Pat
Pat's tips for better fuel economy

Condition

Effect

M.P.G. Penalty

Under Inflated Tires

Increase rolling resistance

2.0 m.p.g.

Dirty Air Filter

Causes excessive rich fuel/air mixture

2.0 m.p.g.

Worn Spark Plugs

Causes inefficient combustion, wasted fuel

3.0 m.p.g.

Dirty or substandard engine oil

Increases engine friction

.4 m.p.g.

Loose/damaged gas cap

Allows fuel to evaporate

2.0 m.p.g.
Potential Loss in Fuel economy if all of the above combined

11.4 MPG
guage Check Your Vehicle's Tire Pressure Often (At least once a month)
Yes, it's that simple. Remember as a kid trying to push a bike with a low tire pressure? Think of your 3000-pound car on a low tire! It's like driving with the parking brake on and can cost your budget a mile or two per gallon.

You can look in your owner's manual for the correct settings. (Most vehicles will be 32 lbs psi). Also remember that most service places, including Alpine Import Service, will check and adjust your tire pressure with an oil change if you don't want to fiddle with it.
sparkplugs Keep Your Vehicle’s “basics” properly tuned and maintained
Believe it or not, under all those shiny plastic parts, wires, and expensive electronics is an engine that still needs the basics. These basics are good fuel flow, spark, and airflow. A dirty air filter that is clogged with dirt, dust, and bugs chokes off the air and creates a “rich” mixture – too much gas being burned for the amount of air wastes gas and caused the engine to lose power.
filters Change your Filters
Replacing a clogged air filter can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent, saving about 15 cents a gallon. Worn out tune-up parts such as the 4, 6, or 8 spark plugs in your vehicle which fire as many as 3 millions times every 1000 miles, resulting in a lot of heat and electrical and checmical erosion.

A dirty spark plug causing misfiring, which will wreak havoc with your fuel ecomomy. One day it can even make you "involuntarlily" get a ride to the shop on the back of a tow truck. I can't tell you how many expensive fuel pumps we have replaced due to a restricted $45.00 fuel filter that should been changed with a "scheduled service"
filters Make Sure You Service Your Fuel Injection System at Least Every 30,000 Miles
With a fuel injection system, when a component, such as an oxygen sensor is starting to fail or deteriorate, the fuel economy can be drastically decreased. Not only that, it is much cheaper to maintain a clean fuel injection system, than it is to replace expensive injections parts! We recommend a Alpine Bosch fuel system service every 30,000 miles.
filters Monitor and if Needed Adjust Your Driving Patterns
If you are a “lead foot” this bad news for you. You may have heard that the new fuel injection systems are so fuel-efficient; the new cars sip gas. This is only true if you drive the vehicle conservatively and accelerate lightly from stop signs. If you like 80% of us, this is just not realistic. And if you are that guy that has a hard time realizing that this is not a NASCAR race, then your fuel economy gets even worse.

You see, when you accelerate and really put the accelerator down, the fuel injection system makes power a priority, and fuel economy takes a back seat. The happy medium is to plan ahead and allow yourself more travel time to get to where you want to go, and enjoy more of the drive, rather than just rushing back and forth. It may seem corny, but once you start to drive more conservatively, your gas mileage will go UP and your stress level down!