How To Save Money While Driving

I am a fan of the National Wildlife Federation, and spend some of my work time collaborating with its Campus Ecology Project. Just got an email from the NWF that I find pretty interesting, especially this part:

Keep your tires properly inflated and save about 12 cents a gallon. Check and replace your air filter regularly and save up to 41 cents a gallon. Observe the speed limit while driving and save up to 94 cents per gallon!

Oh, and just from me: If it's not too hot out and you're going less than 45 mph, turn off the AC and put the windows down. That's about another 30 cents a gallon.

[Sean McFarlane]

hey come on no politics here man
but yah terry that window, i do it, saves a good amount of gas

[get your discs and godiscn]

here's what was left out about money saving driving techniques -

Drive an old Corvair - Priceless !!!

[nitegolfer]

Tough to not mention politics when talking about saving money while driving. I will refrain from giving cent a good ole, "Yeah...Thats Right" comment. Good advice Terry.

Also, drive downhill everywhere.

[BogieWon]

Those are all excellent tips Terry. Don't forget coasting up to stop signs/lights instead of speeding up to them, and leaving the line slowly instead of taking off like a jackrabbit. We can all save a lot by slightly altering our driving habits. Oh, and leave the big SUV in the garage....

[Terry "the Pirate" Calhoun]

it's me - lil charlie bishop (The 2007 Worst Player Of The Year Award Winner) said:

here's what was left out about money saving driving techniques -

Drive an old Corvair - Priceless !!!

Dang, Craig, I thought for a moment there that you had gotten a photo of my Corvair, but then I didn't see any rust or dings.

[glane]

and that one has hubcaps...

[Justin Gregg]

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/106842/article.h...

[Terry "the Pirate" Calhoun]

glane said:

and that one has hubcaps...

Hey, mine has 3 hubcaps, and I know the 4th is within 3-4 miles of my house :)

[eric beich]

not to dispute anything, well actually umm.. Mythbusters had an episode on the driving with windows down VS driving with AC on or off, and in today's modern cars the difference you save either way is mute.

now we could get into semantics here because they were limited to a certain speed, at higher speeds it may make more of a difference, but if your going over 70 then fuel economy is not your main concern anyways.
some of the other tips may be great, but don't make yourself suffer no AC in a modern vehicle and think your actually saving anything.

and please, for gods sake stay in the right lane on the highway if your going to drive the speed limit. thank you, drive thru :)

[Missingpanic]

Todays vehicles are designed to be driven with the windows up for maximum air flow. Driving with the windows down creates drag. Research for yourself. Now if your AC system is not running correctly, then this throws that out the opened window...

[Ben Calhoun]

Not an argument about how people who drive the speed limit in the left lane are the ones being wrong..seen that enough online lol. They are being obnoxious, yes, but breaking a law, usually not. The person going above speed limit would be.
My a/c is currently broken.

[Terry "the Pirate" Calhoun]

Yeah, at 70 mph, windows up and AC on is best; at slower speeds, windows down and AC off is best. Variables include the amount of airflow smoothing design the vehicle has gone through before manufacture.