10 Best Tips For Maximizing Fuel Efficiency in Old Cars

Gas prices are soaring once again, making it costlier to drive your car. However, there are several ways on how to save some of your gas money, and I'm not talking about buying a new, hybrid car. I'm listing below my gas saving tips I practice that may help you make your own car more fuel efficient. You don't have to buy a new car, read my list below to find out how to improve the gas mileage of your old car.

2012 Christmas Gas Price - 48.90/L, now its at 55/L 

1. Drive Sensibly, Not Slowly

People usually say "drive slower to save gas". This might be partially true, but it isn't efficient. What we should do is practice driving sensibly, which means gentle acceleration and minimized braking. You don't need to be the first one to go after the traffic sign turns green; you're not on a racetrack. In city driving, there's another waiting for you a few blocks away, negating the speed and position gained beforehand. Consider easing up on the gas pedal on acceleration and you'll be surprised how this tip alone can extend the life of your tank of gas.



2. Use the Correct Gear

Low gears for crawling, high gears for high speed. Use the correct gear at the correct RPM. Speed and RPM range vary from vehicle to vehicle, check your manual or surf the net to find what's the range for your car.

3. Follow the Speed Limit
Not only you're saving gas, you can also save money and hassle from getting a speeding ticket.

4. Don't Idle

Fuel efficiency is the distance covered per liter or gallon of gas. When idling, the car isn't moving and yet the engine is still consuming fuel. Stop the habit of idling, if you'll have to wait for more than a minute, just stop the engine and restart again when needed. Of course, this is a case to case basis. You can't do this technique in a bumper to bumper traffic.

5. Avoid Rush Hour Driving

Being stuck in traffic jam is another case of idling, but compared to the previous tip, you don't have much control in a bumper-to-bumper traffic situation. You can't simply stop the engine due to safety and convenience issues, which means you avoid congested roads as much as possible. Wake up and leave earlier than usual, take side streets, and choose roads not used by public transport.

5. Maintain Moderate Highway Speed

The key is "maintain". On long straight roads, avoid the unnecessary acceleration and deceleration. Don't overtake as much as possible. Follow the speed limit and maintain that speed.

6. Lighten Up the Load

If your trunk doubles as your cabinet or garage toolbox, remove anything that you don't really need for your trip. Do you need that heavy alligator jack? A lighter, hydraulic jack may be the only thing that you'll need. Check for unnecessary tools and items that are just taking up space in your trunk. For city driving, bring only the tools needed for changing tires.

Some people change their full sized spare tire to donut tires. Since you don't normally get flat tires, donut tires may be sufficient. It contributes to weight savings too.

7. Remove Bike Carriers and Roof Racks

If you're not using them, remove them. I frequently see cars equipped with these and yet they are not carrying anything at all! That's not just added weight, it disturbs the air flow around your vehicle and contributes to air drag. So, if your daily driven car has a bike carrier and you only carry a bike during the weekends, remove it.

8. Coast to Brake

Look at your pedals. Every time you step on one of them, you are wearing down parts of your car. Stepping on the brakes will wear down the brake pads, brake drums, rotors, and shortens the life of your brake fluid. Do not step on the brakes unnecessarily. Anticipate the traffic situation, if the traffic light is on the red signal, ease off the gas pedal. Use the momentum of the car to coast and brake minimally. If you perfect this, you might not have to step on the brakes at all. It takes time to practice this technique as this is dependent on many factors such as vehicle weight, aerodynamic design, and road condition.

8. Follow Maintenance Schedule

Aside from bad driving habits, neglecting on car maintenance schedule is another gas efficiency killer. Check your car manual and follow the regular maintenance tuneup. Most of the time, the following parts must be checked, cleaned, or replaced.

• Change oil - use the viscosity recommended for your car and change it at regular intervals.
• Air filter, oil filter, fuel filter - filters are cheap to replace and yet we neglect to change them at specified intervals. 
• Brake pads, brake drums, brake rotor - check the condition of the brakes, dragging brakes lowers your fuel efficiency and makes your tire wear faster.
• Spark plugs, distributor cap, ignition coil, battery, alternator - misfiring plugs means you're not burning the fuel properly, which may be caused by anything in line with the ignition system
• Ignition Timing - have your ignition timing checked by a competent mechanic. timings that are not at recommended specifications (advanced or retarded) will have an effect on your car engine performance

9. Check Tire Pressure

Believe it or not, your eyes can't really tell the difference the tires inflated between 26 PSI and 30 PSI. Always check the tire pressure on a weekly basis. Normally, tires lose pressure at a rate of about 1-2 PSI per week. Under-inflated tires have higher rolling resistance which lowers fuel efficiency. Always keep your tires at recommended pressure.

10. Plan Ahead and Multitask

Multitask and perform your errands on one trip instead of doing multiple trips. As an example, maybe you can buy groceries after going to the office instead of waiting for the weekend. Think of what errands you can combine on a single trip to minimize unnecessary short trips.