5 Steps to Improve Your Gas Mileage

People are anxious to find new ways to achieve better gas mileage with the current price at the pump. The strain on our wallet is noticeable and sometimes relief seems miles away. Which leaves us wondering, unless we're able stroll into our local car dealer and plunk down the money for a hybrid vehicle, is there anything we can do? The short answer, yes.
Thankfully there are steps we can take with our existing vehicle that can help improve our gas mileage and save money in the process. There are many new products and technologies emerging in the marketplace that are geared toward fuel efficiency but for our discussion, lets stick with the normal, day to day habits we can easily change to improve our situation.
Here are five easy steps you can take that, although not revolutionary, can help to lower your monthly gas bill for your vehicle.
Step one: Repeat after me, the freeway is not a race track, I am not Jeff Gordon. If you're gunning it on the road and weaving incessantly, you're going to burn through your gas tank needlessly. My advice is to switch to decaf, listen to some classical music and drive like a normal human being. Your fellow drivers will thank you and you'll get far better gas mileage.
Step two: For short trips, take a bike. No gas used, you burn calories, it's a win-win situation.
Step three: Don't fill up at a gas station located near a freeway. The prices are noticeably higher at these locations and while you may not think that ten cents more per gallon is much, if you do the math, it adds up over time. Keep a mental note of the gas stations you drive by to find the ones with the lowest prices. Chances are, they won't be located near a freeway. Once you find the cost-effective stations, visit them while you still have around a quarter of a tank. If you wait till the last minute when you're running on fumes, you may be forced to stop at one of the higher priced stations.
Step four: Get regular unleaded. Unless you have a high performance sports car do you really need the premium gasoline? Again, this is only around ten cents per gallon but once you do the math you'll find that it all adds up.
Step five: Keep your vehicle regularly serviced. Oil changes, tune-ups, air filter changes - all are important maintenance aspects of your engine. A properly serviced vehicle will not only extend the life of you vehicle but will improve your gas mileage as well. You save money on gas, you save money on engine repair, not a bad combination.
I hope these five easy tips are helpful to anyone trying to stretch their dollar when it comes to filling up at the pump. Even though they are small steps, you're still saving money. Who knows, one day you may have saved enough to buy that hybrid and that's where the real savings begin.
By Paul Renier