Driving to save fuel

Here are a few tips I stole from The Good Human, sorry Dave. But they bear repeating and I did give you a plug.

1. Driving 55 vs. 70 mph saves up to 20% more fuel. Use cruise control when appropriate to save even more. (This is a biggy people, slow down and save more than just fuel)

2. Drive consistently. Jackrabbit starts and hard stops burn more gas.

3. Avoid idling. Sitting in the drive-through for 15 minutes for that quarter-pound burger can burn up to a quarter of a gallon of gas. Consider parking and going inside to order. Think about how much that burger ends up costing when you add the cost of the fuel you just burned waiting for it.

4. Chill out. Roll down your windows to cool off in city driving, saving the air conditioner for highway travel, when open windows are a drag - literally - on a vehicle’s aerodynamics.

5. Lighten the load. Carrying extra cargo burns more gas. So take the golf clubs out of the trunk when not hitting the links.

6. Fill up when it’s cool. Early morning or late evening fill-ups generate fewer vapors.

7. Don’t top off the tank. Doing so can result in spilled gasoline, which creates environmental issues. There’s a good reason why the nozzle automatically shuts off, pay attention to it.

8. Use the correct fuel grade. Unless the manufacturer requires it, high-octane gas is a waste of money. The vast majority of engines are not high-performance and therefore you are wasting money on high grade. Read your owners manual.

9. Climb every mountain…but build up speed first, then maintain it on the way up. Coast down to save gas.

10. Remove the roof rack. If you don’t need it, stop wasting gas carrying it around.

11. Get a tune up. A properly tuned engine improves fuel economy by about four percent, according to the EPA. Doesn’t sound like much but it adds up.

12. Replace a dirty air filter. One that is full of dirt, or even marginally dirty, makes the engine work harder and can let impurities damage the engine. Replacing a plugged air filter improves fuel economy by up to 10%. An even bigger saving than tune-ups.

13. Keep your tires properly inflated. Under-inflated tires can decrease mileage by 3% and can lead to reduced tire life-spans, not to mention decreased stopping ability.

Common sense tips that everyone can do and they all add up to stretching our limited supply of fuel as far as possible. Let’s all do our part.