The amount of money that you spend fueling your vehicle often makes up for a significant portion of your transportation expenses. When you are able to save money on fuel, you will be better able to reduce your expenses over time. Keeping your vehicle in the best possible shape is an incredibly important part of enhancing your vehicle’s fuel efficiency. Our team at Ray’s Muffler can help provide the ideal car maintenance to keep your vehicle operating efficiently. Here are a few strategies to help you save money on fuel.
Take Advantage of Cruise Control
When you are driving on the freeway or for an extended period of time, it is often beneficial to ensure that you take advantage of cruise control. This will help you to maintain the speed of your vehicle. According to Newton’s Law, an object that is in motion will stay in motion. It requires less energy (translating to fuel) for you to maintain speed than for you to speed up. Cruise control can help you to reduce your fuel expenses.
Replace Dirty or Old Air Filters
Air filters provide many advantages for your vehicle. When they become clogged or dirty, they will force the vehicle to work harder to perform the same functions. This will increase the amount of fuel that the vehicle requires. By having these filters replaced on a regular basis, you will be able to save money on fuel over time.
Use Preventative Maintenance
Keeping your vehicle in good condition helps to protect its fuel efficiency. When there are problems that impact your vehicle’s operation, they will likely increase the amount of fuel it needs to operate. Preventative maintenance can help to prevent these problems from ever arising in the first place. In addition, these steps will help to identify problems that may otherwise be impacting the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.
Don’t Idle
When you idle in your vehicle, you are allowing the vehicle to burn fuel for no real reason. By reducing the time you spend idling, you will be able to save money on fuel. This is also much better for the environment.
Maintain the Right Tire Pressure
Your vehicle’s tire pressure actually has a large impact on its fuel efficiency. Whenever your tires are even as little as 1 psi below their recommended level, your vehicle can lose around .2% fuel efficiency. Tire pressure also tends to fluctuate with temperatures, so it is important to check your tire pressure regularly throughout the year in order to save money on fuel and protect your fuel efficiency.
Stay Within the Speed Limit
Driving faster will force your vehicle to burn more fuel. When you focus on staying within the speed limit, you will be able to reduce the amount of fuel that is required while driving. Taking this step will also help you to prevent frequent braking. Whenever you slow down your vehicle, you will have to use more fuel to speed up again. By avoiding frequent braking, you can help to save money on fuel. This can be another time when using cruise control is a great decision to reduce your fuel expenditure.
Reduce Air Conditioner Use
When you use your air conditioner, it will require more fuel for your vehicle to operate. Reducing the amount of AC use can similarly save money on fuel. It may be more beneficial to ensure that you roll your windows down, instead. However, this will depend on how quickly you are driving. When you drive faster than 35 mph, the drag from rolled down windows will often use more fuel, which negates any fuel you are saving from not using the air conditioner.
The way you care for your vehicle and the way you drive will both have a substantial impact on the amount of fuel you consume. When you want to save money on fuel, it is often easiest to ensure that you are making these adjustments. If you think your car may have an issue that is impacting its fuel efficiency, it will be important to work with our experts to have the appropriate repairs made. For more information about how to save money on fuel, contact us at Ray’s Muffler today!
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