If you are looking to upgrade your car’s fuel economy, these hacks could help shift your vehicle into its optimal gear:
Mind Your Maintenance
If you expect your car to treat you well, then make sure you’re taking proper care of it by getting it serviced regularly! When your vehicle is well overdue for a tune-up, the extra stress that your engine goes through to perform its job will waste your hard-earned fuel.
- Check Spark Plugs
According to the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, bad spark plugs can decrease your fuel economy by up to 30%. Replacing them will help ensure your car is running lean and mean!
- Replace Air Filters
Your engine has to work harder to suck air down the throttle body when its filters are all gunked up. Give it a little more oxygen by replacing its air filters and it will give you better MPGs in return! Keep in mind that you’ll need to do this more often in smoggy areas like the Salt Lake Valley in Utah.
Optimize Your Oil
Oil lubricates your engine, and your engine can only offer you maximal fuel savings when its internal components are lubed up and ready to combust. Your pistons, valves, camshafts, and their combustion comrades won’t be able to perform if you don’t give them a little liquid courage!
- Change Your Oil
If you’ve been putting off your next oil change, chances are your engine’s performance has been on a decline. A work environment covered in sludge is not optimal, so you can’t expect the same economy in those conditions. Your parts might even quit on you one day if you don’t clean up the office!
- Swap for Full Synthetic
Swapping out your oil for a thinner alternative, like full-synthetic, will easily get you those extra gallons! Not only is full-synthetic oil more consistent, long-lasting, and energy-efficient than conventional oil, but it can also extend the life of your parts.
Tailor Your Tires
Buckle up, because your current tires might be stopping you from spinning your costs! Get rolling on cutting your fuel costs and take a closer look at how your tires could be weighing down your cash flow. Tires that are too heavy for your vehicle are not healthy for your MPGs, especially if they put up a fight with your engine!
- Know Your Air Pressure
Open that owner’s manual and grab your tire gauge, because keeping your tire pressure around the manual’s recommended level can increase your fuel economy by 3%! The right amount of air pressure will keep your tires spinning with the least resistance possible.
- Get Low-Rolling Resistance Tires
Opt for lower-rolling resistance tires to ease your vehicle’s movement and ease the strain on your wallet. Minimize the rolling effort of your car and you’ll be rolling in up to $78 per year in fuel savings!
Decrease Your Drag
Maximize your vehicle’s aerodynamics, and it will have the same effect on your MPGs. When your car is up against the wind, it has to rev a little harder. Decreasing its wind resistance will make for more speed and agility, so you’ll be cruising down the racetrack in no time, collecting coins along the way!
- Smooth Out The Surface
Anything that dips in or protrudes out from your ride could be stealing from your wallet, so put a tarp on the back of that truck! Rip off your mud flaps and stash your roof rack, because if you smooth out the surface of your vehicle, you’re in for a wild ride.
- Mod Your Bod
Augmenting your aerodynamics with aftermarket mods is another option, but it’s not for the faint of heart. If you are serious about avoiding the drag of wind resistance, swap out your mirrors or bumper bar to fly like the birds!
Lighten Your Load
Lighter vehicles are lighter on your wallet! For every extra 100 pounds your car is toting around, your vehicle is burning 1-2% more gas. The weight of gas can even guzzle gallons, so not topping off your tank could stop you from breaking the bank.
- Do Some Spring Cleaning
To keep your fuel costs lean, clean out your machine. Lift the burden on your car and let go of any old baggage (ditch the junk!), so you can usher in a whole new chapter in fuel economy!
- Upgrade Your Suspension Kit
Lift your fuel efficiency to new heights with an aftermarket suspension system that was designed with performance in mind! Swapping your current system for a fresh set of aftermarket shocks, struts, and springs will improve your vehicle’s handling. With lighter suspension components, your car won’t have to work as hard, and neither will you.
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