$2.95/Gallon Got You Down? Gas Mileage Tips!
Saving on the Price of Gasoline and Improving your Gas Mileage
Gas prices have nearly crossed the $3/gallon threshold again and are likely to continue rising for the near future. Some economists point to $5/gallon before summer's end - again. Unlike taxes and credit card payments, fuel costs are difficult to budget for due to the unpredictability of the market, but lately it seems the only prediction you've needed is this: gas is going up. The reasons why are complicated, involving a few different factors:
- Oil consumption in the US and overseas has increased, especially in China
- The world supply of oil has not increased
- Refinery capacity in the US has not increased appreciably in the last 25 years and last summer's hurricanes did nothing good for our system
- Political conditions point to increased tensions with nations that control access to oil
- New additives in fuel make it harder to distribute
- Some pundits believe that energy companies are willfully manipulating the market for maximum profit
No matter what the reason, here at Financial Aid News, we're committed to helping you save money. To figure out how to save more money at the pump, first you need to know how much you're spending.
Here's a simple equation. Determine the gas mileage of your car currently by dividing the miles you drive between fillups by the amount you spend at the gas station. For example, I recently drove 264 miles and used 8 gallons of gas, yielding 33 miles per gallon. Divide this by the cost of gasoline - as of recently it's $2.95 in metro Boston - and I can determine that every mile I drive costs me about 11 cents.
Armed with this information, we can then start to optimize our cars to stretch out the miles per gallon. Let's say you have a standard family sedan that gets 20 miles per gallon. What five simple things can you do to improve gas mileage?
Gas Saving Maintenance
- Inflate your tire to the tire manufacturer's recommended safe maximum pressure. Tire inflation is the number one sap on gas mileage - a softer tire yields a smoother ride at the cost of more fuel needed. Most car manufacturers recommend that you inflate your tires to only about 60% of the tire's safe capacity. Check with your dealer / service department to see if you can inflate higher. I inflated my Hyundai Elantra's tires from 30 psi to 38 psi (well under the 44 psi that my tires list as a safe max) and my gas mileage shot from 27 mpg to about 32 mpg.
- Check your air pressure weekly! Consider buying a simple tire pressure gauge and checking your tires weekly - keeping the tires inflated to the safe maximum will help you continue saving!
- Keep your car tuned up. Regular oil changes and air filter cleanings / changes can add an additional mile or two per gallon. Consider the use of synthetic oils, which last longer before breaking down. The longer they last, the more mileage you can squeeze out of your car. Learn how to clean out your air filter with a can of compressed air, and save yourself a few bucks at the dealership.
- Reduce the weight of your car. Simple physics says that the more stuff you have in your car, the more energy it takes to move it. If you routinely carry around extra unnecessary cargo (like a pile of overdue library books), dump it. Obviously, don't leave behind safety equipment like a spare tire or first aid kit. The fuel savings will not make up for the heartache if something goes wrong.
- Avoid driving if you can - if there's a sensible, convenient mass transit option, consider it.
- Ask your service department about fuel additives and alternative fuels. Some cars are capable of burning alternative fuels, such as E85 (85% ethyl alcohol, 15% gasoline). Ethyl alcohol as a fuel is vastly cheaper than gasoline, and more environmentally friendly, and will in some cases improve engine performance. You must check with your service department, however! Using an alternative fuel in a fuel system not suited for it will destroy your car.
Gas Saving Purchasing Tactics
- Buy your gas just before sunrise. Gasoline is a funny substance - it rapidly expands with heat. Gas pumps measure volume of gas pumped but not density - the gallon of gas you buy at 5 PM will have less gas in it than the gallon you buy at 5 AM. Fuel up at the coldest part of the day - just before daybreak - if you can.
- Shop around. Consider frequenting web sites such as GasPriceWatch.com, BostonGasPrices.com, and others. Why pay more if you don't have to?
- Look for gas sales. Some stations offer "Super Sunday" or other specials on certain days of the week. Keep them in mind and try to time your schedule to take advantage of the sales if they make the best financial sense.
- If it's an option, financially, consider trading in a gas hog for a fuel efficient car. That Ford Exhibition consumes up to four times the amount of fuel as a Toyota Prius over the same distance traveled.
Gas Saving Driving Tactics
- Drive more conservatively. I know, speaking as a Boston driver, that it's sometimes hard to do, but consider driving a little more conservatively, especially on acceleration. The longer your car takes to get up to speed, the less fuel it consumes overall, because internal combustion engines are relatively inefficient, and a fast acceleration consumes more fuel per RPM generated than a relatively slower start.
- Drive more consistently. Keep your speed as consistent as possible during driving - cruise control will help boost your overall gas savings!
- Combine chores and trips. Start to organize your daily chores and errands so that you drive less overall - combine picking up groceries with the commute to or from work, take care of several things at once.
- If possible, drive on well maintained, direct roads. Rough roads, rural roads, or roads which require lots of braking (and corresponding acceleration after you slow down) will eat gas like crazy.
- Pull through when parking. If you can in parking lots, pull through so that you don't have to drive in reverse - which requires a fair bit of idling time for most people.
- If your job allows it, alter your work schedule. If you have flexible hours, try to commute during off-peak hours when you are less likely to get stuck in traffic jams and slow moving traffic. Even better, if your job allows it, try to telecommute from home as often as possible.
- An advanced tip: neutralize! When you're stuck in traffic or waiting at a red light, drop your transmission into neutral to bring your engine's standing RPMs as low as possible (and therefore consume as little fuel as possible while idling).
- Accelerate going down hills. If possible, drive using gravity as your friend - try not to floor it going up hills, and accelerate going down hills.
- Listen to podcasts. Having engaging, interesting content to listen to while you're driving will help you make the most of the time you have in your car and reduce the likelihood that you'll be rushing (and therefore speeding) to your next destination. You might even enjoy the trip.
What can extra miles per gallon do for your budget? If you drive 50 miles a day to work and back on a 20 mpg car, your average trip to work costs $7.38 (at $2.95/gallon). If you can up your mpg to 33 mpg, the same trip will cost you $4.47. If you can optimize to 35 mpg, that 50 miles will only cost $4.21. You'll save $3.16/day, which doesn't sound like much until you realize that it works out to nearly $821.79 per year. As gas prices shoot up, the more you can optimize, the more you'll save.
This article was written on May 11, 2004 and revised on April 27, 2006. Gasoline prices are obviously subject to frequent change and amounts listed in this article may no longer apply.
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