9 Gas Saving Tips for Driving Your Corvette

Having a Corvette doesn’t mean you have to suffer at the gas pump. Follow these tips to increase your time behind the wheel and decrease waiting on your tank to fill up.

1. Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated

Tires that are properly inflated ensure better mileage due to a smaller contact patch and lower resistance from the road. Check the recommended PSI by looking at the sticker located in the door jamb, or by reading the owner’s manual.  Check your tires at least once a month to maintain their individual pressure.

2. Modify Bad Driving Habits

A simple way to avoid wasting gas is to practice some more efficient driving methods.  For example, you can coast up to a red light instead of braking hard right before it. Avoid accelerating and then decelerating quickly, which wastes gas. Practicing calmer driving methods may feel counterintuitive in a Corvette, but if saving gas is your concern, then learning to ease off your brakes will be beneficial. It’s been said that for every 10 miles you go over the speed limit, you spend around $0.20 more per gallon.

3. Get a CarbonClean Treatment

For about $85 you can take your ‘Vette in for a MotorVac CarbonClean treatment, a fuel injection cleaning and engine decarbonization service. This treatment is recommended in cars that typically have 45,000 miles or more, and it’s said that you can expect a 2-3 MPG increase from it.

4. Remove Excess Weight

This is a bit of a no-brainer, as anyone can figure that adding any weight or baggage to your car means using more gas to transport it.  Keeping your ‘Vette free of any extra weight can help improve MPG. So keep those golf clubs stored in your garage instead of leaving them in your trunk.

5. Check Your Engine Air Filter

A dirty or clogged air filter can prohibit optimum operating conditions for your engine. A dirty air filter means that your engine is working harder to pull in air, which affects fuel economy. Fortunately, this is a simple maintenance item that’s typically performed along with an oil change. If you are in between changes and don’t want to take your car in, then consider replacing the filter in the comfort of your own garage. It’s actually a very simple task that you can do yourself!

6. Check Your Oxygen Sensors

Similarly, bad oxygen sensors can negatively affect fuel economy. These sensors work to ensure your engine is running optimally and to keep emissions in check. Usually, a bad O2 sensor will trigger a check engine warning light.  Have the sensors checked by a professional, or diagnose and replace them yourself to save some cash.

7. Drive with Your Windows Closed

A common misconception is that running the A/C greatly reduces MPG, but it’s actually more efficient to run the air conditioning than it is to drive with the windows down. Similarly, driving with your t-top or convertible top down can decrease your gas mileage by increasing drag.

8. Avoid Heavy Wheels

If you’ve outfitted your Corvette with some aftermarket wheels that are thicker and thus heavier than stock, this is likely contributing to your ‘Vette’s MPG plunge. If getting better gas mileage is truly a concern, switch back to the stock wheels or purchase fuel-saving tires. Thinner tires mean less grip in turns and general handling, so the trade off is your decision.

9. Don’t Modify the Engine

While certain engine modifications, like camshafts and heads, increase torque and performance, they take away from possible gains in the MPG department. De-stroking your engine with smaller cams and heads and changing the gear ratio can also contribute to poor MPG by putting more stress on the engine. The takeaway here is to stick with stock where possible. It will take thousands of miles in potential gas savings at the pump to offset expensive engine mods anyway.

For more information, How-to articles and DIY guides, visit https://www.corvetteforum.com/how-tos.