In4Review.com - How To Save Money On Gas

As gas price getting crazy these days, it is reasonable to think more about how to save money on gas. I searched online and found a lot of useful tips, combining with my own experience, I want to organize them and share with you.

1. Reduce driving

Sounds like bullshit, but there are a lot of things you can do to reduce driving without sacrificing anything important.

Walk or ride a bicycle if your destination is only a few blocks away and you are not going to carry a lot of things. It is healthy, too, isn't it?
If your work place is far away, try to find a carpool, e.g. on RideSearch.com.
If you are traveling alone to another city, you may consider taking advantage of public transportation, such as greyhound bus, the ticket price for one person could be much lower than gas cost.

2. Drive in a proper way.If you have to drive, there are also a lot of tips helping you save gas while driving.

Drive at optimum speed when possible. Air resistance goes up as the square of velocity. The power consumed to overcome that air resistance goes up as the cube of the velocity. Typically, air resistant will dominate the gas consumption for speed above 40mph. To avoid dramatic increase of gas consumption due to air resistant, drive below 65mph if you can. Theoretically, the optimum speed should be the lowest speed at the highest gear.
Keep constant speed. Accelerating and decelerating consume extra gas. Try to anticipate red lights and stop signs. If you see a red light ahead, release gas peddle at once, slightly press on brake if necessary, and try your best to avoid fully stop. Keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you to avoid sudden brake. Always start slowly, try not pressing peddle for more than 1/4 of full depth.
Plan your trip ahead. If you have multiple destinations, try to arrange them so that the total travel distance is shortest. If two of the destinations are near each other, park your car some where and walk.
Idling vs. restarting engine. When you need a brief stop, it's best to think about whether to idle your car or stop the engine. When your car is idling, your are having 0 mpg. When you restart your engine, you burn some extra gas. Typically, restarting the engine will consume gas amount equal to 30 second to one minute of idling. So if you need to stop for a longer time, choose to restart the engine.
Don't use drive-through service if not necessary. It takes 5 minutes or more idling time.
Use A/C only periodically. When you feel cool enough, turn it off, and turn on again when you start to feel hot.
Close your window and roof when driving on the high way. Keeping them open will create extra air resistant.

3. Park your car the right wayNever heard that there is a science in parking your car? Now here you go...

Park at the first spot you find or as soon as possible. Trying to find a parking space near the mall entrance has two results: consume extra fuel, can't find one and come back again. Don't be lazy to walk, it's good for your health.
In summer, if you are going to park for a long time during the day, find a shaded place. Gas will evaporate from the tank at high temperature.

4. Keep good maintenanceAlways keep your car in a good shape for high fuel efficiency.

Give your car a fuel system tune up. Change oil every 3000 mile or 3 month. Get a better air filter. Get low resistant tires. It will cost some money to do these, but it saves money in the long run.
Remove unnecessary items in your car: bicycle rack, ski rack... The lighter your car, the less fuel it consumes.
Check tire pressure at least twice a month, and every time before a long trip. Low tire pressure may cost you up to 10% more gas. It's best to buy a good pressure gauge, those in the gas stations are not accurate. With an accurate pressure gauge, you can always keep your tire pressure near the maximum.

5. Fill your tank the right wayWhen to fill? Where to fill? What to fill? They are all science...

Fill your tank at the coolest time of the day. Gas is more condensed at low temperature, and you are only charged for the volume.
Keep an eye on the time they change gas prices, and fill before that. Of course, this applies only for the time when gas price goes up all the time, like now. Typically, the best time to fill your tank is Wednesday morning.
Don't fill until less than 1/4 gas is left. Driving with less gas in the tank gives you higher gas mileage, because the car is lighter. Of course, you have to decide whether to take the risk of running out gas.
Alway fill your tank to full. Now that you are at the gas station, why not buy more? You have to come again when you run out of gas, and the trip costs more gas. But don't fill beyond the limit, the extra gas will be wasted.
Compare prices before you fill. You can do that on mapquest or gaspricewatch.com.
When you are traveling, don't fill at the gas station right at the exit of the highway, it costs more due to high demand.
Keep a record of you gas usage. Know which brands and which types of gas gives you highest gas mileage, and compare their prices.
If you have a credit card that gives you cash back on gas purchase, use it. But if you are always carrying a balance on your credit cards, you should also consider the APRs. Some gas stations offer good membership cards, check them out.