This post follows our recent two posts on:
With light-duty cars responsible for more than 40 percent of oil usage, people want to use less gas to minimize emissions and increase savings. This post will provide you with four simple tips to improve your gas mileage and use less gas altogether.
1. Optimize your routes
Considering the specificities of the trips you make is a very effective way to reduce fuel consumption. You take these roads every day, so you know where the traffic lights, traffic circles, intersections are – in short, you can anticipate. So, on the same trip, by releasing the gas pedal as soon as possible, you can save up to half of the fuel needed to make that trip.
This also applies to more occasional trips (going on vacation, for example):
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Try to avoid taking the road if there are big traffic jams where you start and brake very often, which leads to significant energy losses.
- Remember to compare gas prices posted at gas stations on the road you are driving. To do this, go to this site: it lists the prices of service stations in Canada, with updates every day.
Please note: the best way to save fuel is still not to consume any! With this in mind, avoid short or unnecessary trips.
2. Load your car intelligently
Car loading also has an impact on fuel consumption. The lighter it is, the less gas it will consume.
To this daily:
– Avoid transporting unnecessary objects: tools, heavy equipment, etc.
– Don’t leave the roof rack, roof bars or trunk on the roof of your car if you don’t need them: these accessories break up the vehicle’s aerodynamics and can increase its fuel consumption by 10 to 20%.
– Spread the loads somewhat over the entire car when going on vacation or when you need to load your vehicle a lot.
3. Drain your engine regularly
Ideally, this operation should be carried out approximately every 15,000 km, i.e. once a year on average. A dirty engine will be harder to run and therefore require more fuel. A poorly tuned engine can consume 25% more than a healthy system! Hence, it would help if you had your vehicle serviced regularly. More generally, every 20,000 to 30,000 km or every year if you drive a lot, every two years if you drive less. Therefore, to use as little fuel as possible, your vehicle’s components must be in perfect condition.
4. Pamper the bodywork
A dent or scratch can degrade your car’s aerodynamics and therefore increase its fuel consumption.
Also, rely on your service book and dashboard to know when to take your vehicle to the garage.
Good to know: with a perfectly maintained car, you save 1 L of fuel for every 100 km driven.
Hope the tips in this post and the previous two posts will help you to save on gas. Please remember to leave your comments in the section below, and don’t forget to share! Sharing is caring! Should you also wish to read on particular topics related to cars and vehicles, remember to make your request below, and we will cover the subject with as much detail as possible for you.
You can read more posts related to cars and vehicles here:
How Do Gearboxes Work? (Part 1)
How Do Gearboxes Work? (Part 2)
Why Will You Remove the Catalyst Converter?
A Guide to Understanding Automotive Mechanics
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