I will be traveling this weekend, starting tomorrow morning for the long 4th of July holiday. Driving from Baltimore to North Jersey isn’t that long of a drive, but it still is about 4 hours.  Although I’ve done this drive on many occasions, I still make sure that my car is in good condition to be driven continuously for a few hours. The last thing I want is to be stranded, unprepared for the unfortunate situation. During long trips, I also try to remember methods to increase gas mileage while driving as well. At least in New Jersey, I don’t have to pump my own gas at the gas station.

Rain-X

I always reapply Rain-X on my windshield. It helps so much when it rains. Sometimes, wipers aren’t even needed. I hate it when I’m stuck in a torrential downpour and my windshield wipers can’t keep up.

Spare Tire

I just make sure that I still have a spare tire in the trunk and is filled with proper air pressure. You don’t want to be in a situation where you need a spare tire but is out of air.

Flashlight With Batteries

I always keep a flashlight in my car. But since I don’t use it on a regular basis, I bring an extra pack of batteries, just in case.

Jumper Cables

For obvious reasons, jumper cables will always come in handy when you accidentally left the headlights on.

GPS

I don’t worry too much about GPS since my iPhone is already integrated with one. Most smart phones have one nowadays and are good enough to get you back on track if you made the wrong turn somewhere.

Radar Detector

With highway driving, speeding is always a concern. Turn your radar detector on to help you slow down if a cop is nearby. If you are pulled over, remember you don’t have to receive a speeding ticket.

Anti-Nausea Medicine

I get motion sickness very often, especially when I’m not in the driver seat. I don’t quite know what it is, but if I’m not driving the car, something happens and I get sick. I recently learned about Dramamine and it works like a charm.

AAA

If you don’t have roadside assistance program from your auto insurance or car dealership, AAA should be a good option. They’ll basically do anything and everything for you if you are stranded on the side of the road. They’ll tow your car, change your tire, jump start the car, open locked doors, and even give you gas if you run out.

What else do you do for your road trips?

Due to high gas prices and the current recession, people are looking for ways to improve gas mileage in their cars. I previously posted an article on how to save money at the pump. This is a follow-up to that post, call it Part 2, if you will, but this will focus more on how to improve gas mileage while driving. With gas prices not seeming to be coming down any time soon, I am constantly looking for bargain gas stations. For instance, I will never pump gas around my work area because it’s always about 15-20 cents/gal more expensive than they are near my home. But even with that, it still becomes makes a big dent in my wallet after every fill-up. If we all learn to become better more gas efficient drivers, the dent in our wallets will become a little less severe and will contribute to help saving our environment. I’ve gathered some of the most practical tips and compiled them here. Follow these tips and you should be on your way to driving your car in a more eco-friendly way. I realize that these tips are of common knowledge to most drivers and commuters, but it’s always a good simple reminder as we tend to neglect these simple practical ways to save gas.

1. Stay Away From Stop-and-Go Driving Habit: Drivers can improve gas mileage simply by avoiding quick stops and quick accelerations. You can save up to 30% of your gas consumption just by staying away from stop-and-go driving. So, driving at a steady, constant speed can save you more money than you might think. Using cruise control during highway driving will help as well. If your commute is primarily in the city where stop-and-go is abundant, try to have a smoother stop-and-go’s by anticipating stops by taking your foot off the gas pedal to slow down to maximize coasting time. Also, constant smoother acceleration is more efficient than quick and hard acceleration. What uses the most gas when driving on city streets is accelerating.
2. Avoid Speeding: I understand many drivers like to speed especially on highways. Most cars are designed to have optimal gas efficiency at around 40-45 mph, call it the “sweet spot” if you will. At this speed, you car will perform at its optimal to receive the most miles per gallon of gas used. In contrast, 0 mph is the worst gas efficient speed since you’re still using gas but not going anywhere. If your car is bigger, say like a pick-up truck or an SUV, then your sweet spot will be at a lower speed. If the car is smaller, then the sweet spot willat a higher speed. Driving at 65 mph instead of 75 mph will save you about 10-15% in gas costs. That’s $0.25-0.375/gallon! You can save over $5.50 in your 15 gallon fill-up by driving 10 mph slower in highways.
3. Regular Maintenance Is Important: Keeping your car in its optimal shape is a no-brainer. I have to admit that one thing I hate to see is the check-engine light!! Once, this infamous light came on in my car and I took it in to the shop, only to find out that my gas cap wasn’t screwed in properly after a routine fill-up. This allowed too much air into my fuel system causing that dreaded light to come on. It cost me over $125!! Anyway, I digress. Anyway, it’s important to take your car in for maintenance service. Even if you have to wait in the waiting room it’s worth it. I usually take my iPhone out and play on it continuously until my car is finished. Regular maintenance can help increase gas mileage.  You can improve gas mileage as much as 10% just by replacing dirty air filters.
4. Windows or AC: This one is a tough one. It can be argued either way with supporting facts. The popular TV show, Mythbusters had two episodes devoted to this idea and each test favored different setting. One said keeping windows closed was better while the other indicated that using AC was better. Since it’s a toss-up, I suggest you use whatever you are comfortable with. If you enjoy driving with windows down, then do it. If you’re like me and enjoy conditioned air better, then use air conditioner. I believe the gas efficiency difference in this case is too minor to worry about it.
5. Turn Off The Car: Whenever I have to wait for a friend because he wants to stop at a 7-Eleven to get a soda, I never know whether to keep my car idling or shut the engine off! As I said in #2 above, you have to worst gas mileage at 0 mph, namely idling. So, it’s recommended that you turn off your car if you know you’ll be waiting for more than 1 minute. Doing so will help save you 15-20%!
6. Empty Your Trunk: This is another no-brainer. Common sense tells us that it takes more power and energy to lift and a 15-lb dumbbell than a 10-lb dumbbell. The heavier it is, the harder it is to move it. That philosophy applies to cars as well. I love bowling and I have always carried a huge bowling bag with two 15-lb bowling balls in it in my trunk at all times. Although that load isn’t enough to do much damage, it doesn’t help the cause either. They say that for every 100 pounds of weight removed from the car, you will improve gas mileage by up to 2%.

