Gas prices just seem to keep climbing with no end in sight.  Now they are saying that it could easily reach $4 or more per gallon here in the U.S.  That is crazy and is costing most Americans deep in their pocket books.  So what are some tips one can do to lower these fuel costs and get better gas mileage?

First, you could always downsize your vehicle and go with a more economic and fuel efficient model.  Hybrids cost a premium as they are in great demand and you won’t see any savings for several years over the non hybrid models due to their higher purchase price (as per Consumer Reports).  But going from a full size car with an 8 cylinder engine to a smaller, mid size car with a 6 or 4 cylinder engine could result in 15 to 30% better fuel economy (this all depends on driving conditions).

Large SUV’s, on average, get terrible gas mileage with an average fuel economy of 15 mpg.  Whereas smaller four door cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla get average fuel economies of over 30 mpg.  Obviously, if you have a large family and need the extra room and seats in an SUV then you have to do what you have to do, but if you are like most SUV’s we see on the highway with a driver only and no passengers then you can and should downsize to a greener, more fuel efficient vehicle.

Another tip is to keep your highway speeds down.  It has been said that for every 1 mph over 50 that you go, that you lose an equal 1 percent in fuel economy.  So if you go 80 mph then you are getting 30% less fuel economy.  It actually ends up being worse than that as the results are slightly exponential and as your speed goes higher the fuel economy drop gets bigger.  The basic rule here is don’t speed and keep within the speed limit – not only will you be a safer driver, but you will also get better fuel economy.

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Be sure to check your tires for proper pressure and condition.  If your tires are under inflated you are getting reduced fuel economy by as much as 5 to 10% or more in more severe deflated conditions and on larger vehicles.  Also, look at your tires for abnormal tread wear patterns.  This can indicate unsafe tire conditions and alignment problems all of which can rob you of fuel economy.   While you are at it, check your air filter and routinely change your oil (as per manufactures recommendations).  This will help your engine run more efficiently and can save or add to your fuel economy – it will also save on future wear and tear to the vehicle and save you on costly repairs.

Another tip is to remove unnecessary items from the vehicle.  Many of us lug all sorts of things around with no consideration as to what impact the added weight has on your fuel economy.  Remove the old bag of golf clubs and anything of significant weight as it all drags down your fuel economy.  I have actually seen people remove third and second row seats and yesterday, unbelievably, I even saw one person that removed the rear passenger doors and truck lid (now that’s getting a little extreme) to reduce weight and further improve their fuel economy.

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Another tip, which goes right along with speeding is stop the tailgaiting.  This requires lots of braking and in addition to the lost fuel economy due to speeding, now you waste even more gas as you constantly lose inertia by applying the brakes and gas to stay right behind someone.  Yes, if you actually draft behind a larger truck or vehicle you can save a little on your gas mileage, but this is unsafe and illegal in most states and is not recommended.  The goal is to keep a constant speed at or around the posted speed limit.  It’s there for a reason, to keep you and other drivers safe and, now, to give you better fuel economy.

While you’re at it, another great automotive tip is to save big and greatly increase your night time driving safety by cleaning and restoring worn, dirty, scratched, cloudy, dim, ugly and ineffective headlight lenses to new again with MDWholesale.com’s New Lite headlight restoration, cleaner and repair kits (replacement headlights run $300 per lens on average at your local car dealer).  New Lite is the original and still remains, by far, the number one selling and most effective product of its kind in from Jacksonville Florida to Atlanta Georgia to Los Angeles California and everywhere else in the U.S.A. and world, for that matter.  New Lite has been featured in numerous news articles worldwide and has received thousands of rave reviews and awards from numerous major sources and news outlets including the legendary About.com.  For more information on purchasing New Lite headlight restoration kits and other great driving safety tips please be sure to visit www.mdwholesale.com.