30 Ways to Save on Gas

Here are 30 tips you can use to save on gas and avoid some pain at the pump.

Wheel Alignment is Not an Elective Service

Out of alignment wheels will decrease the gas mileage of your vehicle. They will also reduce the handling performance of the car, which makes it less safe to drive. And of course the lifetime of your tires will be shortened resulting in you spending more on replacement tires. When should you have the wheels aligned? Align your wheels after installing new tires or rotating the old ones. Have them aligned after replacing or having work done on the steering or suspension. Also go for an alignment after any collision repairs.

Keep your wheels in good alignment and you will save a percent or two on gas!

How to Change Your Own Oil Filter

Your car's engine depends on three filters: the oil filter, the air filter and the gasoline or fuel filter. These keep the engine's "lifebloods" of gas, air and oil clean. Dirty clogged oil filters will result in a bigger pressure drop across them, lowering the oil pressure in the engine. If the pressure loss is too great, oil filters are designed with a bypass value that opens and lets unfiltered oil through. Why? Because dirty oil is better than not enough oil. Loss of sufficient oil pressure can destroy the whole engine. The pressure drop across the oil filter goes up with engine RPM. At very high RPM, say around 4000 RPM, the bypass valve will normally be open due to the large pressure drop at this RPM. Dirtier filters have lower RPM thresholds for opening the bypass. Thus with a dirty filter, every time you rev up your engine you may be letting a shot of dirty oil through.

Dirtier oil is more viscous and the particles of debris in it may wear directly against the moving metal in the engine. This increases engine friction, which lowers fuel economy. So clean oil filters can help get better mileage. You can change your own oil filter and save some money. It is really easy. The video shows how. Watch and learn!

The video below has the part about changing the oil filter. The video above is the introduction and also shows how to change your own oil. If you want, go ahead and buy a K&N HP-1010 Oil Filter from Amazon now!

Fuel Economy Triad

All of the factors that govern your car's gas mileage can be broken down into three groups. Your choice of the make and model of car you drive, how you drive and the mechanical condition of your car make up the Fuel Economy Triad. Think of them like the three legs of a stool: all are necessary to support the load. Depending on your individual situation, one or another might be easier to manage, or potentially give a bigger savings on gas. But you should always keep all three in mind.

An example of the driving habits leg is reducing the number of small trips you make. If you are in the habit of driving a couple of blocks to pick up a pack of smokes, then walk instead. Or make one trip per week to the grocery store and buy twice as much instead of two trips. This is not a practical solution for most of us, but if you can move closer to work or find a job closer to home you can save a lot on gas for the commute.

The make and model of car you drive sets your base fuel economy. If you drive a vehicle that gets poor gas mileage you are going to be using more gas no matter what else you do. Of course, there are other reasons besides gas mileage for choosing a vehicle and it is not always so easy or practical to change vehicles.

A car that is not mechanically tuned up and cared for will get worse gas mileage. If the tire pressure is not high enough or you have a roofrack you don't use, you will be using more gas than is needed. Get your vehicle checked up regularly and stick to the scheduled replacement times on components like the air filters. You will be rewarded with a savings on gas.

The leg most commonly overlooked by drivers is their own driving habits. Don't make the same mistake: always think about the whole Triad!

Sparkling Clean Spark Plugs

The job of the spark plugs is to ignite the fuel-air mixture inside the cylinders. The resulting explosion forces the piston back up the cylinder, which provides the power to turn the crankshaft. In top shape, the plugs provide just the right amount of electricity to efficiently burn all of the fuel. If they are out of shape, some of the fuel could be going unburnt, or the spark could be setting the explosion off out of timing. Out of timing explosions can work against the crankshaft, robbing power from your car. Both of these things can cost you gas. If your plugs are fouled by oil or just worn out from a long service life, you will be getting lower gas mileage than you should. Simply keeping your plugs like new can give you 4 or 5 miles per gallon more, helping you save on gas. Have your plugs checked or changed every 30,000 miles.

5 More Tips to Save on Gas

Drive Green: How To Save Money On Gas

Here are five more tips for how to save on gas. Keep your gas cap tightly fitted so you don't lose gas to evaporation. Keep your air filter clean. Very important one here: keep your tires inflated to the correct pressure. Have tuneups done regularly. The last tip is one that is easy to overlook. When you are doing city driving, keep your gas tank less than half full. Why? To save on weight. Having to haul around the gas in your tank makes your car do extra work, which burns extra fuel. In the city, you always have a filling station close by so there is no need to burn fuel carrying a reserve. Go ahead, watch the video, and save on gas!

Watch Out for Oxygen Sensor Problems

If your car uses an oxygen sensor (all the new ones do), then make sure it is not malfunctioning. The job of the oxygen sensor is to measure how much oxygen there is relative to fuel in the combustion mixture. What can happen is that faulty or old sensors can start to register more oxygen then there actually is. In response, the computer in your car will flood in extra gas to try to get the right fuel/air ratio. All this extra gas is not really needed, and just gets wasted. Result: you can get really big drops in gas mileage. A malfunctioning oxygen sensor can give a 40% drop in miles per gallon. That's right. A big fat 40%. Old sensors can give 20% drops in gas mileage.

If you have noticed that suddenly your car seems to be burning a lot more gas lately and you really don't know why, because you didn't change anything and nothing seems to be wrong, suspect the oxygen sensor. Have your oxygen sensor changed every 30,000 to 60,000 miles. The few bucks to have it done is worth it to save on all that gas!

Quick fixes can add up

Did you know millions of gallons of gasoline evaporate every year? This can be improved by something as simple as making sure you have a tight fitting gas cap. Tip: replace the gas cap every three or four years.

In this video, mechanic David Rogers shows how a few easy mechanical tune ups can help your car get better gas mileage. Another quick tip he has: make sure your air filters are clean. Filthy filters make your car work harder to get air, which makes it burn more gas per mile. Change the air filter every other oil change. The gas filter also should be clean. Guarantee that it is by replacing it once a year! Last tip for the road: corroded spark plugs will not burn gasoline efficiently, so keep those spark plugs up to snuff too!