Getty Images/Justin Sullivan

With gas prices hovering around $3.51 a gallon who wouldn’t want to save money on petrol?  The folks at TrueCar.com have some suggestions to ease the pain at the pump just a bit.

TrueCar.com has some suggestions on simple, everyday things you can do to save on your gas bill.  

Drive smoother.  Don’t mash the pedal when you take off.  Pretend that there’s a fresh egg under the pedal.   Also, don’t slam on the brakes.  That, too can reduce your gas mileage.  Aggressive driving can cut into your gas mileage by up to 33% and you don’t need that!

Take it easy on speed.  Most vehicles get the best mileage at speeds ranging from 45 to 50 miles per hour.  So if you can adjust your speed in that neck of the woods, you’ll save on gas.  The feds say if you go over 60 mph, you could lose 23% on you gas mileage.  On the other hand, of course, if you did 55 or 60 on the Reuther Autobahn, you’d be rear ended in a New York second.  So it’s not always possible to go slow!

Don’t sit around with your engine running.  If you think you’ll be stopping for more than twenty seconds, turn your motor off.  Idling wastes more fuel than turning your car on and off.  This might be possible at intersections with very long stop lights.  But only do this if it’s safe and you can be absolutely sure that you’ll be ready to get going when the guy ahead of you moves forward.

If your vehicle suggests using regular fuel don’t waste your money on mid-grade or premium fuel.  Many are under the false impression that vehicles designed to burn regular fuel do better, performance wise, with premium fuel.  This simply isn’t true.  And in fact even some vehicles that suggest using premium gas can do just fine living on regular providing the vehicle doesn’t “ping” or “knock.”

Shop around for gas.  Of course it doesn’t make a lick of sense for you to drive twenty miles out of your way to save five cents a gallon on your motion lotion!  What does make good sense is to go on line to sites like gasbuddy.com and check prices in your neighborhood or on routes near your commute.  That way you can save a few cents a gallon here and there.

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