Vacationing With High Gas Expenses? Drivers Can Cut Memorial Day Holiday, Summer Gas Costs With Alliance to Save Enercargy’s Money-Saving Tips, Resources

Memorial Day weekend is most likely affecting with high gas prices are affecting, at the same time, travel plans for the summer is also at stake. Let the Alliance to Save Energy offer ways to cut vacation gas expenses.

You could be headed to the big city or great outdoors, but the way you increase or decrease your vehicle’s life efficiency depends on how you drive. Naturally, if you know how to maintain vehicle’s life efficiency, you also get to control gas costs at some point. If you plan for basic maintenance, you can very well start to save money even before you hit the road. Also, getting tips is a good idea. The Alliance’s Drive $marter Challenge website (http://www.drivesmarterchallenge.org) offers money-saving gas tips and extensive resources that cover such questions as: Where can I rent a hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicle? Where can I find public transportation at my vacation destination? Where can I find cheap gas along my vacation route?

Drive $marter Money-$aving Gas Tips

Planning your vacation:

Choose the Right Vehicle. Having more than one vehicle can be an advantage because by then, you and your family can decide which car to bring or which one has a better mileage for long distance destinations. If your family is vacationing 300 miles from home, switching from a vehicle that averages 18 mpg to one that gets 30 mpg will save approximately $43 on fuel costs.

Reserve the Right Rental. When renting a vehicle, select the one that works better according to your size class which also has the best fuel economy. And upon returning a rented car, remember to fill up the tank to avoid perhaps even an extra gas surcharge. Keep your gas receipts in case the rental car company requires receipts to remove a gas surcharge.

Unfamiliar areas can lead to wrong turns and roads and which could lead to an expensive waste of gas. A customized vacation map that highlights low cost gas stations along your route from Drive $marter Challenge website can help your family get through this problem. Print it out and take it along with you. GPS system also has a long term worth and benefit for this case – some also locate the cheapest gas stations on your route.

Rise and Shine! Try to avoid peak hours, although it may seem impossible. But, your family can start the day a lot earlier before the road gets crowded. This could save on gas costs and stress by avoiding stop and go or bumper to bumper traffic conditions.

Investigate other options for getting to your vacation destination – consider public transportation, buses, or trains when possible.

Before You Leave: Maintenance Tips

Keep your tires properly inflated. It will improve gas mileage by around 3% which can save you up to 20 gallons of gasoline, or about $65 a year.

Replace or check clogged and dirty air filter to keep impurities from damaging the inside of your engine.

Selecting the right and recommended grade motor oil helps to improve gas mileage by 1 to 2%. Annual savings of this type can sum up to $40. Motor oil that says “Energy Conserving” on the API performance symbol contains friction-reducing additives. Recycling used oil which can re-refined is also a good way to save money. Changing oil also extends the life of your vehicle.

Tune up. Emission tests is something which your car has to pass – always. Fix your car if it’s our of tune to improve its gas mileage by an average of 4%.

Driving Tips While On The Road

Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly above 60 mph. So for you to save about 20 cents per gallon of gas, keep it below 60.

Try to observe your driving pattern. Speeding, rapid acceleration (jackrabbit starts), and rapid braking can lower gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds.

Maintain a steady speed when driving in highways. Cruise control to cut fuel consumption.

Appropriately reduce engine speed by using overdrive gear. This will enable you to save gas and reduce engine wear.

It’s a “drag.” If possible avoid carrying items on your vehicle’s roof. A loaded roof rack or carrier increases weight and aerodynamic drag, which can cut mileage by 5%. Place items inside the trunk whenever possible to improve your fuel economy.

Don’t forget to unpack your trunk after vacation. A typical car’s fuel economy can go up to 2% for every extra 100 lbs. Save up to 12 gallons of gasoline per year – up to $40 – by removing an extra 100 pounds of unneeded items in the trunk of a car.

Maximum car air conditioning can reduce mpg by 5-25% compared to not using it.

Avoid idling, which gets 0 mpg. Typical cars with large engines waste even more gas because if idling.

Taking the Drive $marter Challenge, a campaign with 18 diverse nonprofit, governmental, and for profit partners, means pledging to take from one to six actions that will produce measurable reductions in gas, money, and CO2 emissions. The website demonstrates how taking small steps can add up to big savings by showing each individual visitor’s savings along with a running tally of savings by everyone who has taken the challenge at http://www.drivesmarterchallenge.org.