BY MATTHEW C. KEEGAN / ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 24, 2019 / NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION / Gas prices go up and gas prices go down. This&hellip;{"id":11445,"date":"2019-09-03T11:21:30","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T18:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=11445"},"modified":"2019-09-03T11:21:30","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T18:21:30","slug":"rising-gas-prices-how-to-conserve-fuel-without-spending-a-fortune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/rising-gas-prices-how-to-conserve-fuel-without-spending-a-fortune\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Gas Prices: How to Conserve Fuel Without Spending a Fortune"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">BY MATTHEW C. KEEGAN \/ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 24, 2019 \/<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION<\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\/<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Gas prices go up and gas prices go down. This constant seesaw can put a wrinkle in any budget, leading consumers to carefully consider their next vehicle. But purchasing a new car isn\u2019t always a practical or an affordable solution for some. Fortunately, fighting rising costs don\u2019t require taking drastic action, as fuel-saving solutions are always within easy reach.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Save Fuel, Save Money<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1. Keep tires inflated and control the load.<\/strong>\u00a0Tires that are not properly inflated can cause control issues, possibly leading to an accident. Furthermore, when tires don\u2019t have enough air, you may notice a slight drop in fuel efficiency, up to 3 percent in extreme cases. Moreover, an increased load due to items stored in the trunk can drain fuel, too. Always inflate your tires to the level recommended by the manufacturer, which is typically found on a placard located on the driver door jamb, inside the glove box or in your owner\u2019s manual. Use a\u00a0<\/span><strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" title=\"Tire Gauges Slide\" href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/p\/NTH90384?cid=social_blog_112018_tire_gauge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tire pressure gauge<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">to check levels weekly. Lose the extra load, too, and your fuel savings will grow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>2. Maintain a properly tuned car<\/strong>. Although tuneups are a thing of the past, there are several parts that require occasional replacement, otherwise fuel economy might suffer. Change spark plugs, air filters and replace sensors as needed. For example, a\u00a0faulty\u00a0oxygen sensor will make your engine work harder, which consumes more fuel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>3. Drive with a light foot.<\/strong>\u00a0Jackrabbit starts, hard braking and high speeds negatively impact your vehicle\u2019s fuel economy. Ease up on the accelerator and ease down on the brake and you\u2019ll notice an immediate improvement in fuel economy, up to 30 percent, according to the<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fueleconomy.gov\/feg\/pdfs\/guides\/FEG2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Environmental Protection Agency<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. On the highway, use cruise control and observe the speed limit. Gas mileage typically falls rapidly once you pass 50 miles per hour, increasing consumption by 7 to 14 percent on average.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>4. Choose the correct oil grade.<\/strong>\u00a0Car manufacturers recommend a certain grade of motor oil for your vehicle. This helps your car run efficiently and saves gas. Shifting to another grade can lower fuel economy by up to 2 percent. That\u2019s a small number, for certain, but when combined with the other fuel-draining measures, costs can add up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>5. Use the recommended fuel.<\/strong>\u00a0Pull up to a gas pump and you\u2019ll usually notice regular-, mid- and premium-grade fuels. Unless your car requires a higher and more expensive kind of gasoline (per the owner\u2019s manual), don\u2019t buy it. Other than performance models, most vehicles run ideally on regular fuel.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Combating Rising Gas Prices<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fluctuating gas prices don\u2019t need to stress you out, as there isn\u2019t anything you can do about them. What you can do is evaluate your driving habits, keep your car properly maintained and consider your future car purchasing decisions with an eye on maximizing efficiency. Who knows, maybe even an<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" title=\"ELECTRIC VEHICLES: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY\" href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/electric-vehicles-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">electric car<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">is in your future?<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Check out all the<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/c\/fuel-emission-systems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>fuel and emission system parts<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">available on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA Online<\/a><\/strong> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">or trust one of their 17,000<\/span> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/store-finder.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA AutoCare locations<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on how to improve your car\u2019s fuel economy, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/store-locator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">local NAPA AUTO PARTS store<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Photo Credit: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Mazda_3_Fuel_Gauge_Showing_Empty.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mazda 3 Fuel Gauge Showing Empty<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/User:Deloreanman14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deloreanman14<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/legalcode\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/strong>).<\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, National Automotive Parts Association. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">automotive tips and stories<\/a><\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">from NAPA, or here for more information on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/event-info\/car-show-hours-dates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the next Pomona Swap Meet &amp; Classic Car Show<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":11447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[805],"tags":[4649,7235,7232,7231,7234,6338,2832,6234,4821,7229,5968,3696,3626,88,3491,3037,6233,3499,7233,7230,3029,3928,7236,6717],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Fuel-Gauge-Showing-Empty.jpg?fit=1800%2C1350&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9nnZN-2YB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11445"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11449,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11445\/revisions\/11449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}