Tip: Mileage Boosting Secrets of the Pros

You can save a buck on every gallon of gas with a few tricks of the driving trade. With a gallon of regular nearing four dollars at many pumps, most of us are looking for ways to get more out of what we’ve got. But, once you’ve already tuned up, checked your tire pressure, and are driving less… what else can you do? Well, here are five clever fuel conservation secrets I recently picked-up from a real pro... a friend who drives a gypsy cab in San Francisco. (The fuel savings calculations are courtesy of AAA.)

1. Use your cruise control – This little piece of technology is much better at controlling speed than any human foot. Today’s advanced cruise control devices can also optimize fuel/air mixture and other aspects engine performance.Potential Savings – 15% to 20%
2. Shift Into Neutral – Slipping your automatic transmission out of “Drive” at stoplights and on long downhill sections keeps the engine from fighting against your brakes and gravity. At a stoplight, an idling engine is still connected the wheels, which you’re holding still via the brake. Your engine’s energy just creates heat by stirring the transmission fluid. Shift into neutral, the motor will experience less drag and use less fuel. When going down long grades or hills, shifting out of drive keeps the wheels from “pushing” the engine and burning fuel unnecessarily. Use this technique only if you can maintain positive control of your vehicle and drive in a safe manner. (NOTE: Coasting down steep grades in neutral may actaully be illegal in some states.)
Potential Savings – 11 to 17%
3. Change your air filter – The more air an engine gets, the more efficiently it runs. Changing a filter with scheduled service is rarely often enough. In the spring, when pollen fills the air, an air filter can lose as much as 50% of its efficiency is just a couple of weeks. Filters are generally inexpensive and most are easily changeable.Potential Savings – 7% to 17%
4. Close your windows – The additional drag created by open windows or a sun-roof can significantly decrease gas mileage, particularly at freeway speeds. As TV’s Mythbusters proved, it’s also better to drive with the pickup tailgate up, rather than down.Potential Savings – 6% to 14%
5. Wash your car – Just like the windows, anything you can do to increase the smooth flow of air over your car reduces drag and thereby increases gas mileage. A clean car always drives better anyway.Potential Savings - 3% to 7%

While none of these tips is a wallet-stuffer on its own, cumulatively they can boost your gas mileage by 75%, cutting your fuel bill by more than a third. That’s equivalent to trading-in a 24mph Camry for a for a brand new Prius hybrid, and you won’t have to pay the dealer $20K for the privilege.