Category — Gas Prices

Even if you’re not ready to switch to a hybrid vehicle , there are a few things you can do to reduce your fuel consumption. Although most of us are familiar with the usual list of tips for saving fuel, such as slowing down, there are some gas saving tips you might not be familiar with. According to U.S. News and World Report, here are a few less obvious hints to help you increase gas mileage.

Take care of that “Check Engine” light: Because most check engine lights come on due to malfunctioning air sensors, taking care of this problem alone might save you up to 40% on your fuel consumption and seriously boost your gas mileage.

Get rid of your roof rack: Roof racks create drag, causing you to use more fuel. If you want to save money on gas, take your roof rack off until you need it.

Don’t be late for oil changes: Dirty oil can cause your car to use 1% more fuel. Remember to make those appointments on time if you want to increase your gas mileage.

With gas prices at historic highs, it seems like everyone’s looking for ways to save money by conserving fuel. Well, there’s a new breed drivers out there taking fuel conservation to uncharted territories. Known as hypermilers, these folks adjust their driving behavior and even their car maintenance routines in order to get better gas mileage. Here are just a few of the techniques they use to save gas:

Coasting - In the world of hypermiling, coasting is key, because it uses much less fuel than a typical acceleration and braking pattern. Rather than using their brakes, hypermilers save gas by coasting around corners and as they are coming in for stops.

Eliminating Idling - Hypermilers avoid idling whenever possible, as it uses fuel without covering any ground. Remember, this tip: when idling you are getting 0 miles per gallon.

Stoplight Strategy - When approaching a red light, hypermilers save fuel by reducing their speed or coasting in hopes of avoiding a complete stop.

Avoiding rapid acceleration - Another hypermiling fuel saving technique is to avoid rapid acceleration, which uses much more fuel than gingerly pressing the gas pedal to get up to speed.

If you commute in LA, you’ve been monitoring the continuing gas price climb. I think that we reached yet another record high with $4.15 / gallon, which translates into $50/tank = $200 /month for me personally. But for the poor guy behind me with his family wagon, it’s more like $400/month. That’s another car payment that you didn’t account for before. More and more Angelenos are leaving their cars at home and making use of the public transportation, which has freed up the highways considerably as of late. You can feel the domino effect on the dollar immediately, since oil is traded in dollars: oil goes up, dollar goes down. Here are a couple of sites that can help you find the cheapest gas prices near you, by typing in your address: Mapquest, Los Angeles Gas Prices by Gas Buddy. Your other choices: bike, bus, train, carpool or protest record high gas prices with the truckers in Capitol. Just don’t let it give you a gas price heart attack.