10 ways to save money on gasoline
These fuel-saving ideas can help you from feeling the heat of rising gas prices.
Photo: ZUMA Press 
1) Slow and steady wins the race: Gasoline mileage drops off in most cars once you're going faster than about 60 mph (see chart at right). For every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph, you're essentially paying an extra 24 cents per gallon of gas. Try using cruise control on interstates and other highways to maintain a constant speed. It can also help to use your car's overdrive gears, which save fuel and engine wear by reducing your speed.
4) Don't just sit there: On top of pointlessly pumping out greenhouse gases without actually getting you anywhere (as the public-service announcement at right points out), idling automobiles also contribute to ground-level ozone, airborne particulate matter and other near-surface air pollution. These emissions can aggravate asthma and even hinder breathing in otherwise healthy people, especially children and the elderly. If you're just idling to warm up your car in winter, it still only needs to run about a minute. Anything beyond that is just wasting gas. 
7) Take a load off: While it mainly affects smaller cars, carrying extra weight means burning extra gasoline, no matter how big your vehicle is. On average, you may be cutting your fuel efficiency by up to 2 percent for every 100 extra pounds you haul.- 10 best and worst cars for fuel efficiency
- Eco-friendly tips for a 50-mile daily commute
- Turning sawdust into gasoline
- Never change your oil again
Comments
If you have a turboed Car or Truck, Letting it warm up and cool down is a must. Turbo damage can result if the oil is either too cold, resulting in no oil or low amount of oil in turbo, or too hot, cools quickly cracking the housing.
Shutting off a Diesel for short periods of time many times, will result in dead batteries. Save yourself the time and hassle by letting it idle.
What Bill said is true. Mine and most 1/2 Ton Chevy Trucks and SUVs get the best mileage at 90-92, mine.... More
Let the prices go up. That's the only way the people will stop using gas and find some other ways of moving.\
don't drive.
I can't argue what I have no knowledge about. Car stats. properties, manufacturers suggestions.
For decades I saved on gasoline, even when it cost under $ 1.00
Almost everything I needed to buy I made a list of. Each day I shopped after work before I drove home. Not the other way around, as many people still do.
Driving home, than going on many separate trips, as the notion struck them.
My neighbor the other day run out for toothpick, for heaven's sake!
These days shopping on line saves even more. .... More
What about those delivery trucks? You shop online and save gas for YOUR car, but what about the distance the big rigs travel just to delivery one item? How much are you really saving?
Fantastic Post, thank you so much for writing this, truly insightful reading.
Seems like an obvious alternative, but figured I'd throw this in here, since I didn't see it mentioned yet.
Not available as an option for everyone, but working from home at least some of the time would definitely save gas. Plus you may be more productive because of less interruptions.
Another alternative would be to sacrifice the large home way out in the suburbs and instead go for the smaller place that's closer to work.
Try this magic fuel additive!!!
Get a million miles to the gallon!!!
My friend told me this stuff works!!!
I heard from somewhere that I have to do this or that to save gas.
It never ceases to amaze me at how 'stupid' the general public is.
Like the guy below that claims an additive made his GMC SUV get 8 MPG better. What he probably failed to mention was that the weather brightened up and warmed up, he quit pulling a heavy trailer, got a tune up, aired up his tires,.... More
My highest priority is Safety and to achieve that I want to improve the vehicle's handling as much as I can. Vehicle manufacturers want to keep their owners happy and recommend tire pressures that absorb bumps and irregularities in the pavement surface as much as possible. THAT is the highest priority of manufacturers. It's just not mine.
Starting off very slow and barely accelerating from a redlight ensures that the person at the BACK of the queue does not make it through the RED light.
Not only does that make you VERY selfish, but whatever fuel savings YOU realize is negated by the fuel wasted because the cars at the back must AGAIN stop and wait.....
Don't kid yourself, and don't be so selfish. Move through the red light briskly and ensure others do also.
One way to save on gas is to use a fuel booster additive sold in many Auto Parts stores. Hint, the main component of the fuel additives is 100% acetone you can buy at any Home Depot, Lowes etc. It works, I've used in my 03 Hyundai Accent and get 26mpg consistently highway and around town. It may not work for all engines but mine gets better gas mileage and more power with just 3oz added to each tank. Before diss this comment, try it.
