Tips for Saving Gas on Road Trips

The key for saving gas on a road trip is really to prevent wasting gas. The amount of gas you use on a road trip is strictly a function of how many miles you drive divided by your vehicle's miles per gallon (MPG). Once you have chosen the shortest route all that is left is to focus on maximizing your MPG by minimizing gas waste. Keep in mind that no matter what you do, it is unlikely that you will ever exceed the base mpg that your care came with. .

It seems like everywhere you look you find tips to save gas but very few of these sources actually give you enough information to know if the tip is really useful. Each tip below has the amount, in dollars, of gas you would save on a sample road trip. These calculations assume a thousand mile trip, 20 miles per gallon, and an average price per gallon of $2.50. It also assumes the best case as stated by FuelEconomy.gov (from the Department of Energy).

Smart driving choices to save gas

The best way to save gas while on a road trip is how you use your right foot. The two big factors here are how fast you drive and how smooth you drive.

Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially as speed increases which takes more gas to overcome. Simply put, this means that you will use much more gas the faster you drive. The extra amount is anywhere from 7-23% which for our sample trip means $9.40 - $37.34 in gas savings for your trip. Of course it is also much safer to keep your speed down.

How you drive can also be a major factor. Smooth driving is much more efficient than hard acceleration followed by hard braking. Smooth driving can save anywhere from $6.58 to $61.57 in gas on a thousand mile trip. You're care will thank you as well.

Choose the right vehicle

The base mileage of your vehicle can obviously make a substantial difference but be sure to carefully balance this against the cost of the new vehicle. Choosing a vehicle with 30 mpg instead of 20mpg can save you $41.67 on a thousand mile trip, $62.50 if it gets 40 mpg. Don't forget about important factors such as comfort and hauling capacity as well. Those gas savings can quickly be erased by needing to take a second trip.

Take care of your vehicle to save gas

Before your trip make sure to check your oil, engine, and tire pressure not just for safety but for gas savings as well. The condition of your vehicle is the second biggest area that can deliver gas savings along with the obvious safety benefits.

Tire pressure gets a lot of hype as a gas saving method but on a thousand mile trip you get gas savings of about $3.87 for a thousand mile road trip. The safety benefits are much more however, especially in the rain.

Clean oil does wonders for engine wear but for saving gas it is important to make sure that you have the right grade of oil. Your owner's manual will tell you what the proper grade is for your vehicle. The right grade of oil can deliver gas savings from $1.25 to $2.55 for a thousand mile trip. A properly tuned engine can save you an additional $5.21.

Sources
Departmentn of Energy: http://www.fueleconomy.gov