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Email ThisAs gas passes $3.50 per gallon and rapidly approaches $4.00 per gallon (or it’s already there…sorry CA), Mary and I can’t wait to move into our new house and cut our commute from 32 miles to 15. However in the meantime, we have taken measures to get the most out of our tanks of gas. So here are 10 tips that could help you increase those MPGs and decrease those gas bills!
1. Carpool. Mary and I are lucky enough to work at the same company, so it makes sense for us to carpool. By our calculation, we are saving at least $200 per month by this little step. Sure, it sucks sometimes when one of us has to work later, leaving the other with nothing to do, but we always remind each other how much money and time (Carpool lane) carpooling saves us.
2. Change the oil on time. Staying up to date on engine oil changes helps your car run better and get the most out of your gas. I make sure to change the oil in our Acura every 5,000 miles (Oil Co’s recommend 3,000 miles, car makers say 5,000), and every 7500 miles in our Volvo (synthetic oil).
3. Get a high performance air filter. K&N air filters are expensive, but they pay for themselves in the long run. They come with a 1 million mile warranty because you clean them instead of replace them, plus you can get up to 10% better gas mileage because they allow your engine to breathe better and give you better performance. I received 10% better gas mileage in my old Jeep when I put in a K&N filter.
4. Inflate the tires. Making sure your tires are inflated to the recommended PSI will increase your gas mileage because a fully inflated tire offers less resistance when you are coasting.
5. Coast. If you have an onboard computer, have you ever set it to give you the instantaneous MPG? You will probably notice that when your foot is off the gas your MPG skyrockets. So if you see a read light ahead let off the gas, there is no need to speed to a stop, it’s just a waste of gas and you’ll have to replace your brakes sooner.
6. A/C or Windows Down? It’s summer, it’s hot, so what do you do? This all depends on what you are doing. If you are driving at highway speeds, roll the windows up and use the A/C, because the drag of the windows being down really hurts the gas mileage. Driving around town? Roll ‘em down!
7. Don’t carry around extra crap! Weight directly affects your gas mileage. The more stuff you have weighing down your car the worse MPG you get. So lose the golf clubs, toolbox, and other random stuff unless you need it.
8. Plan your routes. UPS saved millions of dollars a year in gas by rerouting their trucks to limit the number of left turns, and you can save money too! Plan your routes in the most efficient way possible. Generally right turns are faster and they use less gas waiting at lights than left turns, so why not try it out!
9. Get a gas card! Many credit card companies offer cash back on gas purchases, so why not!? You’re going to be spending the money anyway, so you might as well earn up to 5% cash back. Or even better get a gas company card, brand loyalty pays you in savings!
10. Don’t use E85. What? But the government said it’s going to be our saving grace and I want to help save the environment! I’m all for saving the environment when it is in my financial interest (like compact florescent lights that will pay for themselves), but if it will cost me more money, I’m less likely to do it. E85 is cheaper, and your car may run on it, but according to AutoTrader it contains 27% less energy than 87 Octane (the cheap stuff). That means you get 25% less MPG using E85. The only time it’s in your financial interest is when E85 is less than 73% of the cost of 87 Octane. At my local station, E85 is about 30-40 cents cheaper per gallon than 87 Octane. $3.20 / $3.50 is 91%… not in your financial interest.
I hope you can put these ideas to good use, and if you’ve got any more, feel free to leave them in the comments! 
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It’s true what you say about coasting.
That’s a benefit of driving standard rather than automatic, you can work around acceleration, cruising, and really design your own MPG. All it takes is listening to the engine!
Tire pressure is more important than people know, too.
Thanks for the input! Both our cars are automatic so we’ve got that working against us, but cruise control helps a great deal too!
In addition to checking your tire pressue you can actually inflate up to near the maximum pressure that is stated both on the side of the tire and in the driver’s side door jamb. Most mechanics and others will recommend a standard 32 psi and many tires don’t really have an “ideal” or recommended tire pressure per se. The harder (ie higher pressure) the tire is the less rolling resistance it will have. These changes in pressure can affect the handling slightly but many people may not notice.
Also, I have heard that if you have an automatic you can easily shift from drive to neutral, coast and then shift back into drive. However, make sure that you are not pushing the gas pedal until after you shift back into drive. I have not done this extensively so I am not sure how this affects the life of the transmission.
I have used both synthetic oil and K&N filters and have had nothing but good luck with them. And it is true that you can go much longer between oil changes with synthetic. I routinely went 9,000 between changes in my previous truck and it ran great delivering close to 30 mpg until I traded it at 165K miles.
Last but not least is simply accelerate a little slower when you drive. This keeps the rpm down and saves some gas.