Steve
And the cost of that additive versus the supposed 'increase' in fuel mileage means you are behind the power curve...both in $$$ and in the head.
Maybe people should stop wasting $100.00 a month on a cell phone and worry about spending money on things that matter. I love the jerks that hop in their cars just to go across the street to buy a $5.00 coffee drink at Starbucks then cry how expensive gas is. Go to Europe where gas is $7.00-$10.00 a gallon.
Keeping tires inflated to the maximum specified on the sidewall provides the most contact by the tread with the road surface. A tire inflated with the pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacture simply makes for a more comfortable ride, but it also imposes additional stress on the side walls, reduces the mpg and causes more sloppy handling. If you want to put up with that, be my guest and have a nice day.
The pressure listed on the sidewall is the maximum load bearing pressure. It does not mean you have the greatest contact patch. In fact in many cars it reduces the size of the contact patch. The contact patch is going vary based on the inflation pressure of the tire and the amount of weight on the tire. Further, the maximum contact patch is not what gives you the best gas mileage.
I live in Seattle which has a decent public transportation system. In any event, I live 1.3 miles from work so getting to and from it minus a car is a piece of cake. I also picked this location because there are two grocery markets and a drug store a few blocks from home or at least on the way home. I got rid of my car two years ago and i don't miss it. No parking fees, no stupid insurance, no maintenance, NO GAS! If i really need a car there are a couple Zipcars two blocks away and a few more.... More
you are right on! before in South there is tremendous pressure to be a jacka$$ like everybody else and results of being aholes and denialists are now on display for the world; typical denialist: get up at 4 am instead of have to take metro and have to look at (and possibly socialize with) others, some of whom might be 'different'. but call anybody who says system is broken an 'elitist'.
it always seemed idiotic to pass people to go to one office those who were going to their own office where.... More
These suggestions are the ones that have been used over and over. And over. Gasoline is too high and it's mostly a self-inflicted wound. Having said that, there are usually only about five ways -- the same old ways -- to save gasoline.
Ho hum -- at best -- would be my rating of this article.
Agreed 100% but the average "Joe Public" isn't smart enough to take 10 suggestions at once. They can, at most, maybe absorb one or two suggestions per year, and even then, it taxes "Joe Public's" brains intensely on how to implement those suggestions.
Rather than fill up your tires at the vehicle's recommendation, look at the tire sidewalls, see what the maximum tire pressure should be, and keep your tires at that pressure. Not only will your mileage improve, your tires will last longer.
Inflating to the pressue listed on the sidwall can lead to an over inflation condition which actually wears the tires ourt sooner. If the center of the tread is wearing out before the outside of the tread, you are over inflated nd shortening your tire life.
Overinflated tires wear out much faster, and reduce the amount of tire that contacts the road. A reduced contact patch can lead to the vehicle skidding around turns, or hydroplaning in wet whether.
Suggest the purchase of a $20 "Fuel Master" device (Ref. Harbor freight Tools). These are easily installed over the fuel line just prior to the injectors intake and will break up Hydrocarbon clusters for more efficient fuel consumption and better mileage. Also suggest the application of Lucas' Fuel Additive (Ref. Auto Zone) when filling up the tank: My GMC SUV achieves 6-8 additional MPG. And hopefully soon we'll get Hydrogen Conversion Kits that will burn more water than fossil fuels!.... More
Just like the title says...a pinhead and full of B.S.
Those devices have been around for decades and just plain don't do crap. Hydrocarbons are what gasoline is made of and they don't "cluster" anymore than Dihydrogen Oxide (H2O) "clusters" in water. Even if the device did what it claims to do, the "clustering" of molecules would have no impact on how efficiently the fuel burns.
If nothing else, injecting a little water displaces the amount of air-fuel mixture therefore requiring less gasoline to fill the combustion chamber. It's not earth-shattering in the amount but a side effect of water in the combustion chambver, if properly distributed in small amounts, is that it actually ijncreases the octane equivalency.
There's actually no evidence whether A/C off or on is more efficient. Certainly not 24%. The difference is just too small to measure.
Please do your research more carefully.
And if its summertime in Houston, driving with the A/C off will run up your laundry costs enough to more than offset any possible gasoline savings.
While some old cars may do better at slower speeds this is not true for every vehicle. While in CO a while back I got the best mileage of my trip by setting the cruise at 90-92 (at least 5-8 mpg better than at 65). Over a thousand mile plus trip the time savings would be worth the 24 cents per gallon to me.
