A note about gas prices:

Well it is that time of the year again folks, time to bit@h about gas prices and blame the incumbent. Pretty soon all of the meaningless drivel about filling your tank in the morning because there are less elves in the nozzles will start up again.

So, public service announcement about what you CAN do:

Use less gas.

Step one: Drop the Dale Earhardt Jr act and drive like your second grandma’s cousin twice removed. Simply put, use less than 1/2 throttle at all times. Cruising at 60 or 70 in most passenger cars (you truck folks might need to slow down) is reasonably efficient but accelerating hard will drop your mileage BIG time. Like 30-40%.

Step two: Listen to me and repeat. “I will check my tire pressures once a week.” See my tire pressure blog for instructions. If you want, set tire air pressures approximately 1-2 psi higher than manufacturer specified number when COLD. This nets a slight (2-5%) improvement in fuel economy.

Step three: See your mechanic. I know you think this is gratuitous on my part but note I said see your mechanic, not see me. A good tech can tell you what maintenance (There goes the “prepostrous” cry again) you are neglecting. Changing to synthetic oil may help slightly, making sure your oil is changed on time helps slightly, and services such as fuel induction cleaning services can help if needed. Oh and if you are driving around with your Check Engine Light on, you are wasting fuel, so fix your stuff!

Long story short, follow the steps, save some $$ and help the environment out. All of these things make your tailpipe a cleaner place, too. I can show you the numbers to back this up: if we all improved our fuel economy by 1 mpg (5% improvement) we’d use about $75,000,000 LESS per day. That is real saving folks, so let’s get with the program.

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