If you don't have a smart aleck phone then listen to the local radio for traffic alerts, which are usually frequent and often.