How To

How to Improve Gas Mileage

By eHow Cars Editor

Rate: (4 Ratings)

In an economy that is seeing gas prices climb higher and higher, it's become more important than ever to get the best performance your car can deliver. The following tips illustrate how to reduce the amount of gas you use, leading to improved gas mileage.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Car mechanic
Tire gauge
Vehicle

Step 1

Drive more efficiently. Avoiding aggressive driving, observing the speed limit, removing excess weight from your car and using cruise control can have dramatic effects on your car's mileage.
Step 2

Maintain your vehicle regularly. Engine tune-ups, fuel filter checks and replacements and fully-inflated tires add to your vehicle's performance efficiency.
Step 3

Use the proper grade of motor oil as recommended by your vehicle's manufacturer.
Step 4

Reduce the use of your vehicle by planning and combining trips. Running multiple errands at once and carpooling can help.
Step 5

Plan commute times to avoid high traffic and rush hours, which lead to sitting in traffic and consuming more fuel.
Step 6

Choose a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Tips & Warnings

When traveling, take the minimum amount of luggage and bags with you to avoid excessive weight that requires more fuel.
Use your car's A/C sparingly.
When possible, keep your windows closed. Open windows reduce gas mileage more significantly than use of the A/C.

Comments

trueloveofyou said

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on 6/8/2009 When getting a fuel economical car, do not just look at a Prius or other hybrid vehicle. The car I drive gets just as good or better mileage. To void the traffic, go to work earlier and leave later. I've done that before and honestly, I was much more productive and got home earlier.

fmulder1013 said

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on 3/9/2009 Unless you have a very old car, shutting off the A/C does hardly anything. Every car magazine I've read says the editors could find only a tiny improvement in fuel consumption. It's not really worth it. I spent a lot of days sweating in my car with the a/c off and my mileage didn't improve enough to justify the pain and suffering.