Nothing adds insult to injury worse than seeing a “Low Fuel” warning on your dashboard along with headlines touting high gasoline prices. It’s summertime which means there are plenty of opportunities to break out the wallet and watch your hard-earned cash go directly into your gas tank. After all, petroleum prices are at their seasonal highest since 2008.
So don’t just fill up and forget about it; try and save a little where you can. Popular Mechanics outlined half a dozen surefire ways to reduce the pain at the pump. For example, the kinetics of breaking dictate that the less you coast to a stop, the worse your fuel economy will be. Call it the “Red Light Rule:” you can get a brief boost in MPG (up to 50 percent or more) by anticipating an oncoming stop.
Other tips fly in the face of conventional wisdom but can greatly improve your fuel savings. Did you know that slowly building up to the speed limit actually wastes more gas than “jackrabbit” accelerations? It turns out that cars get worse mileage in lower gears. While it will vary in each car, they tested it and found clear savings in reaching that higher gear sooner.
