With fuel prices at a premium and politicians warning that we could run out, or at least run short, most of us are trying to find ways to conserve this precious commodity.  There are some easy and effective things that each of us can do to conserve the amount of fuel we use in our cars and the amount of money we keep pouring into our tanks.

There are some logical things that we have heard for years, such as keeping tires inflated to the correct pressure, making sure that our cars are tuned up and observing the speed limit. 

There are many other things we can do to improve our fuel economy no matter what the type, size or age of our car is.  Some of the ways we can economize on fuel are:

• Avoid carrying excess weight in the car.  Anything that you don’t need with you shouldn’t be hauled around with you if at all possible.  The more weight the car is carrying, the more fuel it uses to carry it.
• Avoid leaving your car idling.  There are times when we just have to run in and get something and it would take as much fuel to stop and start the car again, however, leaving the car idling when you are going to be a few minutes – even just five minutes – eats up unnecessary fuel.
• Check your air and fuel filters.  If your air filter is dirty or clogged, your car will use excess fuel.  If your fuel filter isn’t checked and/or replaced at the proper time you could end up with fewer miles per gallon.
• Use your air conditioner only when necessary.  Your air conditioner uses extra fuel.  This goes for your defroster as well, since it is actually part of your air conditioning system.
• Keep engine parts clean.  Fuel injectors, throttles and other parts can increase fuel consumption when dirty or clogged and decrease fuel consumption when kept clean.
• Use cruise control and overdrive.  Overdrive helps your engine idle at a lower rate when you are going up hills and in other situations.  This conserves gasoline and helps your car run smoother.  Cruise control keeps your car run more efficiently by maintaining a steady speed, which usually saves fuel.
• Drive conservatively, not aggressively.  You don’t have to be the slowest person on the road, however, driving conservatively vs. aggressively saves gas.  Aggressive driving usually involves speeding, lurching ahead at lights and other actions that increase fuel consumption.  Calming down behind the wheel will save fuel and keep everyone, including you, safer.

There are other things that each of us can do to conserve fuel depending on our car and our circumstances.  However, if we all did just a few of the things on the list above, we would save somewhere between 2% and 4% of the fuel we use.  That could help with the fuel crisis and it would also keep our cars running better and put some extra money in our pocket.