How to Improve Gas Mileage

It is no mystery to anyone who drives that gasoline prices have begun to rise again and it is putting a pinch on your wallet. No one wants to pay more for gas than they have to, so it's important to find ways to improve your gas mileage and stretch your gasoline dollar.

Keep your tires inflated to the proper level. Low tire pressure will put a drag on your car which will affect it mostly when you accelerate from a stopped position. Think of how hard it is for you to get up from a low sitting chair, the same thing occurs when you accelerate from a stopped position with under inflated tires. The car literally has to pull itself up before it can go forward. This causes the engine to have to work harder which in turn burns more gas.

In an on-campus study conducted by students at Carnegie Mellon University, 80 out of 81 cars that were examined had tires that were under-inflated by at least 20 per cent. The students estimated that properly inflated tires would save an average of $432 per year based on average driving and gasoline costing $3 per gallon.

The cars' owners manual will tell you how much air pressure to put in your tires. Be sure to not exceed what it recommends. Over inflated tires are almost as bad as under inflated ones. If you can't find your owners manual, a local tire store can tell you how much pressure to put in your tires or you can call a daelership's service department and they can tell you.

You should check your tires at least once a month to insure that they have the proper air pressure.

Regulerly changing your fuel and air filterswill also help to reduce gas consumption. Dirty filters cause the engine to not be able to operate as efficiently which again, causes it to work harder. A dirty fuel filter will affect the engine's ability to effectively burn the fuel (gasoline). Because the engine is not getting enough fuel to properly operate due to the dirty fuel filter, it will attempt to suction more fuel from the gas tank to keep running. This again causes the engine to work harder and consume more fuel than normal. If the engine does not get enough fuel to sustain itself it will stop causing you to have to start it again which wastes more fuel.

The same thing goes with your air filter. Your engine needs a certain amount of air in combination with gas, to operate. If the air-to-gas ratio is not proper due to a dirty air filter, just as with the fuel filter, the engine will have to work harder to sustain itself which will burn more fuel (gasoline). If the air flow is cut off completely the engine will stop, causing you to have to start it again which uses more fuel.

CarJunky.com estimates a 15% savings in fuel costs by having a clean air filter.

You should have your filters checked at least every six months whether you think they need it or not. Keeping your fuel and air filters clean will make a dramatic difference in your car's fuel efficiency and gas mileage.

Change your oilevery three to six months. Your engine has small channels running through it that carry the oil to the moving engine parts like the pistons. Although these channels are pretty much airtight, some dirt still manages to get in. This dirt combines with the oil and over a period of time the oil starts to become a little gunky and thick. This gunky oil is sometimes referred to as engine sludge. Thicker oil causes the moving parts of your engine to have to push harder in order to operate. The harder they have to push, the more fuel it takes to push them. Keping your oil changed will keep it thin which will make it easier for your engine's moving parts to function.

Changed oil equals smooth running engine. Smooth running engine equals less gas consumption. Less gas consumption equals money in your pocket.

Using a gas treatmentevery few months will help to dry up any condensation (water) that may be in your gas tank. You may not believe it, but condensation can form in your fuel tank. A car that has been sitting parked for a long period of time can easily have water form in the tank especially if the the car has been parked on grass. You probably have heard the old saying "water and gasoline don't mix", well it's true. Because water is lighter than gasoline it can travel along the top of gasoline from your gas tank through your fuel line to your engine and cause your engine to sputter and run rough. And again, an engine that is struggling to maintain operation uses more fuel.

Keeping a can of gas treatment handy(also called dry gas) will help eliminate any water you may have in your gas tank and help keep your engine running smooth. You should use one bottle of treatment per tankful of gas.
Adjusting your driving habits will also do a lot to cut gasoline usage. Jack-rabbit starts (flooring the accelerator) and driving at high speeds(over the speed limit) will hamper your efforts to cut gasoline consumption. It takes more gas for the car to move from a stopped position than it does to maintain the speed of the car. After the car is moving you can allow the car to coast periodically without even using the gas. Just think, you are moving a 4000 to 6000 pound object from a stopped position. That takes a lot of power so you want to ease into your acceleration to minimize the amount of fuel required to get going.

Simple logic tells you that it takes more energy to keep an object going at a faster rate than it takes to keep it going at a slower rate. The same goes for a car. The engine has to use more fuel to propel a automobile at 50 miles per hour than it does at 35 miles per hour. Driving at a lower speed will not only help you to conserve fuel it will also keep you from getting a speeding ticket.

Finally, remove any excess weightfrom the car. Additional weight means the car's engine has to..... you guessed it, work harder. To put it in perspective just think, don't you have to work harder to pull something that is heavier than something that is lighter? Well, so does your car. Lighten your car's load and you may be surprised how much fuel economy you gain.

Following these tips should help you improve your gas mileage not to mention prolong your car's life.

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