Fuel costs seem to always be rising! Everyone wants to save money on gas, but nobody wants to line up half an hour for cheap gas. Carpooling may not always be an option for you, and most people don’t want to buy a new car purely for fuel-efficiency.
Here are some of the more practical tips to save on car fuel that real people can actually apply easily to save money at the gas pump. Bonus tips to follow for the ultra thrifty folks trying to scrape up every last penny!
11 Practical Fuel Saving Tips
Plan and Optimize your Errands / Outings / Excursions
Not only will you save yourself time, but you’ll save money on gas! Simply taking the time to go through in your head, what you need to during the week, trips you need to make to the grocery store, dry cleaners, school pick up / drop off / sports etc.
This may seem blatantly obvious, but it’s amazing how many people make multiple short trips for things like milk & bread in their cars that could be eliminated by simply planning ahead of time. Avoid spending your time and gas money running out to the store for a lonely carton of eggs
Properly inflate your Tires and Keep your Vehicle Maintained
Keeping your tires inflated to the proper levels is a fairly simple way to increase your gas mileage and extend the life of your tires. The recommended tire pressure (PSI) can be found on a sticker inside your driver’s side door jamb.
Tire pumps that plug into your car’s lighter or power supply are fairly cheap and can be helpful in case of a roadside emergency. It’s also easy to fill your tires at most gas stations. Keeping your tires at the proper level is safer and can save you up to 3% in fuel costs.
It’s also important to note that keeping your vehicle maintained overall with proper and adequate motor oil, clean filters, working sensors – will also help keep your fuel efficiency at optimal levels.
Consider Toll Roads vs. Heavy Traffic
Some of us thrifty folks may try to avoid toll highways at all costs, but sometimes it makes more sense to think big picture. If a $3-4 toll charge is going to save us 30 minutes of idling and crawling along in bumper-to-bumper traffic, it just might be worthwhile. Consider that versus the cost of burning gasoline while not moving. You’ll probably save yourself some sanity at the same time.
Avoid Excessive Speed
Statistics show that once you start getting above 100 km/h, generally your fuel efficiency begins to drop. Higher RPMs, higher drag and a harder working engine will burn more fuel. Find the optimal driving speed for your car.
Generally, it will be between 90-100 km/h – not that you should be going 90 on the highway at all times – but avoiding going 130 km/h will definitely be kinder to your wallet (and this doesn’t even take into account your potential savings on speeding tickets).
Use a Smartphone GPS App
Investing in a good GPS App with live traffic capability, or even a free one like WAZE will help you avoid traffic jams and reduce your overall commute time in most cases. Burning gasoline while not moving is never efficient, so let modern technology help you avoid it!
Carry Less Weight
Apparently, every 100 lbs of weight removed from your vehicle can save you 1-2% in fuel efficiency. That statistic might be variable and questionable, but there is no doubt that having less weight in your car will make it more fuel-efficient. So if your car is completely stuffed full of junk – get rid of it.
Don’t tow a trailer around if you don’t need to as well, or a large roof box or rack full of junk if practical not to. If you’re super-motivated to save gas – go on a diet! If you’re seriously overweight, dropping 50 lbs can save you money on gas. Get your partner to join in and you’ll double the gas savings, not to mention reap the health benefits!
Don’t warm your car up for 15 minutes in the Driveway
So how long should you warm up your car in the winter, when it’s freezing cold out? A simple Google search brings up a big fat 30 seconds – apparently agreed upon by experts. There’s no doubt that idling your car on the driveway is wasting fuel.
You may want it running those extra couple minutes so you aren’t freezing, but your car will actually warm up faster when it’s being driven! Simply put, don’t let your car sit warming up for excessive amounts of time. Better yet – keep it in the garage if you have the option.
Use a Cash Back Credit Card for Gas
Many credit cards offer special cashback rates on categories such as gasoline. Use them to your advantage and put all your gas purchases on the card. Add a card to your account for your spouse to use or utilize the same card for all your fuel purchases. 2-3% cashback can add up, not to mention some cards have special introductory rates for the first few months.
Bonus Tips for the Ultra Thrifty
Buy Gift Cards at Reduced Rates
Buy Gift Cards at Reduced RatesLots of times you can find discounted gift cards for gas bars specifically. You’re buying gasoline anyway, so if you pay for the card upfront, you will save money!
Get creative and buy store-specific gift cards. For example, Canadian Tire gift cards and other large chains are sometimes discounted and can be used for purchases at their gas stations.
Drive Smoothly and Carefully
Driving smoothly at all times can be taxing, but can also save you money on fuel and will save wear and tear on your vehicle. Avoiding quick acceleration will save gas, no doubt. You also want to try and anticipate traffic as much as possible along with traffic lights and traffic signs. This will help you avoid excessive use of your brakes.
Judging your speed and costing to stop lights/signs and even avoiding braking on the highway will all help reduce fuel costs by limiting your acceleration and stops and starts. If I recall there was an episode of Top Gear where the host drove 800 miles on a regular size tank of gas, avoiding using the brakes at all costs. Incredibly tiring and verging on the ridiculous – but definitely saving ‘petrol’.
Get an Electric or Hybrid Vehicle
The cost vs. savings on this option is definitely debatable once driving distances/rebates/charging costs come into play, but there’s no doubt you’ll be saving money on gasoline with an electric vehicle. Of course, some of us don’t want to go to the extreme of purchasing a new car to do so.
Even if the overall costs are similar, you may want to go this route simply for the green factor including environmental concerns and lowering your carbon footprint.
Turn off the Air Conditioning
Hey, if you really want to save some extra cash in the summer, just turn off your A/C while you’re out on the roads. The key here though is to only roll your windows down for that “free air conditioning” at slow speeds. If you’re going to roll your windows down, you’re actually better off using your A/C on the highway or in general at higher speeds.
Unfortunately, the amount of drag the open windows cause will render your fuel-saving attempts useless. The real key to saving money with this tip is to keep those windows down and bake in your car as you drive.
Time your Gas Fill Ups
There are lots of websites that monitor the price of gas like Gasbuddy that you can search locally. Keep your eye out for the best prices and the closest gas stations and remember them.
Also, keep track of the best times of day and days of the week to fill up and take advantage. Before long weekends are notoriously the worst times to fill your tank, so plan ahead before you notice you’re almost on empty!
Take the Bus or Walk
Sounds crazy right? The best way of all to save on fuel is to skip taking the car. Carpool to work/take the bus, public transit or even make the odd trip to the grocery store on foot – provided you aren’t bringing back a large haul.
