05/ 09/ 2008
The weather is warming up and gas prices are climbing. Put those two things together and you can get downright uncomfortable. But whether you drive a compact car to and from your small business every day or you keep a fleet of delivery trucks ready to go, there are a few simple steps you can take to get the most from every gas penny.
- Check your tires. Recommended tire pressure is different for every vehicle, so check your owner's manual or the inside of your drivers-side door to find the ideal pressure for your tires. Over- or under-inflating can greatly reduce your gas mileage and the life of your tires.
- Replace your air filter. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a clean air filter can increase your gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Any local quick oil change shop can change your air filter for you, but you can save a few more bucks and do it yourself by shopping at a local auto parts store.
- Clean out the trunk. If you have children's toys ready to be donated to a local charity or three sets of golf clubs you keep in the trunk "just in case," clear out the clutter. The FTC says that even an extra 100 pounds can drag your gas mileage down by 2 percent.
- Park in the shade. Or at least use one of those foldable windshield shades to keep the car a bit cooler. The temperature inside a parked car can rise as much as 20 degrees in the first 10 minutes. Leaving a car parked in the sun for a couple of hours can really spike the heat in there. Some estimates say that running the air conditioner at full blast just to cool a heated car uses as much at 40 cents out of a gallon of gas.
- Watch your speed and accelerate with care. Try not to aggravate and enrage other drivers by poking along, but be mindful of the gas you use when you put the pedal to the metal a little too hard. Even using your cruise control to help keep your speed constant while driving on the highway will keep your engine from needless revving.
- Combine errands. As a small business owner, you have things that need to be done immediately. But if your schedule is flexible enough that you can add all downtown errands to your morning to-do list and uptown errands to your afternoon to-do list, you'll save yourself some needless back-and-forth driving.
- Have your engine tuned. By keeping your engine tuned and your oil changed and clean, the FTC says you can increase gas mileage by about 4 percent.
- Carpool. Imagine: If you and the small business owner in the building next door shared carpooling duties – you drive on Monday and she drives on Tuesday – you would each save 20 percent of your weekly gas bill plus wear and tear on your vehicle. If you don't know of anyone close to you that wants to try carpooling, a quick Google search will provide you with local carpool matching services.
Read more gas-saving tips from the FTC
