How to Improve Gas Mileage on a Long Road Trip

The price of gasoline is ridiculously high these days. A long road trip can cost you a small fortune. However, if you follow a few tips you can significantly increase your gas mileage on a long road trip. The farther you go the more you can save.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

How to Improve Gas Mileage on a Long Road Trip

1. Lighten your load. Before you go anywhere empty your vehicle of everything you don't need for your long road trip. Go through your glove compartment, ash tray, and trunk. Poke around beneath, between and inside every seat. You will be amazed by the amount of junk you find. All those used food wrappers, old magazines and other garbage add up to some serious weight. It is common for people to drive around with more than 200 pounds of junk. That's like riding around with an extra person and significantly reduces gas mileage.
2. Check that your vehicle is in optimal condition for your long road trip. You don't need a major maintenance. A few simple things will make a big difference. Be sure your tires are fully inflated. The recommended pressure is marked on the side of the driver's door and sometimes on the tires themselves. If your tires are under inflated your mileage goes down. If your vehicle is due for an oil change get one. Be sure the air filter is clean while you are at it.
3. Slow down! Reducing your speed will save you a lot of gas. Every vehicle has an optimum gas consumption speed. That’s where they can travel farthest and use the least fuel. It has a lot to do with your vehicle’s aerodynamics. The bigger your car is the slower you need to go to hit your optimum gas consumption. As a general rule you should go the speed limit. If you have a gas guzzling SUV you may want to go slower. When you push a vehicle past its optimum speed you burn a lot more fuel to go a little bit faster. Take a look at your engine’s Revolutions Per Minute. The RPM’s are on the dial next to your speedometer. See where the needle is at 55 mph and again at 75 mph. If it is much higher then your engine is working much harder and you are wasting a lot of fuel. For this expense you get to your destination just a few minutes earlier. For example, if you travel 60 miles at 60 mph you will arrive in one hour. If you speed up to 65 mph you will get there about four minutes earlier. If you drive about 6 hours on your road trip you will arrive at your destination less than a half hour early. Is this worth risking speeding tickets and paying for more gas?
4. Change how you speed up and slow down. Your engine works harder while accelerating. Harder engine work means more gas burned. The faster you accelerate the more you burn. It is best to accelerate while going down hill. It will get you to your target speed using the least amount of gas. Try coasting to a stop as much as possible. Braking wastes the momentum you burned gas to acquire. It doesn't make much sense to accelerate quickly toward an intersection only to brake hard at a red light. Slow and steady wins the race.
5. Use your cruise control. It burns more gas to speed up and slow down than it does to maintain a constant speed. That's why gas mileage is so much better on the highway than in the city. A cruise control will keep your speed as steady as possible. Keeping your speed steady over hundreds of miles will save you gallons of gasoline. It will also make you a lot more comfortable while driving.
6. Draft like a race car driver. They follow each other to conserve fuel. Whomever is in front cuts through the wind making it easier for the people behind them. Find a truck or SUV traveling the same speed as you. This works best if their vehicle is bigger than yours. Settle in behind them and draft. This can make a significant difference in your gas mileage over long distances. Just be sure not to follow too closely. The last thing you want is a rear end collision.
7. Buy cheaper gas. Millions of Americans waste their money on gas of higher octane than they need. When you buy an expensive car they tell you to use super gas. Chances are your car doesn't need it. It costs more and pollutes more. Try this. Fill your car with ordinary regular gas. Don't worry, it wont harm your vehicle. If it runs fine then use regular gas from now on. You will save a fortune. If your car pings or has trouble accelerating then try mid grade. You probably wont be able to tell the difference.
8. Fill up in the cheap states. The price of gasoline varies drastically from state to state. If your long road trip involves crossing state lines it is important to find out which states are cheap and which ones are expensive. The differences are due to the varying taxes. California tends to be the most expensive state. If you cross the California border into Arizona gas prices can drop more than 70 cents per gallon! Waiting to fill up in cheap states then topping off before you leave that state makes a lot of sense. If you are running on empty in an expensive state try to only buy enough gas to get you over the border.

Tips & Warnings

• If you follow all of these tips you may be able to increase your gas mileage by 5-10 miles per gallon or more. Over a long road trip that could be a tank of gas or more. What are you paying for a tank of gas these days? It's certainly worth a try.
• We want to repeat that you should not follow too closely when drafting. Be sure to leave enough stopping space when following another vehicle. The DMV recommends one car length for every 10 mph of speed you are traveling.