Some Tips to Help you Get the Most Milage Out of Your Vehicle

Here are some tips to help you get the most milage while driving your vehicle.

1. Avoid High Speeds
As your speed increases, your aerodynamic drag increases in an exponential fashion. Driving 62 mph (100 km/h) vs 75 mph (120 km/h) will reduce fuel consumption by about 15%.

2. Do Not Accelerate or Brake Hard
By anticipating the traffic and applying slow steady acceleration and braking, fuel economy may increase by as much as 20%.

3. Keep Tires Properly Inflated
Keep tire air pressure at the level recommended by your vehicle manufacturer. A single tire under inflated by 2 PSI, increases fuel consumption by 1%. Check your air pressure in the winter when the air gets cold. The pressure can go down by as much as 5 PSI or more. When the weather gets warm again, don't forget to let some air out again because the air expands causing the air pressure to go to high beyond the tires recomended pressure. You can usually find your vehicles recomended tire pressure on a sticker inside the driver side door or in the vehicles owners manual. One way to tell if your tires air pressure is low is if the vehicle wants to go to the left or right. A tire with lower or higher air pressure can cause this. If your tires are properly inflated and properly aligned, your vehicle should continue to drive straight ahead if you let go of the steering wheel. DON'T LET GO OF THE STEERING WHEEL TO TRY IT IF THERE ARE OTHER VEHICLES COMING!

4. Use A/C Sparingly
When the air conditioner is on it puts extra load on the engine forcing more fuel to be used (by about 20%). The defrost position on most vehicles also uses the air conditioners compressor to dry the air to help speed the defrosting of your windows.

5. Keep Windows Closed
Windows open, especially at highway speeds, increase drag and result in decreased fuel economy of up to 10%.

6. Service Vehicle Regularly
Proper maintenance avoids poor fuel economy related to dirty air filters, old spark plugs or low fluid levels.

7. Use Cruise Control
Maintaining a constant speed over long distances often saves gas.

8. Avoid Heavy Loads
Remove the sand bags from your trunk in the spring and pack lightly for long trips. Don't constantly carry heavy items in your trunk.

9. Avoid Long Idles
If you anticipate being stopped for more than 1 minute, shut off the car. Restarting the car uses less fuel than letting it idle for this time.

10. Purchase a Fuel Efficient Vehicle

11. Make Sure Tires are Properly Aligned
If your tires are misaligned, this can cause excessive drag decreasing fuel milage, as well as shortening the life of the tire. This is because the tire has to roll and slide crooked down the road instead of rolling straight down the road. If you notice abnormal wear on the tires, i.e. the inside or outside of the tire is worn down or bald while the opposite side looks fine, this is usually a sign of the tires being misaligned or some other problem. Having your tires properly aligned may not only save you milage, it will also increase the tread life of your tires. If you are getting new tires, always have the alignment checked. There is no sense in purchasing tires only to wear them down too fast because of a misaligned tire. You should have the alignment checked at least once a year. As a rule of thumb, right after winter because of all the potholes. You should also have the alignment checked if you hit a curb or something excessively hard. Another way to tell if your tires are out of alignment is if the car wants to pull to one side or the other. To check this, on a straight streatch of road and without traffic, briefly let go of the steering wheel. The vehicle should continue to drive straight ahead. If it tries to go to the left or the right, this could be a sign of misaligned tires or one tire is under inflated.

12. Use a Good Quality Fuel
Using a poor quality fuel can reduce gas milage by 5%. You may want to run a good fuel system cleaner through every other month.

I hope these tips help you get the most milage for your money between refueling your vehicle.