Easiest Ways to Improve Fuel Economy

Inflate your tires to the proper level. According to various sources, your mpg’s drop between 0.2% and 0.4% for each pound under your car’s recommended pressure. If you have a vehicle that gets 30 mpg average and that recommends 32psi, and you drive for the 13,000 miles/year (US average) with only 28psi, you’ll spend about $13.78 more a year for fuel than if you maintained the correct pressure in your tires. Not to mention, your tires will last longer, which also saves you money. If you need a refresher on checking you tires' pressure, check out this article: How to Check Tire Pressure and Inflate/Deflate Accordingly

Use the correct weight oil in your car. Using an oil that’s only one weight heavier than your car’s recommended weight can reduce your fuel mileage by 1% to 2%. Using the same car as an example, you would spend $17.26 more for fuel per year if you used 10W-30 when that car calls for 5W-30. If these numbers look like Greek to you, read this post: What Do Those Numbers on Motor Oil Cans Mean?

If you used the wrong oil and ran your tires 4psi below (both examples combined), you would spend about $31.43 more per year for fuel. Admittedly, these are not astronomical amounts, but that 31 bucks would about pay for an oil change (it would, if you changed it yourself). So, look at it this way: you can get a free oil change every single year if you simply keep your tires properly inflated and use the correct oil weight in your car’s engine.

But if a free oil change per yer isn't a large savings in  your eyes, then you should focus on your driving habits to really see an impact at the pump. Time has erased some of the specifics, but some time in the mid '90s, I read an article that illustrated the effects of aggressive driving. The article stated that it only took 8 hp to keep the current model of Chevy Lumina at 60 mph. However, it used anywhere from single digit hp to the full 210 hp available to accelerate- it just depended on how quickly you wanted to accelerate. Obviously, hard acceleration, and often acceleration, uses more of your engine's power, which, in turn, uses more fuel. There's no way around it- aggressive driving kills fuel economy. Not to mention the more rapid wear of brake pads, transmission plates, and engine internals. So, driving more passively, shall we say, would save you an indeterminate number of dollars over a year, but it would pale the $31.43 mentioned above. This may be the easiest of all the ways to improve fuel economy.

Photo courtesy of reasonablerides.com