As gas prices remain high, improving your car’s mileage is crucial. By stretching a tank of gas further, you can reduce the amount of times you must fill up per month, which can help you stick to your budget. This is especially important for those who purchased non-efficient cars when gas was cheaper. But regardless of what car you drive, you can always use a little extra money at the end of the month, and cutting back your gas expenses is a great way to pad your bank account.
There are a range of tips, from basic to advanced, that you can implement today to help increase your mileage and save money on gas.
Reduce Excess Weight
You’d be surprised how much all that junk in your car’s trunk can weigh. If your car has front-wheel drive, putting extra weight on the rear axle means the front wheels aren’t getting as good a grip as they could be, which reduces your mileage. Furthermore, extra weight means the engine has to work a little harder to move the car, which also reduces your gas mileage. If you’re carrying a lot of weight, lightening the load can help you get a mile or two more per gallon.
Properly Inflate Tires
I usually inflate my tires when they look low, but even if they are slightly low, undetectable to the eye, they could significantly reduce your mileage. Basically, under-inflated tires result in your engine using more gas to move the car.
Make sure your tires are inflated to the pressure indicated in your owner’s manual for the best balance between gas mileage and traction. This will translate into significant savings, as being under-inflated by 10 PSI per tire can cost you five MPG or more.
Replace Air Filter and Spark Plugs
Replacing the air filter and spark plugs during a routine auto checkup not only helps your car last longer, but it can help your engine burn gas more efficiently. For most cars, this simple task costs less than $50 if you’re comfortable with DIY car maintenance.
Use the Recommended Motor Oil
Don’t think that using any old type of motor oil will work for your car – its engine is designed to work best with a specific type. If you use a heavier weight oil than is recommended, this could create too much friction and cause the engine to work harder and burn more fuel. Check your owner’s manual to see what’s recommended for your car, and utilize only that type of oil.
Check Your Gas Cap Seal
Over time, the rubber seal on your gas cap will start to break down, allowing oxygen to leak into the gas tank. This causes an overabundance of air to enter the engine as it pulls gasoline from the tank, and in turn the engine burns more gas.
Replace spark plugs early and save a lot
If your 100,000-mile spark plugs have 80,000 miles on them, they’re 80 percent worn. Misfires and incomplete combustion occur more frequently during that last 20,000 miles, costing you almost $562.50 in wasted fuel. You have to replace your spark plugs anyway, so do it early and pocket the savings. Even if you have to replace the plugs one extra time over the life of your car, you’ll still come out way ahead. And don’t automatically assume your plugs are good for 100,000 miles. Many four-cylinder engines require new spark plugs at either 30,000- or 60,000-mile intervals.
Replace a failing thermostat
A thermostat that opens too quickly or stays open can dramatically lower the coolant temperature and put a mega-chill on your gas mileage. All you need to check it is an inexpensive infrared laser thermometer. Simply aim it at the thermostat housing. If your engine is warmed up and the thermometer reads less than 160 degrees Fahrenheit, you’re wasting gas and it’s time to replace the thermostat. (To reduce reflection errors, spray the thermostat housing with black paint prior to testing.) A new thermostat costs about $10 and is easy to replace.
Driving slower
Hard acceleration in stop-and-go driving costs you 20 percent in gas mileage. If you live your life in rush hour traffic and like to put the pedal to the metal, spend all your extra time at the next stoplight figuring out how you could have spent the $750 a year you’re wasting (70¢ per gallon).
Check for brake drag
Brake drag can really sink your mileage. Brake calipers have a nasty habit of rusting, binding and dragging down your gas mileage. How can you tell if your brakes are dragging without having them checked at a shop? Easy! Buy an inexpensive noncontact infrared laser thermometer (about $20 at any home center), remove the wheel cover (if equipped), and aim the laser at the wheel hub after a drive. Compare the readings from the right and left sides. If they vary by more than 20 percent, you’ve probably got a dragging brake or a wheel bearing problem, so take it in for repairs.
Keep an eye on warning lights
Pay attention to your warning lights. Car owners think a glowing check engine light isn’t important because it just means you’ve got an “emissions problem.” Guess what? Emissions problems are almost always caused by an incomplete burn and that means you’re not getting the most bang for your buck. In other words, a check light means you’re wasting gas. Worse yet, all that extra gas goes right into your expensive catalytic converter, causing it to fail early. A new catalytic converter can run upwards of $1,000 to replace and then you STILL have to fix the underlying problem that turned on the check engine light in the first place. Many times the check engine light comes on due to a bum sensor or vacuum leak. Replacing a sensor or fixing a vacuum leak can save far more than what you’ll waste in reduced MPG.
