What wastes more gas

One of them might be you. When the light turns green, you don't have to take off as quickly as possible. That pedal under your right foot is called the "gas pedal" for a good reason. The more you press down on it, the more gas you're pumping into the engine. Press lightly on the gas pedal, and you'll still accelerate, and you'll still get where you're going.

You might be surprised at how little pressure it takes to get your car up to speed in a reasonable time. When you're driving down the street, and you see a light red light or stop sign up ahead, you should lay off the gas sooner rather than later.

There's no point in keeping your foot on the gas until just before you reach the intersection. Let off the pedal sooner and give your engine a rest as you coast to the stop while braking gently. As an added benefit, your brake pads will last longer, too. By themselves, these first two tips can improve your fuel economy around town by as much as 35 percent, according to tests conducted by automotive information Web site Edmunds.

Even if it doesn't involve hard acceleration, speeding wastes gas. The faster you go, the more air your vehicle has to push out of the way. It's like moving your hand through water. The faster you try to move your hand, the harder the water pushes back.

In tests by Consumer Reports, driving at 75 miles per hour instead of 65 miles per hour reduced fuel economy by between 3 and 5 miles per gallon, depending on the vehicle. Tailgating is a bad move for many reasons. First of all, it's unsafe. You reduce your ability to react if the car in front of you slows or stops.

It also means you have to pay ultra-close attention to that car which reduces your ability to scan for other hazards ahead of you and to the sides. And tailgating wastes gas. Every time the driver ahead taps his brakes, you have to slow down even more than he did. The less it weighs, the less fuel your vehicle will use. If you do use air conditioning, use the re-circulate option. It will minimize the impact. See the impact of the 5 fuel-efficient driving techniques firsthand with the help of a fuel consumption display, a feature now standard on many vehicles.

Some newer vehicles come equipped with even more sophisticated displays that analyze speed variations, shift points for manual transmissions, and driving behaviours such as acceleration and braking times. Committed to saving money and shrinking your environmental footprint? Use this personal action plan to achieve your goals. You will not receive a reply. For enquiries, contact us. Accelerate gently The harder you accelerate the more fuel you use. Maintain a steady speed When your speed dips and bursts, you use more fuel, and spend more money, than you need to.

Avoid high speeds Keep to the speed limit and save on fuel! Coast to decelerate Every time you use your brakes, you waste your forward momentum. Report a problem on this page. But the sleeker and more aerodynamic sedan had a 20 percent reduction in fuel efficiency. The study concluded that the more aerodynamic a vehicle, the greater the loss in fuel efficiency when windows were rolled down at higher speeds. In the end, Jamie's air-conditioned SUV stopped first, while Adam's window-cooled car ran for 15 miles more.

In the end, which is better? The answer is: it depends. Variables such as vehicle size and aerodynamics, driving speed, terrain and wind speeds will all play a role in determining your fuel efficiency. How to Improve Summer Fuel Economy. In addition to saving your AC for highway speeds, FuelEconomy.