How to Get Better Fuel Mileage

Video Transcript

"Today I'm going to show you how to achieve optimal fuel economy for your vehicle. First thing you want to look at is making sure you have a clean air filter in your car, very important, it allows the engine to breathe cleanly. The second important thing is having air pressure in your tires, that's very important. And third and finally is the way you drive. Accelerating fast will decrease your gas mileage more than anything else. Replacing the air filter is very important, very easy and cheap too. One of the best ways you can improve your gas mileage is to make sure your tires are the max PSI of the tire manufacturer's recommendations, especially with gas being four dollars a gallon, it can make a big difference. For this particular tire, the max PSI is fifty, here you could see fifty PSI cold, that's what it should be at when the tire is cold. In order to check tire pressure you're going to need a tire pressure gage. These are available from most auto parts stores for just a couple of dollars. Take the valve cap off the tire, and insert the tire gage onto the stem. As you can see I'm at forty-five PSI which is five under the tire manufacturer's recommendations. So I need five PSI air in the tire. If you don't have a compressor at home, most local gas stations have free air. Take the compressor hose, put it right on the valve stem. You can hear the air going into the tire. Don't leave it on too long, after a couple of seconds take it off, recheck the pressure. Fifty PSI on the nose."