In our continuing effort to bring our readers the most up to date tips on saving money at the gas pumps we’ve put together a new blog with some more tips, advice and ideas that are sure to help reduce the sting of filling up your car’s gas tank. Since gas prices seems to be going up every five minutes we figured that instead of the usual fun banter we get right into it. Enjoy.

Most experts will tell you that it pays to accelerate at a moderate rate of speed. Most math teachers will also remind you that the basic law of physics, that force = mass  X acceleration, will work in your favor if you do a little bit of offensive driving and lay off of the brakes. (And by offensive we don’t mean that you use your horn constantly or give people ‘the finger’.) Simply put, if you use your car’s acceleration to bring you to a traffic light rather than usual breaks and then accelerate and then use your breaks and then accelerate again, etc. etc., you will definitely save gas.

The reason is that you won’t lose your acceleration and waste it on the friction that your breaks cause. Indeed you can easily get 10 to 20% better gas mileage by keeping your foot off of the gas pedal and letting your car’s momentum carry you to a stop sign, stoplight or whatever.  Keep in mind that by the time you actually reach the point of having to stop, if you’ve done it correctly, you should not have to jam on the brakes.

Some hybrid car owners may disagree with this as hybrids have the interesting ability to be able to convert braking power into electrical energy and then store that energy in their batteries. While this is certainly true, if you need to decelerate to fast you will still lose a ton of energy and will have to use even more to power yourself to the point of eventually having to stop.

You’ve probably heard about not using your air conditioner to save money on gas and, while this might be true in some cases, if you live in Arizona, Nevada or other areas of the country where the heat can be oppressive it just doesn’t make sense to turn the AC off, especially during the middle of the day. What you can do however is park your car in the shade, in your garage or in a parking garage during the day if possible. Also, when you first get moving, open the windows for a few minutes and get the hot air out of your car so that the a/c doesn’t have to work as hard or as long to cool the interior down. One last thing that you can do is turn you’re a/c off 5 to 10 minutes before you arrive at your destination to save a little bit more.

If you do a lot of highway driving one of the best ways to increase your mileage is to draft behind a larger car, truck or bus. This takes a bit of skill and definitely all of your attention but it is one of the best ways to increase your mpg on the highway because it cuts down on wind resistance greatly. One caveat; don’t tailgate in order to do this because that’s not only rude but dangerous. If you own a pickup truck and it doesn’t have a cab you might consider putting the tailgate down as well to cut down on drag.

If it’s not brutally hot or cold out you may find the temptation to open the windows, especially around town, a big one. We suggest that you don’t only because the extra turbulence can cost you fuel. Better to use your car’s ventilation system instead and save gas.

Many people are still in the habit of changing their cars oil every 3000 miles. While this certainly isn’t bad for the car the fact is that most oils and most cars will be just fine up to 5000 miles.  While it might not affect your MPG greatly it certainly will cost you less and oil changes over the life of your car.

Are you going to be renting a car while you’re away on vacation or a business trip? If so, and you are not going to be taking other people or trying to impress anyone (and it’s possible you may) we would suggest that you rent a smaller, economy car then a bigger, more luxurious but more wallet damaging gas guzzler. The fact is, you could save enough money on gas by using a smaller car on vacation that you might be able to upgrade your hotel room or afford a couple of extra fancy meals.

One last tip that we have is one of the best; don’t fill up at any gas station near the highway. Usually that’s where the gas prices are the highest. Find one in town or, if you’re on the highway, drive a few miles away to find a cheaper price.  The smartphone app ‘GasBuddy’ can help you locate the best price around.

With prices that slap you in the face every time you pull up to the pump, it’s no surprise that most Americans are desperately searching for any way possible to lower their consumption of gasoline. We’ve certainly had our fair share of blogs filled with tips and advice but, for those of you who might have missed them, we present to you a blog with 10 of the best (and easiest to implement) ways to save more gas. If all 10 of these are already on your to-do list or on your ‘I-did’  list then good for you. If not what the heck are you waiting for?! Get them on your list and start saving at least a little bit more money on gas today. Enjoy.

1. Drive slower. Now, were not suggesting that you drive like a 75-year-old grandmother on Sunday, just that decreasing your highway speed and keeping it at about 65 mph will use less gas because most cars are optimized to run at this speed. Any slower and you become a nuisance but any faster and you start wasting an inordinate amount of gas per mile, in some cases as much as 20%.
2. Quick starts like Mario Andretti at the racetrack not only will use much more gas but will also capture the attention of local law enforcement officers, something that you may wish to avoid. Indeed, accelerating at a regular, normal speed can save you as much as 33% and is much better for your car’s engine, something that will save you money on maintenance costs too.
3. Tried and true, planning several small trips and taking care of them at the same time will definitely save you money and time. We suggest that you go to the furthest location first as, once you are car is warmed up you will use less gas even if you have to stop for up to 30 minutes.
4. 2 words; car pool. If it’s at all possible to drive into work with either people you work with or people that work nearby you’ll not only save a ton of money you’ll also lower your maintenance costs and possibly end up with some long-term friends. Who knows, you may even develop business relationships that will enhance your career.
5. Although the jury is not completely in on this one, turning off the A/C unless it’s unbearably hot is probably a good idea. If you are doing over 50 mph on the highway however you’ll probably want to close the windows and use yourcars vent system instead.
6. If you don’t take your car in for regular oil changes and maintenance you’re not doing your wallet any favors. Yes, we know that you hate to pay for something that you can’t see, touch or use but a properly maintained car will have much fewer problems and, in the end, cost you much less than any maintenance costs.
7. Checking your tires at least once a week to make sure that they’re not wearing badly and that they are properly inflated is something that’s easy to do and takes mere minutes. Use the psi number that’s located on the inside door frame (driver side) rather than the number on the tire, which is the maximum PSI and not the correct PSI.
8. If you use your car or truck for work and it’s full of tools we can’t fault you for that but, if your car is full of junk because you don’t bother to clean it out you’re not only messy but you’re wasting money on gas. Even 20 pounds of stuff, which really isn’t much, can lower your MPG by 10% so clear out that junk.
9. Idling car for long periods of time and warming it up in the morning are two things that are completely unnecessary for most new cars and waste huge amount of gas. Unless your car is an antique warming it up is unnecessary and, if you sit for long periods of time with your car idling for no reason well then, we’re not sure if we could be friends with you. (Okay, we’ll be your friend but please stop doing that, okay. It wastes gas and it’s bad for the planet.)
10. Drive less. Yes, we know it’s sometimes not that simple with work, the kids, the gym and basically everything else that life tends to throw at us. All we’re saying is, when possible, use a bike, use your feet or even use mass transit. You’ll definitely save money on gas and you might even get in better shape because of it.

And there you go ladies and gentlemen, another fact filled blog full to the brim with great advice and excellent tips. We hope you enjoyed it and that you come back to see us again sometime soon. See you then.