Save Cash On Gas Top 20 Tips

Things That Actually Work 

2.   Buy a hybrid car.  Not only do hybrid cars give you immediate savings at the pump, the U.S. government and your local state offer tax breaks for people who use gas-saving cars. Federal deductions for using gas-saving cars can be as high as $2,000.00, but check before buying to see if they're still in effect.  If you can't afford the growing number of hybrid cars out there, consider getting a regular car with good MPG (miles per gallon).  In general, the smaller the car, the better the mileage.

3.  Reduce your commute.  Move closer to work, work closer to home, or take public transportation to your job.  While you're considering spending all that money on a new hybrid or diesel vehicle to 'save money', you could move closer to your job, or get a job closer to your home.  Then you will be able to walk or ride a bike on nice days, and spend a lot less time in the car when the weather isn't so nice.  You may even be able to get rid of one family car.  If you walk or ride almost all the time, it doesn't matter what sort of mileage your current car gets while it collects dust in the driveway.

4.  Avoid idling.  While idling, your car gets exactly 0 miles per gallon. Although starting the car used to use a lot of gas, it's now the same as idling for about 30 seconds. Idling to warm up is particularly bad, as the engine needs extra fuel to warm up. After start up, allow your car to idle 15-30 seconds, then drive conservatively until it reaches normal operating temperature. Park your car and go into the restaurant rather than idling in the drive-through. Idling with the air conditioning on also uses extra fuel.

5.  Use a fuel injector cleaner or complete fuel system treatment occasionally. Not only will you see a boost in gas mileage, but in your car's overall performance.  Fouled injectors vaporize fuel poorly, affecting how completely the fuel is burned.

6.  Become a "Hypermiler" by joining an active gas saving community.  This way you will get tons of practical approaches with step by step instruction on how to tune your ordinary car for better mpg performance.

7.  Keep meticulous records of what you spend and how many miles you drive so you can quickly spot changes in vehicle performance.  It will also help focus you on the goal of saving.

8.  Every MPH faster yields you less advantage than the last one.  Going 10MPH is a big difference over 5MPH, but there is very little difference between 55MPH and 60MPH, unless you are on a very long trip.  Many people mindlessly speed wherever they go, and gain absolutely nothing but a heftier fuel bill.  Assuming everything goes perfectly (and when does it?) going 5MPH, even 15MPH faster on a highway for a short trip will yield nothing but aggravation as you keep catching up to slower traffic.

9.  A manual transmission saves an average $1000 on the cost of a new vehicle, and eliminates routine transmission maintenance that an automatic transmission requires (and most people never do this maintenance once the warranty is up.  So a used car with an automatic is a risky purchase.  In most cases, an automatic transmission gets significantly worse mileage overall than a manual transmission.

10.  Neutral is also a 'gear' on a manual transmission, which you use constantly anyway.  Learn how to coast between traffic lights, applying power only as needed to keep the car rolling (more or less) with traffic.  Learn to judge terrain and use neutral to its full potential to keep the car moving 'for free', and save more gas over time.

11.  Try to schedule your trips and errands when traffic is lighter.  If you are always stuck in rush hour traffic after work anyway, try to find something to do near your work until the traffic dies down, rather than try to fight through it.

12.  Instead of running your AC, lower your windows; AC can waste up 15% of your gas, while having your windows and catching a nice breeze wont waste any of your gas.  Plus you get fresh air into your car and yourself which is healthier for you.  However, at faster speeds, studies have shown that the significant drag caused by sunroofs/windows being open nullifies the difference.  The point at which AC is more efficient is at 35-40 mph.

13.  Nearly all gas-saving devices do not work, and some even decrease fuel mileage.  Intake twisters, gas pills and fuel line magnets do not help mileage.  Even if the mileage improvement claims were true, they often cost enough to negate any potential savings.

14.  Chipping' the car (changing/flashing the ROM in its 'brain') is usually meant to improve power, but often fuel savings are claimed as well.  Be paranoid about it.  It usually can achieve the power statistics it claims, but possibly at the cost of dreadfully expensive engine/drivetrain wear and damage.  The wrong chip (or a buggy version of a chip) can result in a dead car that's expensive enough to repair that it's 'totaled'. Needless to say, 'chipping' a car definitely voids the warranty.

 15.  Get the junk out of the trunk.  A weighed-down car uses more fuel.  For every extra 250 pounds your engine hauls, the car loses about one mile per gallon in fuel economy.  Carry only the basic emergency equipment and items you really need.

16.  Tighten up that gas cap.  Make sure it's on securely.  Buy a new one if your current cap doesn't fit snugly.  Gas easily evaporates from the tank if it has an escape.

17.  Be smart with the air conditioning. On the highway, closed windows decrease air resistance, so run the air conditioner.  But in stop-and-go traffic, shutting off the air conditioning and opening the windows can lighten your fuel use.  Air conditioning can lower your fuel economy by 10 percent to 20 percent.

18.  Remove snow tires in good weather.  Deep tread and big tires use more fuel.

19.  Work From Home.  Everyone can't work from home. However, many people can.  I'm one of them.  In fact, I could probably do a better job at home because I could concentrate better.  Most of my job involves concentrating and typing.  I can do about 90% of my office communication through email or instant messenger.  I don't need to be in the office.
However, there are a few problems working from home.
Will your company let you?  You might have to convince your boss or someone even higher up the ladder that working from home is a good idea.  Many companies like to keep their employees in the office where they can keep an eye on them. This is the old school management philosophy that says your employees have to be in the office to be working.
Will it cost you more to work at home?  Are you running the air conditioner or furnace all day?  If you are then you're gas savings are offset by your heating and cooling costs.  The best time to work from home is probably in the fall or spring when heating and cooling costs are at the lowest.

20.  Trade in that Gas Guzzler If you're in the market for a new car then I'm sure mileage will be a big factor in your decision.  My parents are looking for a new vehicle and they are torn between fuel efficiency and comfort.  That's my problem also.      Here's my dilemma: I have an older Jeep Grand Cherokee that I really love.  I bought it for a ridiculously cheap price.  The problem is, it's got a V8 and it drinks gas like a frat boy drinks beer on spring break.  That is to say, it's not very fuel efficient. However, I love driving it.   I'm taller than average so finding a comfortable vehicle is a problem.  For some reason, auto makers are designing tiny cars as Americans are getting bigger.  I simply can't fit in most of the tin cans made by Honda and Toyota.  Even many American made cars are just uncomfortable.   I also don't want to spend a bunch on money on a trade in.  Finding a good used car is tough. I  have a buddy in the car business.  I usually call him and tell him to keep an eye out for something.  He usually finds me a really good deal, however I just don't like going through the pain of trading cars, especially when I like the one I have.  If gas prices get high enough, I'll probably trade it in, but for now I'm sticking with the Jeep.  I can't justify spending $20,000 to $30,000 grand or more on a new vehicle just to save a few dollars on gas right now.

Keep Gas Prices in Perspective

Gas prices are still pretty affordable in the US.  This is both from a historical perspective and a world wide perspective.  Again, I don't think its worth it (yet) to trade in you vehicles or do anything drastic.  Just take a few simple measures like driving less and consolidating trips.

by Stingram

Back to Top