Want Better Gas Mileage Without Buying a New Car?

1. Fill your tank all the way up and reset your tripometer.
2. Drive your vehicle normally until it is time to refuel.  You do not need to use the entire tank.
3. When you refill, divide the exact gallons required by the miles on the tripometer.

Now that you have established a baseline, you can begin to experiment with different methods of improviing fuel economy.  

One of the first things you will want to address is tire pressure.  By verifying that your tires are inflated to the maximum safe pressure your vehicle will not only roll easier but will be much safer to drive. Tires with uneven pressure can cause your vehicle to behave irradically in evasive driving and wear not only the tires but also stearing and suspension components prematurely.

The next simple step you can take to maximize fuel economy is to modify your driving habits.  Try the following for just one tank of fuel.

1. Roll on to the gas when excelerating.  By pressing the accelerator slowly your vehicle works more efficiently and you may find gets up to speed nearly as fast.
2. Coast when you approach a stop light or are traveling downhill.  Slip the transmission into neutral as you come over the top of a hill or as you coast to a stop light.  Drop the transmission back into drive when you need to go again.  If you are rolling down a hill, you may need to lightly press the accelerator to "match" the motors rps to the tranmission speed to allow a smooth transition back into gear.  Manual transmissions provide the best milage and make this a natural process. 
3. When you climb a hill, rather than pressing on the accelerator to maintain speed, allow the vehicle to slow down a bit as it moves up the hill and make the speed back up on the way down if necessary.
4. Draft or travel in a group of vehicles on the freeway.  Slipping a safe distance behind another vehicle when traveling long distances will improve your milage drastically.  Tailgating is not necessary to reap the benefits as you will feel a reduction in wind resistance even 4 or 5 car lengths behind another truck or van.

Keep your car in good operating order.  When you have your vehicle serviced make certain that the garage doing the work is checking and replacing dirty air filters, using the correct viscocity oil for the season and inspecing your tires, etc... Using a fuel system maintenance product will also keep your fuel injectors or carborator performing to their maximum efficiency.

• http://hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Ways-To-Maximize-Fuel-Efficiency
• http://www.roadandtravel.com/carcare/gasmileage.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy-maximizing_behaviors
• http://www.bendweekly.com/Automotive/3531.html