It’s pretty common knowledge that gas prices are sky-high right now, and that they don’t look to be coming down anytime soon. With that in mind, Heinrich Chevrolet presents to you some tips and ideas to help keep your fuel costs as low as possible without not putting your Chevy in storage. You may have heard of a few of these tips before, but some others may surprise you. In any event it is our sincere hope that Heinrich Chevy can help you save some money as you cruise the strip(s) this summer.
- Drive Calmly: Aggressive accelerations, fast braking, and liberal use of the gas pedal not only terrifies your passenger, it also hurts your gas mileage by about 33% on the highway. Driving calmly on the other hand retains that fuel, and also typically results in less traffic tickets (another avoidable expense) and puts off car repairs. It is also a very good way to stay out of traffic accidents. Those three items alone should be enough to convince any lead-foot to drive easier. We’re not saying you should be reciting your favorite Zen Koan while driving. But you can save yourself from higher fuel expenses and the most frustrating game of ‘hurry-up-and-wait’ there is.
- Top Mileage Occurs Under 60 MPH: Although we all feel a deep, personal resonance with Sammy Hagar when he proudly exclaims that he ‘can’t drive fifty five’, in the interest of lower fuel expenses, we must persist and find away to do exactly that. Studies on the matter have shown this to be the case, and it’s held up to scrutiny over the years very well. Although the title of that link may give you second thoughts. But this is about your money! Use it how you see fit!
- Keep it Light: A bit of a no-brainer for our physics buffs reading the blog, but still worth mentioning, taking any excess weight out of your car gives you better gas mileage. The more you can take out the better your fuel savings. Without delving into a host of Greek letters and math symbols, I can tell you that a lighter car requires less power to get it to move. By using less power, your car inherently uses less gas.
- Idle Engines are the Devil’s Plaything: Say your running into a Tim Horton’s for a quick cup of joe, or you just need to drop something off for Aunt Ruth, or even better it is freezing outside and you want to hop into a warm vehicle, an idle engine doesn’t seem like a big deal. Well it is! An idle engine can burn up to ½ gallon of fuel in an hour, add up all the time taken to handle the three items listed above and you see how quickly that adds up to a lot of fuel. Especially in the wintertime for those who like to ‘preheat’
- Use the Overdrive Gears: According to the Federal Government overdrive gears not only save you fuel they reduce engine stress as well. Perhaps this should just become the new drive setting after all. However, I am sure the hordes of engineers who handle these things could provide some data which contradicts my stance.
- Keeping Your Engine Tuned Up: Just as doctors recommend that you stretch before running, or that you make sure to keep your fluids up with water during a workout, your car needs to be kept tuned up to allow for a maximizing of fuel economy. Emissions play a big role in this and can help you bump up your fuel efficiency by 4%
- And Keep Your Tires Inflated Properly: Not only do properly inflated tires increase your safety on the road, they can also lead to savings of close to $.13 a gallon. This is likely the most well-known tactic on our list, but combining all of these items can put you way ahead of the game as far as
- There’s a few other tactics that will help you here as well, embracing car pooling, looking for ways to incorporate public transportation, and using sites like http://www.buffalogasprices.com to help you lower the cost of fuel by not using as much!
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