Make the Most of Your Fuel Economy

Gone are the days of finding pocket change stuck between your car seats to buy gas. The price of gas has gone through the roof since the mid 2000s. Auto makers have tried to remedy this by building more fuel efficient vehicles for us to transition a little easier to these fuel costs, but some of us are still hurting. Those of you who can't upgrade to the latest and greatest hybrid, there are some tips and tricks on how to improve the fuel economy of your vehicle. Please keep in mind that some of these tips might not work for you, but it's worth a shot to try and save some green! (And make the world a little greener!)

Mythbusters proved that if you turned your car into a gigantic golf ball, you could improve your fuel economy, but I think you would rather spend the extra money and not look so crazy.

Below are just some of the ways you can improve your fuel economy!

Tire Inflation:
Make sure you have your tires inflated properly to ensure you get the best mileage for your vehicle. Please note that in colder temperatures, your tires will deflate quicker than in the summer. Make sure you check your pressure more often in winter, and check your owner's manual for optimal tire pressure for YOUR vehicle!






Air Filter:
Just as you put air filters in your home to keep your air clean - same reasoning goes for an air filter in your vehicle. We want to keep these clean to prevent things to get into your motor, and to keep even air flow. Keeping a clean air filter can help you with your fuel economy. When the air flow is not even through an air filter, we are making the vehicle work harder, and in turn use more gas. Just an easy step to take to save some pocket change!

DIRTY Air Filter

Brand new CLEAN filter

Clear Fuel Injection System:
A clean fuel injection system can definitely help your fuel economy. This system is similar to a Brita Filter: as you filter water through, debris gets trapped. You need to clean this every once in a while to ensure best results. Cleaning a fuel injection system is no easy feat. Contact the Service Staff at Victory Ford in Dyersville, to see if it's time to get your fuel injection system cleared!

Drive the Speed Limit:
Every vehicle is made differently, which means each vehicle has different fuel economies. Accelerating and stopping erratically during a short period of time really influences your fuel economy. As the story of the tortoise and the hare goes, "slow and steady wins the race." And in this case, it's $$$!
According to FuelEconomy.Gov, for every 5 MPH you drive over 50 MPH, you are paying an additional $0.24 per gallon of gas!

Along with all the tips I gave, Ford also came out with a great article on the smaller things that will save you some money! Click here to check it out.

If you have any additional tips I didn't mention, feel free to add them in the comments!
Kelly