(NewsUSAA)
Regardless of a given month's fluctuations in gas prices, improving your vehicle's rate of miles per gallon can be a quick way to save a potentially significant amount of money.
Taking gas-saving steps like using cruise control on highways or restricting your car from over-idling are common knowledge to many people, but there's an array of lesser-known maintenance steps that you can take to improve your car's gas mileage to an even greater extent.
Here are several maintenance suggestions to keep in mind when trying to cut down on your trips to the pump:
- Keep your engine tuned to its optimal condition.
Fixing a car that has failed an emissions test or has a larger malfunction,
such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve its gas mileage by an average
of 4 percent, according to www.FuelEconomy.gov.
- Use an additive. Engine additives such as
a product called Lubrilon, made by Virginia-based XcelPlus (www.xcelplus.com),
coat internal engine parts with a thin yet resilient layer of engine
protection that reduces wear and tear and improves fuel mileage. According
to a study by the University of Utah and the U.S. Department of Energy,
this product can increase a car's miles per gallon by 6 percent to 17.5
percent.
- Check your car's air filter. The air filter
helps to prevent impurities from damaging a car's engine. Checking and
possibly replacing the air filter may improve your car's gas mileage
by as much as 10 percent.
- Use the recommended grade of motor oil.
While engine additives like Lubrilon can increase your engine's performance
and thereby improve gas mileage, using the correct grade of motor oil
for your car can help as well. If you change the oil yourself, be sure
to verify the correct grade in the owner's manual. If you get your oil
changed at a shop, request the correct grade just to make sure that
it's being used.
- Properly inflate your tires. Keeping your tires inflated to their proper pressure is not only a safe thing to do, it can help improve your gas mileage by as much as 3.3 percent. Like the correct grade of motor oil, you can find your tires' proper inflation rate in the owner's manual.
