My father remembers paying 25 cents for a gallon of gas; I remember paying under a dollar. Oh, to have those days back again.

It doesn’t appear that lower gas prices will  head our way any time in the foreseeable future. However, even though gas prices may soar, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get the most out of every penny spent fueling your car. And one of the best gas-conserving strategies is to involve your mechanic.

There are quite a few things that your mechanic—or, if you’re more of the “do-it-yourself” type, you—can do to improve your gas mileage. Here’s what can be checked and done to improve your gas mileage.

Sparkplugs

A little Engine 101. Your car relies on combustion to create motion—even the new hybrid cars rely on this principle at least in part. In simplest terms, small explosions of a gas and oxygen mix ignited within a confined space push a piston that turns a shaft which, in turn, moves your wheels. The explosion of fuel that is the center of this process is incited by sparkplugs.

Sparkplugs, much like any other part of your car, will wear and age. It’s no wonder when every 1,000 miles, just one sparkplug will fire an estimated 3 million times! As sparkplugs age and corrode, they fire much less efficiently, causing your engine’s performance to drop. Carcare.org estimates that worn sparkplugs could be costing you approximately two miles to the gallon. If your tank holds 25 gallons, you’re losing nearly 50 miles of travel every time you refill!

When you take your car in for its regular maintenance, have your mechanic check your sparkplugs. Look to see if they are worn, corroded, or dirty. Check the gap (too large or small of a gap will cause misfiring). Make sure to check the sparkplug wires as well. Often your sparkplugs may be in great shape, but the wires are damaged or old, which can cause poor sparkplug performance. Despite what your car’s manual may say, sparkplugs should be changed at least every 30,000 miles. Also make sure that your mechanic checks the timing. If the sparkplugs are firing at the wrong time, your car’s performance will feel the effects.

Air Filter

Your car doesn’t just run on gasoline alone. It actually runs on a mixture of gasoline and oxygen. The oxygen is provided in the air, but that air has to pass through a filter before it gets to your engine. The dirtier your filter is, the “richer” the mixture of fuel becomes—meaning, more gas is burnt compared to the amount of air that reaches your engine. Since you pay for gas, and you don’t for air, making sure that the right amount of air gets to your engine should be high on your priority list.

Routinely checking your air filter will ensure not only that impurities don’t get into your engine, but also that the right amount of air does get in. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that changing a dirty air filter will improve your gas mileage by as much as 10 percent! If you’re weighing out the costs, think of this: If you normally average 25 miles to the gallon on a dirty air filter, changing that filter will give you an extra 2.5 miles to the gallon. Off of one 25 gallon tank, that’s an additional 62.5 miles. Looking at that in terms of gasoline, changing your air filter is like getting roughly two gallons of gas free. For most cars, the air filter should be changed every 15,000 miles.

O2 Sensors

Most newer cars have a sensor that reads how much oxygen is being mixed in with the gas. You may not notice when these little components start malfunctioning, but your wallet will! The U.S. Department of Energy reports that changing a malfunctioning O2 sensor could result in as much as a 40 percent improvement in your gas mileage!

The Right Oil

Your car’s manufacturer recommends a certain type of oil to ensure proper functioning. All those numbers—10W30, 5W20, etc.—may not mean much to you, but it should mean something to your mechanic. Find out what type of oil your car manufacturer recommends for your car and make sure your mechanic is using that type. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, using the wrong oil in your car could cause a drop of 1 to 2 percent in gas mileage. Doesn’t sound like much—it’s only a quarter to half of a mile if you’re getting 25 miles to the gallon—but it still adds up. The Department of Energy also recommends checking the API performance symbol on the oil container for the words “Energy Conserving”. Energy conserving oils contain friction-reducing additives that can improve your vehicle’s performance, which translates into better performance.

Tire Inflation

The next time you have your tire pressure checked, keep this equation in mind:

• For every 1 PSI drop of pressure your fuel efficiency drops 0.4 percent.

Low tire pressure causes softer tires, which require more energy to roll. More energy means more gas used to create it. You could improve your gas mileage by 3.3 percent, estimates the U.S. Department of Energy, by simply keeping your tires at the correct pressure.

Closely related to tire pressure is using the right tire for the season. Snow tires provide more traction, which is perfect for winter weather. But in warmer weather, more traction means more engine effort—or more gas burnt. Switch out those tires when the weather warms up!

Exhaust Systems

Your car’s muffler probably never comes to mind—unless you lose it. Don’t feel bad, even for the engineers who designed your car, the exhaust system is usually an afterthought as well. Because exhaust systems are often the last addition to a vehicle, their design isn’t as conducive to better performance as they could be. Manufacturer-installed exhaust systems often snake around other parts. This snaking can cause crimping in the pipes, which decreases the pipes diameter. This decrease in diameter causes less exhaust to flow through potentially causing a backup of exhaust. This backup can interfere with the fuel mix, leading to a loss of power and performance. Loss of power and performance equals more gas burnt to compensate. Installing an aftermarket system could save you money by preventing a back up of exhaust—around a one to two percent performance improvement, reports autoanything.com. If you’re thinking about a new exhaust system for your car, consult your mechanic.

Gas Cap

OK, so maybe this one isn’t a concern that needs a mechanic, but it’s still one you should look at. Gasoline—as the shortened name suggests—is a gas. Yes, you pump it in as a liquid, but it readily evaporates. If there is any way that gas can escape from your tank, it will. One of the areas that gas escapes through is faulty gas caps. The Car Care Council estimates that 147 million gallons of gas evaporate every year through loose, missing, or damaged gas caps. If you fall into the estimated 17 percent of cars that have a bad gas cap, get a quality gas cap with a seal and you’ll prevent any gas seepage.

Fuel Octane

Just one more that may not concern your mechanic. Make sure to fuel your car with the recommended octane. You might think that the higher the octane the better the performance, but, alas, such is not the case. High octane fuels are for high-performance vehicles. Most everyday cars don’t fall into that category. Purchasing the recommended octane fuel can save you money and won’t negatively affect your car or its performance. If you’re not sure whether your car is a high-performance vehicle, check your owner manual or be aware of your engine “knocking.” Otherwise, stick with the lower octane—and cheaper—gas.

What about Mileage-Enhancing Products?

A visit to the Federal Trade Commission’s website can be very enlightening. The FTC warns consumers about any product that claims to improve gas mileage. Citing studies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, the FTC reports that many of the products don’t work, and the few that do provide only a negligible improvement.

Improving Gas Mileage

Of course, the greatest determining factor when it comes to fuel economy is the car component that sits behind the steering wheel. Your habits as a driver can affect gas mileage for good or bad. Consider adopting the following gas-saving practices:

• Slow down. Maximum fuel efficiency usually sits right around 55 miles to the gallon. Going faster burns more fuel—just speeding up to 65 increases fuel use by 20 percent; going from 65 to 75 increases it by 25 percent, reports the EPA.
• Avoid idling. Just sitting there burning fuel as you listen to the last part of a song on a radio eats up more gas than you might think.
• Don’t jackrabbit. From a stop, get moving at a slow, consistent pace. Jumping at the light change causes your engine to employ more gas to get the car rolling.
• Drop some weight. Put your car on a diet! Remove all the extra weight that doesn’t need to be in your car.
• Combine errand. Extra running around means extra fuel burnt.
• Use overdrive. Overdrive decreases your car’s engine speed, improving gas mileage and decreasing wear.

Involving your mechanic, and changing a few of your driving habits, is a small investment that could have a big return. The longer the time between pump visits, the more money that stays in your wallet; and who wouldn’t want that?