We all love a good bulk-buy deal. But that trunk full of 24-packs of soda, cases of water, and a jumbo jar of pickles? Your car is feeling the strain. Extra weight is the enemy of suburban MPG.
Every 100 pounds you carry around reduces your gas mileage by about one percent. It doesn’t sound like much until you realize you’ve been driving around with last summer’s garden soil bags in the trunk “just in case.” That’s free weight you’re paying to haul.
Think of your car like a backpack. You wouldn’t carry a dumbbell around all day “just because.” Clear out the clutter from your trunk—the sports gear, the beach chairs from July—and you’ll feel a little lift in your fuel gauge. It’s a free tune-up.
The Tire Pressure Secret
Here’s a quick, nerdy truth: your tires are basically four balloons. When they’re a little flat, your engine has to work harder to push the car down the street. Low tire pressure is like trying to ride a bike with a squishy rear tire—you pedal twice as hard to go half as far.
Checking your tire pressure takes about two minutes at any gas station. Keeping them properly inflated can improve your suburban MPG by three to five percent. That’s a free cup of coffee’s worth of gas every few weeks.
[ANSWERED] A 2018 Chevrolet Suburban averages 15 miles per gallon
Pro tip: do it when your tires are cold, like first thing in the morning. It’s the cheapest, easiest way to get a little more mileage out of every gallon, and your car will purr just a little happier.