Due to soaring gas prices in today’s world, miles per gallon is an extremely important number for people when they go to purchase a new or used car. It’s becoming more and more expensive to drive a car that uses up tons of gas but doesn’t go very far on it, so people are turning to more fuel efficient cars. Despite what the sticker on the car says, actual gas mileage may vary based on plenty of different factors.
Take Care of What’s Under the Body of Your Vehicle
If parts of a vehicle aren’t maintained well enough, gas mileage starts to degrade rapidly. It’s important to take care of tires, change the oil, and replace old parts in a vehicle. Without the right amount of air, deflated tires can lead to a drop in mileage. The same goes for old oil – or a lack of it – as the engine won’t be able to run efficiently. Replacing air filters on some but not all vehicles will help gas mileage, as will swapping out old spark plugs. Maintaining a vehicle is important and directly related to fuel efficiency.
Lessen What’s Inside Your Vehicle
Obviously, the more weight inside of or on top of a vehicle, the more fuel it will burn in order to move. Every extra 100 pounds added to a car’s weight can decrease fuel efficiency by as much as 5 miles per gallon. Getting rid of unnecessary items in a vehicle will help reduce its weight. Vehicles shouldn’t be used for storage of items that don’t need to be there.
Drive Efficiently
Constant flooring of the accelerator and slamming on the brakes will drastically lower fuel economy. The difference between hitting 50 miles per hour as fast as possible and gradually accelerating to that speed is huge. Using the brakes as little as possible through coasting is a smart idea, as is accelerating to speeds slowly. Efficient driving can improve gas mileage by a lot, depending on a driver’s typical driving behavior.
In Conclusion
At the end of the day, it may be a better choice to find a new vehicle. Some vehicles get such bad gas mileage that the cost of a new – brand new or used – vehicle will end up saving a person thousands of dollars over a span of a few years. Hundreds of factors affect fuel economy, but drivers can do simple things to improve their car’s gas mileage. Sadly, the car sticker that lists fuel economy is determined with nearly perfect driving conditions that most drivers won’t experience in reality when they drive the same car. Keeping a car in top performance shape and driving efficiently can go a long way in saving tons of money.
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