Gas mileage is more under your control as a driver than you might realize. There are some simple things you can try if your car’s gas mileage hasn’t been so great lately. Young Automotive has these tips for you.
Take a Closer Look at Your Car’s Tires
Your car’s tires are more influential on gas mileage than you might have ever realized. Getting regular wheel and tire services done on time, like wheel balancing and wheel alignments, means that you’re going to protect the tires and you’ll also get the best possible gas mileage. It’s also important to make sure that your tires have the proper air pressure in them. If you’re not sure what that should be, reference the owner’s manual.
Double Check That You’ve Done All Recommended Services on Time
Recommended maintenance services, like oil changes, are recommended at specific intervals by your car’s manufacturer for a reason. These services protect your car’s engine and keep it running as efficiently as possible. If those services aren’t done as recommended, that can affect engine performance. Reduced engine performance is something you’ll see as poor gas mileage and a higher gas bill.
Reconsider What You Carry Around
Are you hauling a lot of items around in your car? You might not realize it but every item that you keep in your car affects the overall weight that the engine is responsible for moving around. When you carry heavy items, or just load the trunk down without thinking about it, that affects engine performance. If you lighten the load in your car and limit things to just what you need to have with you, that can improve gas mileage quite a bit.
Watch How Your Driving Habits Affect Gas Mileage
Finally, if you tend to drive a little less conservatively than you should, by speeding, for instance, that burns a lot more gas than you realize. You’re causing the engine to work harder, and that means that it doesn’t give you more or better performance, it just burns more fuel. Ultimately, that ends up being a bit of a waste, both in gas and in increasing your fuel expenses.
Have you already tried these ideas and you’re still seeing poor gas mileage? There might be more going on. Contact Young Automotive in Sturgeon Bay, WI today. We can take a closer look at what’s going on with your car’s engine and let you know what is most impacting your car’s gas mileage.
