Sanford Nowlin

Presidential candidate Barack Obama took a lot of sh*t recently when he gave a speech saying Americans could inflate their tires to fight the fuel crisis.

Comedians and bloggers gave the poor guy so much grief, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was getting nostalgic about the days when Jeremiah Wright was the only major embarrassment he had on his hands.

But know what? Obama’s right. Inflating your tires does save you money at pump.

And before you Sean Hannity types flood me with a bunch of raving e-mails accusing me of being part of some liberal media conspiracy to force every American to plaster a rainbow sticker in the back window of his or her car, let me explain.

More than a quarter of Americans are driving around on under-inflated tires, according to a recent report by the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit coalition of consumer groups. And filling those bad boys up to the proper level can save you 10 cents off each gallon of gas you pump.

Now, with a tank of gas now running about the same price as a liquid plasma TV or a small island in the Pacific, that sounds like the kind of maintenance I just might be able to keep up with.

In fact, the CFA says other simple vehicle maintenance — from checking your air filter to making sure your vehicle’s alignment is straight — also can mean big savings at the pump.

 A clean air filter, for example, can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. It can carry you 23 miles farther on a typical tank of gas. Not too shabby. Hell, I’m already planning on a trip to AutoZone. 

Poor alignment makes your engine work harder, and that boosts fuel consumption. Getting your alignment adjusted can boost your gas mileage by as much as 10 percent, and it sure makes for a smoother ride. Nothing beats a little investment that keeps your car running more efficiently.

“We estimate that if Americans practiced these tips, gas mileage could be improved in total by about 13 percent,” said Jack Gillis, CFA’s public affairs director.

Consider me sold, Jack.

Here are some other tips from the CFA folks:

- Lighten that load: Every 100 pounds you unload from your car saves you 4 cents a gallon. So dispose of that body in your trunk. It’s starting to smell anyway.

- Cool it, Lead Foot: I’ll probably get shot for writing this in Texas, but slow the hell down, cowboy. For every 5 mph you drop your highway speed, you cut fuel consumption by 7 percent.

- Don’t ride your break: That old guy with bad breath who taught you driver’s ed wasn’t so crazy after all. Riding with your foot on the break cuts your fuel efficiency. Let up, and save about 1.2 cents per gallon.