1. Tune-up, Clean Filters, and Properly Gapped Spark Plugs

The day your vehicle left the showroom, was probably the best fuel economy it will ever see. This is because as an engines wears, it becomes less efficient overall. In order to maintain that original efficiency as much as possible, you need to maintain and change your vehicles oil, filters, spark plugs (properly gapped), spark plug wires (if you still got them), and keep the engine in proper tune. An engine in poor tune can lose as much as 20 percent of its original efficiency. This is why the first step to any project aimed at improving fuel consumption, should be to restore the engine back to its original state

2. Proper Tires (Tread Pattern/Roll Resistance, Size, Inflation)

Tires are another often misunderstood portion of good fuel economy. They are actually one of the most important links between you and the road. Without them, you’d just sit in your driveway making a lot of noise. There are three factors of a tire that can affect your fuel economy, the overall size, tread pattern, and inflation value. Overly Large wheels (both width & diameter) hurt mileage due to their increased weight and roll resistance. Tread patterns are also a factor in economy, as certain patterns create more rolling resistance than others. The last factor is inflation. A tire off by as little as 5 PSI, according to Car and Driver, can reduce fuel economy by one to two percent.

3. Free flowing Air Intake System

While the performance oriented air intake system takes a lot of flack for being just for street racers, this is certainly not the case. Many vehicles will benefit from a free flowing intake filter within some type of box to help shield the incoming air from under hood temperatures. Some after-market intake systems can do more harm than good, however, so it is always important to make sure that you are using a system which has been designed and tuned to function properly with your vehicle.

4. Free Flowing Exhaust System

This is once again another greatly misunderstood after-market upgrade for vehicles. A free flowing exhaust system can increase the fuel economy of a vehicle, simply by improving the overall efficiency of the engine. A free flowing system does not mean that the exhaust has to be loud, it just needs to flow better. Sound has little to do with a properly tuned exhaust. What we’re after here is efficiency, and the greater the efficiency of an engine, the less fuel that will be necessary for the engine to perform at its original intended level. However, any increased fuel efficiency attained, can be lost due to poor driving technique, which brings us to the next method of improving fuel economy.

5. Driving 55, Will do More than Just Keep You Alive

There are many reasons why driving at the magic speed of 55 logs better fuel economy. One, this is assuming you are on a highway, which produces better fuel efficiency by reducing the gas guzzling effects of inner city stop-and-go traffic. Two, as most vehicles increase speeds beyond 55 they burn more fuel. This is due to increased engine effort, heat, air, and tire resistance. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a vehicle will burn 10 percent more fuel at 60 mph, and up to 25 percent more at 75 mph. Another interesting tidbit to keep in mind, is that when a vehicle is developed from a manufacturer, it is designed to log optimum fuel economy during tests from the EPA, which range from 48 to 60 mph (the speed range for the highway portion of the tests).

6. Aerodynamics

Wind drag certainly plays a part in fuel economy, although each small improvement only logs a very small percentage of efficiency gained. Therefore, to make the greatest difference, the entire vehicle should be engineered for maximum aerodynamics. Most new vehicles today have already undergone proper engineering to offer minimal fuel economy loss due to wind drag, but there are still some improvements that can often be made, such as lowering your vehicle (retaining minimum clearance of 2.7 inches from bumper to ground), installing functional air dams (front and back), and removing all sources of drag, such as antennas, cargo, and bike racks.

7. A Clean Vehicle is Home to a Happy Driver

The lighter a vehicle, the better the fuel economy it will provide. The less weight your engine has to pull around, the less your engine has to work (less fuel) and the less overall resistance on the vehicle. Think of it this way, for every 100 pounds you remove from a vehicle, you receive usable horsepower. This means that a vehicle will have to work less in order to yield the same performance. Reducing weight can be as simple as removing leftover trash, luggage, phone books, unnecessary tools/jackets, speakers, holding off on a second helping of Aunt Matilda’s pumpkin pie, and anything else offering up excess weight that isn’t necessary.