May
21

How I am saving on gas big time and still drive my car

After talking to a group of very smart engineers that I work with, I compiled a list of things anyone can do to improve your miles per gallon (mpg).  Note, you might experience different results than the results I am getting due to the way you drive, type of car, etc…

My 96 Honda Accord is supposed to get 22 MPG city.  I **only** drive city and today I am getting  26.2 27.94 MPG

  1. Driving Habits – the closer you drive to the speed limit, the more you save.  Also, make sure you don’t break too often, if you do then you are driving too fast.
  2. Inflate your tires to the right amount – This one is obvious BUT normally if you follow the manufacturer recommendations you will not get as good results as looking at your tires directly and inflating them to the upper ranges of the tires.  Lets say about 80% or 90% of the upper range. So, if my tires upper range is 44psi, then I would inflate it to 38 - 40 psi.
    Also, I have found that the service stations gauge fluctuates quite a bit from station to station, so I always make sure I have an electronic tire gauge in the car.   I bougth this one at amazon: Accutire MS-4350B Programmable Digital Tire Gauge and I am very happy with it.
  3. Clean fuel Injectors – specially if you drive an older car, this will make a huge difference.  I bought a product called STP which you basically mix a full tank of gas. If you want to purchase it online, click here: STP Gas Treatment 12 oz.
  4. Tune up your car – I replaced my air filter (K&N ENGINEERING 33-2276 Air Filter; Panel; H-2.375 in.; L-15.125 in.; W-11.125 in.) , spurk plugs, I bought really good ones (qty: 4) ( Denso 5303 Iridium Spark Plug) and spark plug wires ( Bosch 09819 Wire Set)
  5. Last but not least, change your oil and use synthetic oil


Useful links:

Here is pretty cool link to check your car real MPG: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
One of the best resources about how to save gas: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml

Let me know what your experience is, I am curious to find out if you get the same results. Check out this screenshot, it is an application that keeps me track of my MPG on my iphone:

Iphone

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