11 Simple Tips To Improve Gas Mileage.

Those of us who are tortured enough to be full time professional photographers, contrary to popular belief, do not make a ton of money. We can’t afford to just hop in a plane and go jetset wherever we please, and sometimes we have to carry a ton of gear. When you travel a lot, and always on the highway, you start to learn how to save fuel and time, any way you can. Here are a couple of tricks i have picked up in the past few years.

1. If you have a roofrack on your car that you are not using, take it off.
   Your roofrack, as pimp as it may be to make sure people KNOW you snowboard in the summertime, creates parasitic drag, also known as wind resistance. In english, it takes more force to push your car through the air, using more fuel.
2. How is your alignment? Maybe you should go check that.
   This is another form of drag, called rolling resistance. if your alignment is out, you are literally dragging one or more of your tires sideways a small amout, once again, more work by your motor uses more fuel.
3. Is the air pressure proper in your tires? (check all four).
   This is another form of rolling resistance. Simply put, if you have soggy tires you are increasing the amount of rubber in contact with the road, therefor increasing friction. Go fill ‘em up chuck!
4. You should probably take that big wing off of your car.
   Not just because you aren’t Paul Walker, (really, your not) or it makes you look stupid, but also because it will get you pulled over and it creates more parasitic drag. (See number 1.).
5. When is the last time your air filter was changed?
   Your engine runs on a precise mixture of fuel (gasoline) and air. Motor-”im gonna use this much fuel, i need this much air.” Air filter-”I’m dirty, you can’t have that much air.” Motor-”I’m gonna use that much fuel anyway, guess it just wont burn and will clog me up over time” Air filter-”Damn.” . It has been said that a dirty air filter can kill your gas mileage by as much as 10%.
6. Spark plugs and wires. Yes, seriously.
   Spark plugs create the fire that ignites the fuel in the cylinder of an engine. Bad wires and plugs will create less spark, and leave some unburned fuel to simply vent into your exhaust, literally pouring fuel you just paid for down a tube. 
7. Stop letting your friends play mailbox baseball in the summer.
   Unless of course she is attractive and wearing low cut jeans with a thong. (you may get harassed by your state and local law enforcement if your passenger is male.) See also number 1., parasitic drag.
8. Don’t use your air conditioning.
   But its hot out! Who cares. We are trying to get to a gas station that is 24 miles away and the gas light came on 29 miles ago.  This is just another form of parasitic resistance, but it happens entirely under your hood and wastes A LOT of fuel.
9. Take the tennis ball off of your antenna.
   And bring the plastic window deer antlers back to Big Lots while your at it, you couldn’t find your car at a dead show in 1985, but your car has not alluded you in two decades. (other than the little pieces of rust that run away on occasion.) Jerry Garcia knows where your car is and he’s dead. Drop the car jewelry, it’s more parasitic drag killing your wallet.
10. Take the excess weight out of your car, this means the trunk too.
    Whats easier, pushing a ten pound ball up a hill or pushing a 200 pound ball up a hill? Believe it or not, your car thinks the ten pound ball is easier too and remember, more work needs more power. One available statistic is that you lose 2% gas mileage for every 100 pounds of extra weight you have in your vehicle. If the above fails, kick out a human being and roll solo.
11. Don’t pick up Amy Winehouse, regardless of her promises.
    Insert dead weight joke here.