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Tips On Extending Your Mileage When Running on Empty

Have you ever pressed the limits of how far our car can travel while the fuel needle is at or below the “E” on your fuel gauge?  Or maybe you’ve forgetted to check the fuel gauge until it’s too late and the car has run out of gas.

Most driver at one time or another have all found ourselves in this dilemma -including us.  No matter how it happened, one thing is common – no one likes getting stuck in the middle of nowhere without any gas.

With the following tips, we’ll help you squeeze the last mileage out of you gas reserve to get to a gas station, and give you some advice on how to avoid this situation in the future…

1. Locate The Nearest Gas Station

Before you start panicking and driving to nowhere, you should find out the nearest gas station. This can be easily done from your car’s navigation. Alternatively, you can use your phone’s GPS to locate the nearest gas station and ideally the passenger should be handling this for safety reasons.

In case you spot a gas station that is downhill, go for that one. Your car will consume less gas going downhill as compared to uphill.

2. Avoid Aggressive Driving

A lot of gas is lost when you constantly change speeds. You should avoid slowing and accelerating so that your car picks up momentum again. Acceleration consumes gas since the speed and momentum of your car is increased. You should keep your foot steady on the pedal. This ensures that there is minimal gas flowing.

3. Shift Wisely

The combination of high speeds and low gears will lead to more consumption of gas. This ends up straining the engine of your car. Gears need to be shifted properly when you are running low on gas.

4. Avoid Tailgating

Tailgating may increase the consumption of your vehicle. This is because steady speeds may not be maintained. You will be at the mercy of the driver in front of you. If the driver instantly brakes, you will be forced to brake too. This braking and acceleration end up consuming more of your gas. Distance should be kept between you and the car in front of you to ensure that tailgating scenarios are avoided.

5. Avoid Idling

Turn off your car when you are stuck in traffic. Your car ends up losing lots of gas if it is idle for more than a minute. It may be wise for you to consider turning off your engine and wait for cars to start moving again. This is the only way that you will avoid using up your gas.

6. Speed Limit

Do not be in a hurry to get to the gas station. This ends up consuming a lot of gas. In the event you find yourself braking, you still need to regain speed. In the long run, consumption increases.

Studies have been able to point out that driving at 55 mph leads to the best gas utilization – above an below this mark can significantly reduce fuel efficiency – up to 25% at 80 MPH!

7. Roll Windows Up

Opened windows increase the resistance of wind on your vehicle. You need to roll up your windows to ensure minimal resistance.

Additionally, non-essential functions such as air conditioning need to be turned off. This helps to reduce engine stress. This should be done immediately you realize you are running low on gas.

8. Turn Off Stereo System

This works in a similar manner to the air conditioner. It stresses the car engine. This and all over electric functions such as charging phones should not be used. It may seem as though it cannot save any significant amount of gas but remember that it may be the difference between the last three blocks and the gas station.

Avoiding Future Mistakes

The absolute best way to reduce an out-of-gas situation is by simply staying prepared.  Leave the house with at least a quarter tank of gas and make sure to have a filled gas can in the truck.

On longer road trips make sure that you are aware of where the next gas station is since there can be stretches where you won’t see one for many, many miles.

In Conclusion

In summary always remember that your brake and pedal footwork determine how much gas your car will consume. Do not panic when you are running low on gas. Drive slowly to the nearest gas station. Avoid tailgating at any costs. When stuck in traffic for long, switch off your car engine. Additionally, remember to turn off any non-essential functions within your car. This is the only way you will be able to get to a gas station while on empty.

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