How to Increase Your Gas Mileage

With gas prices consistently rising, consumers need all the advice possible on how to increase gas mileage to keep money in the wallet and out of the tank.

There are the obvious alternatives like carpooling, biking or walking, but fueleconomy.gov says there are simple steps that will allow car owners to continue to drive their current vehicle at a lower cost. 

Driving more efficiently, keeping vehicles in good shape and planning ahead to combine trips are a few of the tips that the Web site recommends for consumers to see an increase in gas mileage.

“Depending on how bad of shape the car is in, with the proper steps you could see a 50 percent increase in gas mileage,” Joe Scott, Huntington, W.Va. AutoZone parts specialist manager, said.

He said he believes the simplest solution is utilizing fuel injector cleaner every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. The cleaner can run as low as $6 and it is as simple as pouring it into the gas tank.  The concentrated detergents break up minerals that clog the tiny nozzles on fuel injectors, which reduce the flow of fuel to the engine cylinder causing hard starts, sputtering and knocks.

Scott said the more common answers to getting better gas mileage are keeping tires inflated, getting a tuneup and driving slower.

However, Mark Roe, a National Hot Rod Association driver, said there is more to it than just those basic steps.

“Most people know they have to keep their tires inflated,” Roe said. “But what most don’t know is that filling them with nitrogen keeps them from deflating as fast.”

Roe mentioned fuel injector cleaner as a good option, but also suggested purchasing an aftermarket air filter, cleaning it monthly, because stock filters are not the best quality.

He also said that maintaining a vehicle while it is parked is only half of the battle.

“Stop-and-go driving is the worst thing on every aspect of a car, because any energy you put into a car by stepping on the accelerator, you take back by pushing on the break,” Roe said. “So people need to avoid driving in traffic if they can help it.  Also, they should always start their vehicle and let it get warm before driving because it uses less fuel when it reaches its running temperature.”

He said the running temperature varies depending on the type of vehicle, so the best solution is to just know the vehicle and watch out for hoaxes that promise amazing gas mileage.

According to the Federal Trade Commission Web site, the Environmental Protection Agency has tested over 100 supposed gas-saving devices and found that few provide any fuel economy benefits and that some may even damage a vehicle’s engine or increase exhaust emissions.

Traveling to each NHRA race requires Roe to drive many miles, so he said getting good gas mileage, keeping his engine in good shape and being cost efficient is extremely important to his success at a race.

“Anywhere I can cut back, I do, because when I’m racing I use four and a half gallons in a quarter mile,” he said. “That’s gallons per mile, not miles per gallon.”

According to the Energy Information Administration Web site, the national average price for regular gasoline increased for the seventh consecutive week, moving up five cents to $2.67 a gallon.  At the beginning of June, AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report said that motorists in West Virginia will find a price increase upward of 12.4 cents.

When it comes to actually purchasing the fuel, howtoadvice.com says to buy gas during the coolest times of the day. Arid Technologies Inc. reported that this is because gasoline is the densest when it is cool and gas pumps measure volume of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration, resulting in paying less for more.

So where is the best place to buy gas? WestVirginiaGasPrices.com updates a post every 36 hours of the highest and lowest prices of all grades of gas at stations in the surrounding area.  A customer can search a city and find the price, name and a map to the station with the cheapest gas.

Rising gas prices are enough to drive anyone crazy, but doing the proper research and following these steps can increase gas mileage on vehicles that consumers already drive.