Summer Travel Fuel Tips

Summer Travel Fuel Tips
By Michael C Podlesny

The summer travel season is here and in case you didn't notice the oil companies don't care that you are paying $4.00 per gallon. Therefore I have done some research and located 5 tried and true methods by which you can do your best to make your vehicle as fuel efficient as possible.

MAP
Plan your route ahead of time. With GPS satellites and websites such as mapquest you have more tools then ever before to ensure you are taking the best route to get to where you are going. When planning your route eliminate as many left turns as possible. Left turns make you wait where as in most states you can make a right turn even on a red light.

SLOW AND STEADY
Have you ever heard the expression, slow and steady wins the race? Well I have updated that for 2008 and the saying goes, slow and steady helps save some gas. Keep this rule in mind. The faster you drive the worse your gas mileage will be. Consumer Reports recently did a study using a Toyota Camry and found driving at 65mph instead of 55mph reduced the cars mileage from 40mpg to 30mpg. That's a significant drop.

AERODYNAMIC
Ok so you aren't going to go out and buy some space aged aircraft to be more aerodynamic but you can lose that car carrier or luggage rack you have sitting on top of your vehicle. This creates drag on your vehicle which makes your car work hard to get to a certain MPH. Pack everything you need inside the vehicle.

LEARN HOW TO DRIVE
Ok this one is a bit harsh but it needs to be said. According to Consumer Reports hard accelerating and braking can reduce your fuel economy by up to 20%. Maintain an even speed whenever possible and use cruise control if your car has it.

OFF WHEN STOPPED
Guess what? Idling gets you zero miles per gallon. If you aren't moving or going anywhere turn the car off. If you are stopping at a fast food restaurant, forgo the drive thru and go inside. If you must go through a drive thru and are just sitting there then turn your engine off. If you are going to sit there for more than 30 second then shut your car's engine off.

As you can see there is nothing extraordinary or mind boggling about these techniques. However if you start implementing them you can help save yourself some money on gas.

About the Author:Mr. Micheal Podlesny is a freelance writer.You can read more of his gas saving tips by Clicking here, or by visiting his MySpace Blog.