subject: You Can Be Key In Improving Gas Mileage [print this page] No matter what vehicle you drive there are two factors involved in improving gas mileage.
How you drive your car and how you maintain it are the two factors. Of the two, maintenance is the easiest to address, but overall has less impact than your driving habits.
Using the correct motor oil for your engine, regular tuning and maintenance and proper tire inflation are the three keys to keeping your car at it's most fuel efficient.
Fixing an engine that needs a tune up or has failed its emission test typically saves you 4 percent of your fuel usage. Only if the maintenance is a major issue, such as a faulty oxygen sensor which causes the mix of gas and air to be off, will the savings be more, but then they could go as high as 40 percent. Lets say that fuel is $2.75, then you can save 11 cents per gallon.
Proper tire pressure makes your tires last longer and run safer. The proper pressure is usually found on a sticker on the driver's side door jamb, and should be in your owner's manual. Printed on the tires will be the maximum pressure but don't follow this. Proper tire maintenance can save you about 8 cents a gallon or make your car run 3 percent more economical.
Using the recommended grade of motor oil improves gas mileage only one or two percent, but that's 3 to 6 cents per gallon.
25 cents per gallon is what you are looking to save at the pump by adjusting all of those mechanical issues.
Fuel burns much quicker when you have bad driving habits, you can cost you more than $1.50 pr gallon. These habits are also harder to fix - you can't pay someone to make them go away in a few hours.
The worst offender is aggressive driving - speeding, rapid acceleration and braking to maneuver through traffic. As much as a third of your gas mileage is gone by driving that way 10 mpg Driving like that lowers your mileage 5 percent around town and as much as 10 mpg on the highway, that's 30 percent on the highway. That's 91 cents extra per gallon ad very high indeed.
The second biggest waste of fuel is speeding. For every 5 mph you are traveling more than 60mph speeding you actually drop 11 percent of you gas mileage. You stand to lose a huge 50 cents per gallon if you drive 10 mph faster than 60 mph.
Other habits to change are carrying around excess weight - 100 pounds costs an extra 6 cents a gallon and idling. Your engine can be slowed yet still maintain it's speed through the use of overdrive gears while driving on the highway, cruise control also saves your mileage.
Follow these steps and save money at the fuel pump, get into the good driving habits to help reduced the gas you are using and be sure that your car is mechanically sound.
