5 Low-Cost, Scam-Free Methods To Improve Mileage

We’ve heard so much about products that supposedly save us money and improve gas mileage. Arguments that salespeople provide often seem to make sense, but may also be too good to be true. We should avoid products that are simply ridiculous and only examine those that could be based on truth. Trusted products should cite trusted sources to gain legitimacy. It could be difficult to discern the validity some of the products; they are probably legitimate, but also probably not.

  • Fuel line magnets are quite popular in the market and the high-powered magnets supposedly could break up clumped molecules in the fuel vapour. There could be a bit of science behind this claim, but it fails miserably in actual practical applications. The magnet should be much larger that those small things that are clipped directly on the fuel line.

Some of these products are just repackaged, more compact versions of the original used in industrial settings, so they lose much of their effectiveness. Regardless of the situation, there actually be some genuine methods that can improve our mileage and thankfully, they are much cheaper!

  • Check the tires regularly:

We should fill up tires regularly and tires that are 1psi less than the recommended pressure could cost us money. If each tire has 0.25psi less than recommended, the fuel consumption could decrease for about 0.4 percent. It means that if each tire is 5psi less than recommended, we will down 8 percent in gas mileage. If we supposedly get 20mpg, we would get 18.6mpg instead. This could cost us a couple hundred dollars in wasted gas each year. Filling up our tires would cost us next to nothing.

  • Clean the air filter:

We should clean filter regularly and if possible, buy new ones. Very dirty air filter could damage our engine and decreases mileage by about ten percent. Couple with underinflated tires, we could be down further. This negligence could cost us significantly, especially if we have two cars or more. Cars are just like big pumps, they get more air when they run much faster. Without good fiber/paper filters, there will be more gunk inside the engine, which will lower its longevity.

  • Perform regular tune up:

Newly tuned-up cars could have 5 percent more mileage than before. Combustion inside the engine should run much more efficiently. Mechanics will put the car into the ideal air-fuel ratio, because higher than necessary fuel content could result in inefficient combustion and wastage.

  • Drive at an ideal speed:

Car owners should invest time to define the sweet spot of their car. Each car model has an exact speed where it’s the most efficient. Aerodynamics is another factor we should consider, as well as engine size and transmission type. We could get recommendation from the manufacturer about the best mpg we should get at specific speed. As an example, some cars are most efficient at about 45mph.

By performing these simple steps, we could save more than $1,000 year and if we put the money on the bank with 5 percent annual interest, we could get $7,000 in five years.