by John Winter

Created on: November 04, 2009

It is a common misconception that as gas prices rise, the price of oil rises with it. In reality the price of oil usually drops for a period of time after the price of gas rises. Regularly changing the engine oil on your vehicle reduces contaminants and deposits that can clog your oil system, not only reducing the life of your engine in the long run, but severely lessening your gas mileage as you drive.

Inside your engine metal rubs against metal, creating both heat, and friction. If your oil is not performing as well as it should, for any number of reasons, the friction acts to resist the overall functionality of your engine, and the heat may actually warp the metal. Changing your oil regularly therefore helps to reduce engine wear, but will also help your vehicle get better gas mileage.

It is also important that when changing the oil the you use the recommended weight of oil suggested by the manufacturer. A lot of people, even mechanics, recommend putting in a thicker oil in older vehicles. In the morning when all the oil has settled to the oil pan, a thicker oil takes longer to get up to the vital parts of your engine. The engine also has to at all times put extra effort into moving the thicker oil around, allowing more wear and tear on your engine, and causing you to lose miles per gallon of gas. Always use the recommended weight of oil for your vehicle.

Switching from a conventional motor oil to a synthetic will not only extend the life of your engine, but it will increase your gas mileage, as synthetic oils tend to stay in the vitals of your engine even over periods of disuse and lubricate your engine better, decreasing the friction and heat caused by your pistons.

Your engine runs on two things: fuel and air. A clean fuel filter and a tune up can dramatically increase your gas mileage. Your vehicle also uses on average 10,000 gallons of air per every one gallon of oil. Your air filter can not allow for this huge amount of air to pass through if it is clogged with dirt. Therefore, changing your air filter allows more air into the combustion chambers, and increases the efficiency of the gas you are burning.

Under inflated tires tend to flatten at the bottom creating much more friction with the road. If your tires are under inflated, they will not only wear out the sides of their own treads, but they will decrease the mileage you can get per tank of gas. Inflating your tires too much, however, is dangerous. Never exceed the max pressure recommendation that

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