Ten Tips To Save On Gasoline
By Jeffrey Strain, Fri Dec 9th

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Ten Tips To Save On By Jeffrey Strain

Gas prices continue to be near all time highs meaning that cartravel is taking a a larger portion out of each of yourpaychecks. AAA estimates that the cost of driving a carincluding all direct and indirect costs has surpassed 50 cents agallon with that price expected to rise.

Reducing the cost of driving your car can be done fairly easysimply by paying a bit more attention to your car. Here are 10easy ways to cut the amount of gas your car uses:

1. Purchase your when it's coolest outside such as inthe early morning or at night. Gas becomes denser in coolertemperatures. Since gas pumps only measure the volume of fuel -and not the density - you'll get better overall gas mileage foryour money by purchasing fuel when it's cool outside rather thanin the heat of the day.

2. Religiously check your car's tire pressure each month (makesure to purchase a good-quality dial-type gauge for yourself --pencil-style gauges and the ones mounted on the air hose areunreliable according to federal government surveys). Underinflated tires reduce fuel efficiency by 2% for every pound theyare under inflated. Under inflation also causes premature tirewear giving your tires a shorter use life.

3. Slow down and drive at the speed limit. Cars use about 20%more fuel driving at 70 miles per hour than they do at 55 milesper hour.

4. Avoid using air conditioning whenever possible. Airconditioning reduces fuel economy by 10% to 20%. Use the airventilation system instead.

5. Don't drive with open windows when traveling at high speeds.Open windows on the highway can reduce fuel efficiency by 10%.It's much better to use the ventilation system.

6. Remove car racks and other items which make your car lessaerodynamic when they're not being used. Leaving them on onlymakes your car less fuel

efficient and costs you money.

7. There is no need to let your car idle. Even on cold mornings,cars don't need to idle more than 30 seconds. Newer cars aredesigned to be driven almost immediately and letting your caridle longer is a waste of gas.

8. It's more efficient to turn off your car and turn it on againthan to let it idle for more than 45 seconds while waiting.

9. Remove all the excess weight from your car. Many people usetheir car trunk as a storage space adding unneeded pounds to thecar's weight. This unnecessary weight reduces the car's fuelefficiency by about 1% for every 100 lbs.

10. For most cars, higher octane gas is simply a waste of money.Regular unleaded (approx. 87 octane or so) is the leastexpensive and what you should purchase. It's important toremember that octane is a measurement of how hard it is toignite the gas, not the quality of the gas. Purchase mid or highoctane gas only if your engine pings, knocks or rattles whenusing regular unleaded fuel.

About the author:Copyright (c) Jeffrey Strain. He is owner of www.paidtodriveautowrap.com - a website dedicated to telling you the truth on whygetting paid to drive a car isn't as easy as many make it out tobe.