How to Improve Gas Mileage

Steps You Can Take to Get Better MPG & Improve Your Fuel Efficiency

Sep 4, 2007 Angela Schnaubelt

Save money on gas by taking a few simple steps to increase your mpg. Be smart about driving and caring for your vehicle so you can make your gas budget go further.

It's frustrating to see gas prices skyrocketing. Consumers can feel helpless in the face of seasonal and economy-driven price fluctuations.

Combat rising gas prices by taking responsibility for what can be controlled. Follow these simple guidelines on how to improve gas mileage. Each little action step can really start adding up to significant savings for the gas budget.

Fuel economy is all in the little details.

Properly Inflated Tires Improve Gas Mileage

Keep the tires well inflated. Auto dealerships often keep the tires somewhat under-inflated to allow for a softer, cushier test drive. Check to see that the tires are properly inflated.

Acceleration Gives Worse MPG

Jackrabbit starts hurt mileage. Don’t jam on the gas from a dead start. Find your zen on the road by anticipating traffic flow: ease up on the accelerator instead of braking and gassing, braking and gassing.

Weight Drags Auto and Decreases Mileage

Smaller vehicles will benefit most from decreased cargo weight. Unload the vehicle of unnecessary weight—even 100 pounds can affect gas mileage.

Improve Aerodynamics for Better Mileage

Remove bike racks and other cartop racks to improve aerodynamics. This doesn’t have a huge effect on mileage, but every little bit helps.

Speed Affects Miles Per Gallon Efficiency

Maximum fuel efficiency is 55 mph. This may vary slightly depending on the type of car, but speeds over 60 mph decrease fuel efficiency drastically.

Cruise control on longer trips will also help prevent excess gassing by keeping the speed at a constant. Driving in the mountains is an exception to the rule of using cruise control.

Idling Decreases Fuel Efficiency

Obviously, idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Sitting in your car with the air running to keep cool may be a convenience, but it hurts your overall mpg efficiency. This is especially true for larger vehicles.

Overdrive Helps MPG

Using overdrive reduces the amount of rpm’s the engine requires and helps increase mpg.

The Effect of Air Conditioning on Gas Mileage

Running the air conditioning hurts mpg by about 3%. Running the defroster also reduces mileage, so use sparingly.

Rolling the windows down does create a drag and can reduce mileage, however, it puts less of a strain on the engine than running the air conditioner.

Tune-Ups Help Get Better Mileage

A well-tuned engine is critical and can make a huge difference in gas mileage. Spark plugs, oil changes, air filters, fuel injectors, and tire inflation are easy things to keep up with.

Engine Oils Improves Fuel Economy

Use synthetic engine oil. Good oil improves fuel economy by reducing friction.

Do Fuel Quality/Additives Help Mileage?

Use the grade recommended for the vehicle by the manufacturer. Higher octane fuel may not only be a waste of money but may harm the vehicle, as well.

Be wary of fuel additive claims. Check to make sure that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has registered the product. If a product is registered with the EPA, by law the warranty cannot be voided and it won't harm the vehicle or the environment. The EPA does not, however, guarantee any claims to more efficient fuel economy for any product.

More Suggestions to Help Improve Overall Gas Efficiency

Ask others who drive the same car and see what kind of gas mileage they get. Compare notes.
Read the insurance and auto dealer newsletters for tips on how to get better gas mileage.
Carpool or ride a bike.
Buy a more fuel efficient automobile.
Combine all errands into more efficient trips.
Read the owner's manual.

Just for fun

For an independent, thoroughly annotated, extensive research report on engine performance and fuel efficiency on a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, check out OmniNerd's article: Improve MPG: The Factors Affecting Fuel Efficiency. You might just be inspired to do some tests and comparisons for your own vehicle!

Pay close attention to these factors affecting gas mileage to improve the mpg of your vehicle. Most are easy, some (like decreasing speed and idling less) are new habits that need to be formed.

The copyright of the article How to Improve Gas Mileage in Auto Tech & Repair is owned by Angela Schnaubelt. Permission to republish How to Improve Gas Mileage in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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