Reducing the amount you drive by choosing to bike, carpool, or use public transpiration are all great ways to help eliminate your carbon footprint. Indianapolis has many public transportation alternatives, for instance IndyGo, but when you do drive there are a number of things you can do to utilize gas more efficiently and get more miles per gallon.
Start parking in the shade. The sun, especially during the summer months, can heat up your car and gas tank. By parking in the shade you reduce evaporation of expensive gas in your tank and other fluids that keep your car running. Even partial shade is better than no shade because, however minimally, will lower the temperature of your car.
Along the same lines, filling up your tank when the temperatures are lower is best. The warmest time of the day is around noon, when the sun is able to emit the most direct sunlight. Try to fill up earlier or later during the day.
Keep your tires inflated. It is a good habit to check your tire pressure on a regular basis and especially before long trips. Your car is unable to get maximum miles per gallon on tires that are low. Sometimes tires do not look low, but if you check their pressure they actually are. You can find the recommended psi (pounds per square inch) you should fill your tires up to written on the rubber of your tires.
It may be tempting to accelerate quickly while driving, but this is actually a very inefficient way of driving. Pressing slower on your petal and taking a few extra seconds to get up to speed wastes less gas. When driving on roads with a lot of stoplights it’s a good practice to decelerate slower. This allows you to approach a red light slower and increases your chances of the light turning green before you get there so you do not have to make a complete stop.
Make sure to keep up with the fluids in your car. This will enable your car to run more economically. However, sometimes vehicles have more expensive problems that cause it to operate inefficiently. If after trying these tips you still find that your car is running poorly it may be time to sell a car and upgrade. Contact Indy Cash for Cars at 800-404-6461 to trade or sell a car, van, truck, snowmobile, ATV, motorcycle, or RV and you’ll leave with cash in hand to upgrade to a more fuel efficient option.