{"id":2045,"date":"2014-09-18T18:33:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-18T18:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/?p=2045"},"modified":"2025-01-20T15:33:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T15:33:29","slug":"how-to-get-more-miles-per-gallon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/auto\/auto-tips\/how-to-get-more-miles-per-gallon\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get More Miles Per Gallon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With the cost of gas always on the rise, learning to squeeze extra miles out of every gallon is a matter of necessity \u2013 much like having the right <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/auto-insurance\/\">auto insurance<\/a> coverage.<br \/>\nHere are some recommendations from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fueleconomy.gov\/feg\/driveHabits.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">U.S. Department of Energy<\/a> for getting better fuel economy; they may seem obvious, but they really can make a difference.<\/p>\n<h2>Change how you drive<\/h2>\n<p>Aggressive driving (speeding, jack rabbit starts and hard braking) wastes gas. At highway speeds, it can drop your gas mileage by 33% (and by 5% around town).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Driving 60 miles per hour instead of 70 mph will save you 2-4 miles per gallon over the duration of your trip<\/li>\n<li>Save your brakes by coasting to a stop as much as possible\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel economy savings\/fuel cost savings: 5-33% = $0.17\u2013$1.11\/gallon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Observe the speed limit<\/h2>\n<p>While each vehicle achieves its peak fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually drops rapidly above 50 mph.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Every 5 mph increase over 50 mph is like paying an additional $0.23 per gallon for gas.3\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel economy savings: 7%\u201314% (Average savings, assuming 5 to 10 mph decrease in speed and fuel costs $3.35 per gallon)<\/li>\n<li>Fuel cost savings: $0.23\u2013$0.47\/gallon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Avoid hauling cargo on your roof<\/h2>\n<p>Hauling cargo on your roof increases wind resistance and decreases fuel economy. A large, roof-top cargo box can decrease fuel economy by<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2% to 8% in the city (vs. rear-mount cargo boxes; 1-2%)<\/li>\n<li>6% to 17% on the highway (vs. rear-mount cargo boxes; 1-5%)<\/li>\n<li>10% to 25% at interstate speeds (65 mph to 75 mph).4\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel economy savings: 2%\u201317%<\/li>\n<li>Fuel cost savings: $0.07\u2013$0.57\/gallon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Remove excess weight<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t store unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An extra 100 pounds in your car could reduce your MPG by up to 2%.\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel economy savings: 1%\u20132%\/100 lbs<\/li>\n<li>Fuel cost savings: $0.03\u2013$0.07\/gallon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Avoid excessive idling<\/h2>\n<p>Don&#8217;t warm up your vehicle for more than 30 seconds.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Idling can use a quarter to a half gallon of fuel per hour, depending on engine size and air conditioner use.\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel economy savings: 1%\u20132%\/100 lbs.<\/li>\n<li>Fuel cost savings: $0.01\u2013$0.02\/min. (AC off), $0.02\u2013$0.03\/min. (AC on)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Use cruise control<\/h2>\n<p>Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, generally, will save gas.<\/p>\n<h2>Maintain your vehicle<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Check your tire pressure. Making sure your vehicle&#8217;s tires are set to the recommended pressure can increase fuel economy by up to 3.3 percent.<\/li>\n<li>Next time you change your oil, have the air filter checked as well. Replacing a dirty air filter with a clean one can save up to 10 percent on fuel costs.<\/li>\n<li>Fill your tank on cool mornings. Fuel is denser in colder weather. Gas pumps measure by volume, so if you pump when it&#8217;s cold, you get more gas for your money. You can also help your car\u2019s performance and gas usage with <a style=\"font-size: inherit\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/auto\/what-are-fuel-additives\/\">fuel additives<\/a><span style=\"font-size: inherit\">. In some cases, such as when your vehicle has a diesel engine, these can also help the environment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ideally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/auto\/auto-tips\/does-driving-slower-save-gas\/\">slower speeds will save more than gas<\/a> \u2013 they may save lives as well, as the incidence of accidents drop with slower speeds. This may also affect lowering car insurance rates in the long term.<\/p>\n<p>*Cost savings are based on an assumed fuel price of $3.35\/gallon<\/p>\n<p><em>If you are looking for additional ways to save on your car insurance, call Freeway Insurance at <strong>(800) 777-5620<\/strong> to speak with a live agent and to get a free auto insurance quote. Freeway specializes in providing quality car insurance at affordable rates. Call today.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the cost of gas always on the rise, learning to squeeze extra miles out of every gallon is a matter of necessity \u2013 much like having the right auto insurance coverage. Here are some recommendations from the U.S. Department of Energy for getting better fuel economy; they may seem obvious, but they really can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002628,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[86],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002628"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2045"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9426,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045\/revisions\/9426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2045"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=2045"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=2045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}