So, the next time you’re on the go, remember these tips and become an eco-friendly driver by reducing gas consumption in your car. If you improve gas mileage in your car, you are helping save the environment. If you have other tips, please share!

Pump Gas Better

If you’re like a typical American person who drives a car, you’ve probably already wondered if there ever will be relief on gas prices. With the economy the way it is now, we’re all trying to discover ways to minimize our spending costs. Sure we can cut down on our driving habits, but we can cut down only so much, especially when we have to go to work everyday. There are roughly 2.3 cars per household, and with over 110 million households in the United States, that equates to about 250 million cars that are being driven on our roads every day. Now, that’s a lot of cars and a lot of gas!! Image the positive effect it would have on the environment if we all learned to drive our cars in a more efficient way. It turns out that every gallon of gas that’s burned by our cars emits about 20 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere and eliminates the same amount of breathable oxygen! So, I did a little research and found 4 easy ways to save gas simply by changing the way we pump gas in our cars. Not only do we save money, but also has a positive impact on the environment.

1. Buy gas only in the morning (the coolest hours)

Believe it or not, buying gas early in the morning will save money. Applying basic science, we know for fact that the gas is most dense when the temperature is low. When the temperature gets warmer, the gasoline expands. So, if you buy in the afternoon or in the evening, then your gallon is not exactly a gallon. By pumping gas during the coolest hours of the day when the ground temperature is cooler, you will actually get more gas for the money. The difference is very little, but it still helps.

2. Pump gas on low speed

When you are filling up at a gas station, it is recommended to not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle at the fast setting. Most gas stations have three trigger settings: low, middle, and high. Pumping gas on a low speed minimizes the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All the hoses at the gas stations have a vapor return so if you pump at the fast speed, then some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. What this means is that the gas vapor that have already been metered will be sucked up and back into the gas station’s underground storage tank. In the end, you are paying money for something that you do not get, thus you are getting less gas for your money.

3. Do not pump when the inventory is low at a gas station

I hate it when I’m at a gas station and the pump is so slow! Time seems to go by much slower when you’re standing there waiting and waiting for it to finish pumping. I just end up being on my iPhone trying to keep entertained. Other times, I take this time to clean the car and throw away any trash that accumulated since my past fill-up. I always wonder to myself that having a recycle bin at the pumps would be a good idea since so many people are throwing away trash while pumping gas. Anyway, I digress. This gives me another reason not to pump when the inventory is low. Do not fill up your gas tank if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the underground storage tank when you stop to buy gas. When the gas station storage tank gets filled by the truck, the gasoline is being stirred up and agitated. So, if you get gas from this gas station storage tank, the gas that is being pump into your vehicle will contain some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

4. Fill up when your gas tank is half full or half empty

Another important tip is to fill up your tank when your gas tank is half full or half empty, whatever you prefer to call it. Most people don’t realize that the more gas you have in your gas tank the less air it occupies the empty space. If there are more air in your gas tank, then it gives more opportunities for the gas to evaporate. When you can minimize the air inside the gas tank, you are also minimizing the gas evaporation. Therefore, you are saving gas when your gas tank is constantly filled.

These tips will not save you enough money to become a millionaire overnight, nor will it save the entire environment all at once. But these are little steps that we can take to help save the environment, one gallon at a time. If you have some other gas saving tips, please let me know!