Tips to Improve Your Car's Gas Mileage

With the cost of fuel reaching new highs it is becoming more and more important for us to find ways to save gas while we do our necessary driving. This is actually a lot easier than most people think and with a few simple maintenance and driving tips you can improve your mileage anywhere from 15-40%! If you fill up with just 10 gallons a week that means you can save anywhere from $4.50 to $12 dollars per week on a 10 gallon fill up! Just to make this hit home a little harder that is between $234 to $624 per year!! So if you think that is enough motivation then read on.

Driving Habits:

We can all perform simple changes in our driving habits that can have a big impact. Of course we all know the importance of not performing a stoplight drag race and gunning our engine for no reason, but did you know we can also save a fortune if we simply time our stops. There have been so many times that I have seen a light turn red a quarter of a mile away and all the cars around me are still gunning their engines and racing to the red light. If you simply take your foot off the gas and coast to the light you will save quite a bit of fuel. Not only that, with practice you can learn to time your arrival at stoplights so you arrive at a slow speed just as the light is turning green so you don't waste any more fuel getting the car back up to speed! The best part of this tip is when you get to drive past the guy or gal waiting at the stoplight who earlier raced past you just to have the privilege of burning gas while sitting idle!

Another big tip that can improve your mileage significantly is to decrease your speed when you are on the highway. This is something that most drivers find very difficult to do because it is just so tempting to hit the gas and let off a little steam while you pass all of the slow pokes on the freeway. The thing to remember is that the higher your speed the more your cars aerodynamics will try and slow you down so your engine will need to work harder. If you simply make the decision to go 65mph instead of 75mph you will save anywhere between 10-30% just from this act alone!!

Oil Changes:

A lot of people do not understand the significance of the oil they add to their engines during an oil change. Most car makers nowadays recommend 5w-30 or even 5w-20 oils instead of the once traditional 10w-30 or 10w-40. These newer oils are lighter and thinner than the more traditional oils and as such can allow for greater engine efficiency. The difference is not significant but every little bit adds up so be sure and read your owners manual to find out the correct weight for your engine. One note about oil changes, a lot of lube shops recommend using synthetic oil in your engine because they claim it will increase your mileage, this rarely justifies the added cost. In fact some mechanics and actually advise against it because some cars are not made for the synthetic oil and their seals and gaskets can actually wear down faster with its use. The moral of the story, use only what the owners manual recommends.

Tires:

Your tires are one of the most important aspects of your car yet it is something that most drivers neglect. If you really think about it, your tires are the main interface between you and the road. Bad tires on even a brand new car can affect mileage significantly and can affect everything from handling and braking. The most obvious bit of maintenance we can do with our tires is to ensure that the tire pressure is correct as this helps ensure that we are not wasting precious fuel simply on friction.

Another thing we can do is to ensure that our tires are properly balanced and rotated. This promotes even wear on the tires and as we all know tires that are in perfect order lead to better mileage. This is something that most mechanics recommend be done every 5,000-10,000 miles though you can probably go a bit more without affecting your mileage significantly.

Air Filter:

An air filter, like its name suggests, serves to clean the air that will be entering the combustion chambers. If this becomes clogged then it will restrict flow into your engine and decrease its efficiency. Generally this should be changed between every 15,000 and 20,000 miles. It usually costs about $15-$20 dollars and takes less than 15 minutes to change yourself but it can make a significant difference in your mileage.

One note to keep in mind about air filters, a lot of after market items exist that claim to improve your horsepower and your mileage by increasing the "efficiency" of your air cleaner. These items range from small metal pieces that create a "faster" airflow to air filters that use oil to clean the air coming into your engine. The general consensus about all of these items is that they do NOT work. You have to remember that if these items actually did improve mileage then the automakers would be lining up to install them in their new cars because it would save them a fortune in engineering costs! So don't be fooled by all of hype.

Special Note About Older Cars:

A lot of people still drive older cars (and by older I mean over 10 years old) and there are some tips you can use to improve their mileage in addition to those above. The main one being using some of the newer dual and quad tipped spark plugs. These spark plugs allow for a greater spark in the combustion chamber and this allows for a more complete burning of the fuel that is injected in. A lot of newer car engines already come with these but the older cars did not have that advantage, so the next time you go in for a tune up make sure you stop off at your local auto parts store and buy a set for your mechanic to install. They do cost more initially (usually they are between $10-$20 per spark plug) but they do last up to 100,000 miles and you will have the benefit of higher mileage and a smoother running engine. There are some links to these plugs below.

All of these tips combined will certainly help you to get the most mileage from your dollar (or 3) of hard earned money!