Editor's note: This week's Solutions section offers help in the way of information on a low-cost health-care program for kids, suggestions on ways to volunteer and help others in this tough time and how to garden on the cheap.

It's as obvious as it is practical: Increasing gas mileage is a great way to save money at a time when most everybody's wallet is feeling the pinch of recession.

And it isn't that difficult to pull off.

Of course, if you have the money, you could just go out and buy a hybrid Civic or a Prius.

But anybody can get several more miles per gallon using their ordinary vehicle by implementing a few easy steps.

One of the simplest actions is airing up the tires close to the maximum air pressure indicated on the sidewall.

Many drivers rarely check their tire pressure, allowing the pressure to drop far below the level it should be.

At Badasci Tire in Hanford, they usually put 40 pounds of pressure in a tire rated to 44 pounds, said John Badasci, a technician at the shop.

Many car manuals recommend 32 pounds even when the maximum sidewall rating is 44 pounds or higher.

"The manuals are kind of crazy," Badasci said.

Another basic gas-saving solution is to regularly change the engine air filter.

A good rule of thumb is to do it every other oil change, unless you've been driving in dusty conditions.

"Basically, if your engine can't breathe, it can't burn the fuel," said Manuel Silva, owner of Paul Martin Automotive in Hanford.

Such techniques can give drivers an additional two to three miles per gallon, Silva said.

Some people do all these things and consider themselves among the gas-saving elite.

They would be wrong.

There is a class of drivers known as "hypermilers" that go far, far beyond anything written above.

At the Web site www.cleanmpg.com, hypermiler Wayne Gerdes offers basic, intermediate and advanced hypermiling techniques.

Among the basic strategies:

l Don't brake or accelerate quickly.

l Reduce idling time.

l Remove cargo or roof racks.

l Keep the air conditioner off.

l Stay out of the mountains.

l Don't use four-wheel drive.

l Never speed.

The intermediate recommendations kick it up a notch:

l Inflate your tire all the way to the maximum allowed on the sidewall or even beyond. Gerdes offers this caveat about overinflation: "I can discuss but cannot personally recommend upwards of 25 percent higher than MAX sidewall as there are legal constraints we all have to live with."

l Use a lower-viscosity synthetic oil. Sometimes you can get away with an oil with lower viscosity than the car's recommended weight. Gerdes also suggests not filling up the oil all the way to the high mark. Check with your mechanic.

l Ridge riding. In rain, this means riding the "ridge" in the middle of the road. The upside is that you have less rolling resistance because you are riding on drier pavement. The downside is that you are either hugging the center line or the white line.

l Potential parking: Find the highest spot in a parking lot and back into it. That way you can coast out.

l Avoid stopping. Do everything within your power to never have to come to a stop at a red light (without running it). Gerdes suggests looking three lights ahead, using other cars to "trip" lights ahead of you and driving as if you don't have brakes (i.e. a lot of coasting).

Then come the advanced techniques, some of which are tricky and dangerous:

l Reaching a certain speed, turning the engine off, then turning it back on, and repeating the process. Very dangerous, because in many vehicles, everything locks up when the engine is off. Gerdes lists the advantage as "a very noticeable increase in fuel economy over any short-distance trip." He lists the cons as "powerless coast, power brake assist is lost after a few applications, power steering is lost, although at speed, you do not need it, it is illegal in some locales, and possibly both ... starter wear from excessive engine starts and pre-mature wear from re-engagements of the transmission at speed."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.

(April 19, 2009)