At 95MPH, you're pushing roughly twice as much air pressure out of the way as at 65MPH. So, unless there's something really wrong with your engine, you are full of it, unless there is something you're not telling us.......drafting a semi- the whole way, driving with a tailwind the whole way vs. a headwind, uphill vs. downhill. Those cases I could see, but you just stating your vehicle gets 5-8 MPG better at 90MPG is total B.S.
I own a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer 5-speed manual. The Evo version of this car was also the fastest production car made that year. I have a tank-to-tank average of 34 mpg mixed driving in winter, and 37 in summer, with 44 mpg on long trips. This car is rated at 28 City and 32 highway, so I am getting about 25% better mileage. The way I achieve this is by synthetic oil, making sure the wheel bearings are lubed and not overtightened, using "burst driving" techniques when possible, coasting as.... More
Gas mileage beginning to drop at 60 mph is a myth. Most vehicles with overdrive transmissions do not begin to drop off until around 70. I commute 115 miles a day and my mileage is the whether I run at 60 or 70, and I'm in a Ranger Pickup. I have been in the Automotive ind. for over 40 years and challenge anyone to conclusively prove that most cars begin to lose mileage at 60 or less. That is a totally false statement
www.imagreendriver.com is a smartphone app that gets traffic light data from municipalities and then routes people around red lights. Check it out!
Green Driver is only available for Eugene Oregon - NOT municipalitieS
Does putting your car on Auto Pilot save gas?
Instead of waiting foe Chevy to sell me an overpriced Volt, or Nissan to sell an overpriced Leaf, I decided to build my own Electric Vehicle (EV) from a Chevy S10. 75 mile range, 80 Mph, charge mostly at night when power companies have a low load (they have to run 24/7 anyways) I spend very little for the electricity that I used to spend $$$ for gas. evalbum dot com/1752
Forgot to mention, I can outrun almost anyone in a gas vehicle. Just look at the White Zombie EV on youtube! He's got a great converted car!
I know you've heard most don't work and you're right. Most contain alcohol or address one issue. Xtreme Fuel Treatment (XFT) is a comprehensive fuel treatment that cleans, lubricates and more. Note the EPA website even states "EPA requires the use of additives to control the formation of engine and fuel supply system deposits in all U.S. gasoline." - .... More
Please don't switch from premium gasoline to regular. Premium gas is 20 to 30 cents more than regular, but you make up for it in mpgs. Premium gas also burns cleaner, making your engine more efficient and last longer.
Premium does not get you extra gas mileage. Myth.
My Maxima recommends 91 octane or better. I have put in bith and on average, I lose 3mpg when using regular gas. Not to mention the decrease in performance. Like another poster stated, it depends.
If your engine is not designed for premium gas, you won't get better mileage by using it. In fact, you'll pollute more (and put a strain on your catalytic converter) due to the additional unburned hydrocarbons escaping your tailpipe.
The "oil change every 3,000 miles" is a myth put out by the Oil companies to get you to use more oil. There is absolutely no reason to replace your oil every 3,000 miles, particularly because in the US that would amount to an oil change once a month. Checking your oil regularly, and monitoring its usage is far more efficient than routinely replacing it every 3,000 miles. If anyone wants to save in this area then changing to synthetic oil is a must. Even by their standards you can go 10,000.... More
Last year AAA the nationwide vehicle/roadside assistance company published their findings that with todays new oils and synthetic oils, coupled with the improvements made to car engines that at the very most you need to change your oil every 7,000 miles. NOT the every 3000.
Wow! Am I ever disappointed in MNN. You are consistently so correct in what you say about nature and how you say it. So I’m shocked to read this:
10 clever ways to save money on gas (because none of us can afford $5 a gallon!)
... The opposite is more nearly true, folks: None of us can afford LESS than $5 a gallon. Yes, I do recognize the huge and disproportionate impact of rising gas prices on people with lower incomes and those insensitively labled the “working poor.” But.... More
working poor were misled into buying homes they never could afford!!!! while banks were bailed out and made record profits, as has big oil on back of american taxpayer subsidies and record profits off pain of working poor and middle class....working poor in every other country ride bikes or walk or take public transit and it is life!!..nobody is suffering; entitlement and no willpower or motivation to make something of yourself since you have no role models and were unwanted is why america has.... More
