What's the best way to save money at the pump?

These days, you want to find any way you can to save money at the pump. You've probably heard a variety of tips on ways to do that.

We started taking a look at some of those tips a few weeks ago, but unfortunately, we found that most of them turned out to be more fiction than fact.

You can find our past reports here and here.

But we're not done. There are still plenty of supposed gas saving tips that need some scrutiny. Many have nothing to do with pricey gimmicks or how you run your car.

This time we want to look at the basics. I'm talking everything from keeping your vehicle serviced to being a gentler – less aggressive -- driver.

What I did was take a vehicle that was overdue for its service. I filled it up and drove. Then I took it in for routine maintenance. It was just the usual stuff like an oil change, tires rotation and balancing, and the fluids were topped off.

And this time, when I took the car on the road I also paid better attention to my driving. I focused on my starts and stops, speed, and travel routes. I wanted to see if I got better gas mileage by doing the things we should all be doing every day.

So what do you think? Did I see an improvement?

I'm also interested in hearing from you your gas-saving tips.