Properly Inflate Your Tires

If gas prices have gotten you down, here’s a quick and easy way to ensure you get the maximum fuel efficiency out of your car with only a little extra effort: check your tire’s air pressure every week. This simple act, and ensuring your pressure is up to specification, can improve your fuel efficiency by a few percentage points and thus save you real money for very little extra effort.

To do this, you should get an air pump or find a gas station with free air as well as a good tire gauge. The pencil-type gauges often aren’t the best because they’re inaccurate but you can get a cheap tire gauge at your local auto parts store. Then, check your tire pressure each week and ensure it’s inflated up to the specification on the tire itself. Ignore any other spec (such as in the car’s manual), the tire will tell you what to keep it at.

You can over-inflate the tire by a pound or two (psi) if you want greater fuel mileage but that will reduce the life of the tire and reduce traction, so it’s not advised. The money you save on fuel by overinflation will be offset by the need for new tires.

Related Posts:

• Track Fuel Efficiency
• Use Credit Card Price Protection Programs
• Switch to Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs
• No Spend Weekends
• Pay In Cash Only