How to save money on gas

[billvon 3,111]

The price of gas is pretty high ($3.20 around here) and will probably go well over $4/gallon before it starts receding (if it recedes at all.) With that in mind I thought I'd post some ways to deal with it.

(Please, no "evil gouging oil company" comments; there are plenty of threads for that)

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With your car:

1. Inflate all your tires as much as is safe. Certainly to the limits listed with the car; it is generally safe to go to the limits printed on the tire, although handling may be affected.

2. Change to synthetic oil. A bit more expensive but you could pick up a mpg or so.

3. On older cars, get a tune-up. Newer cars don't have anything to 'tune' but you can at least make sure air and fuel filters are clean.

4. If your transmission is slipping or your clutch sometimes slips, get that fixed! That can eat a lot of gas (and destroy your transmission to boot.)

5. Get your front end aligned, and tell them to go as neutral as possible. Toe-in is sometimes used to fix handling problems but increases drag.

6. Drive with the windows up. It's more efficient to roll the windows up and use A/C than drive with them down. Of course using the fan instead of A/C is the best solution of all, but not always practical when it's 108 out.

7. Drive slower. You can save 10-15% by driving at 55mph instead of 75mph.

8. On normal cars, accelerate more slowly from a start. On hybrids, accelerate as rapidly as is safe, since this uses more battery power (which is essentially free.)

9. Go to an ethanol mix. E85 (85% ethanol) in this area is around $2.20 a gallon, and is available in most of the midwest. Any new car will handle E10, so if you add a gallon of E85 to a 10 gallon tank of gas, you are good to go. Most cars will handle up to E50 (6 gallons of E85/4 gallons of regular gas.) FFV's and some regular cars will handle E85 straight. Ford sold a bunch of FFV's without telling people they were FFV's; you can tell by the little leaf symbol on the back.

Ethanol will give you more power and slightly lower fuel economy. It's also much cleaner in terms of emissions (if your car can deal with it.)

10. Carpool. Yeah, it's a pain in the butt and all that, but it can save you 50-75% on your gas bill.

11. Combine trips. Cars are most efficient after they warm up, and of course the fewer trips you make the less gas you use.

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If you are sick of your current car:

1. Get an efficient gas one. If you have a massive old truck and want a second car, get an Insight. $5600 on Ebay motors will get you a 2000 Insight with 75K on the odometer; they get 60+ mpg. If you want an SUV, Toyota and Ford both make one. If you want a regular car, the Prius is a good one. If you are looking to go cheap, old Honda CRX HF's still get around 50mpg.

2. Get a diesel. Diesel is more expensive than gas right now but a) a good diesel (like the Jetta) will get upwards of 40mph and b) biodiesel is $4 a gallon. Sounds like a lot now, but $4 a gallon may look like a very good deal in a few months.

2a. Get a diesel and run it on straight vegetable oil (SVO.) If you live in Death Valley you can use it in your car with no mods, but most people will need a fuel preheater kit. Runs about $800 for the kit. Once you install it you will be able to run your car on waste oil from deep fryers. Restaraunts generally give it away for free since it costs them $$ to haul it away.

3. Get a natural gas car. Right now there's just one (the Honda GX) but you can fill it from your house gas line with a compressor and they are much cheaper to operate than gasoline cars. There are also conversion kits to allow normal cars to run on either LP or natural gas.

4. Get a flex fuel vehicle (FFV.) Ford and GM sell a lot of these, including light trucks, minivans, SUV's and midsize cars. They can run on gasoline, ethanol or any mix in between. Generally you'll run it on E85.

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If you want car alternatives:

1. Bike for short trips. Bikes are cheap and you'll probably live longer if you ride one. I use a trailer (see picture) for trips to the store (2 miles away.)

2. Get a motorcycle. Again, used ones are cheap, and unless it's an 1100cc monster it will get better gas mileage than a car.

3. Do the bike/bus, bike/train or bike/car thing. Get in a carpool and get a $30 trunkmount bike rack. That way if they want to drop you a mile from your company it's not a big deal. You can also bike to the bus stop, get on the bus, and then bike from the end of the route. Many cities allow bikes on buses and trains. If not, folding bikes run around $300.

4. Get an electric bicycle. These are expensive ($700-$3000) but have ranges up to 20 miles, speeds up to 30mph and take almost zero money to operate. A charge costs a few cents. Plus when you get to where you're going you're not all sweaty.

5. Walk. I know, no one walks, but it doesn't take that long for short distances, and it's really really cheap.

6. Take plain ol mass transit. Most cities have some form of light rail or bus. In Portland, for example, you can get almost anywhere on the bus/light rail system, and often do it faster than you could have driven and parked.

Anyway, just a few suggestions if the price of gas seems to be putting travel out of your price range.

[gmittar 0]

Thanks Bill, good advice...

|>.<|
Seriously, W.T.F. mate?

[skysprite 0]

Awesome post, thanks Bill!

I just paid $27 to fill my car, when a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, it only used to take about $10-$12. Ouch.

~skysprite

[jose 0]

Pffft.......try $75 to fill. Unfortunately trucks are neccesary for contruction work. Friggin sucks.

[Cudlo 0]

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Pffft.......try $75 to fill. Unfortunately trucks are neccesary for contruction work. Friggin sucks.

Costs about $102 to fill up my truck. According to the paper this morning (or yesterday, whatever) Chicago now has the highest national average for gas... I remember a couple years ago when they lifted the taxes on fuel because it had gone up above $2 and people were hurtin... the way things are goin its gonna be above $4 next week in Chicago.

_________________________________________
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Kierkegaard

[MikeJD 0]

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Awesome post, thanks Bill!

I just paid $27 to fill my car, when a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, it only used to take about $10-$12. Ouch.

I just paid 45 pounds to fill my car. So I'd like to add to Bill's suggestions, specifically for Brits - emigrate.

[freeflir29 0]

I thought of another great way to save money on gas. Get a hose and a gas can. Go to that asshole neighbor's house and syphon all his gas in the middle of the night. Viola! It could save you HUNDREDS of dollars per month!

[Hooknswoop 19]

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6. Drive with the windows up. It's more efficient to roll the windows up and use A/C than drive with them down. Of course using the fan instead of A/C is the best solution of all, but not always practical when it's 108 out.

The Mythbusters tested that out and found that windows down without the A/C running was much more fuel efficient. Of course, speeds, vehicles, etc can all make a difference.

I like the motorcycle idea, way ahead of you. Of course this winter may be an issue.

Thanks for the tips, I'll put as many as I can into use.

Derek

[yardhippie 0]

Gas hit over $5 here last night. its still above $3 this morning.
Friggin idiots! The news says "oooh no, the pipeline isnt pumping"
and the cattle rush to the gas stations that go say "oooohhh cattle" and jack up the prices, and the ones that dont are quickly sold out.
If only people had a brain...

I love my little car. 30mph in town, and 36 on the freeway!

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[freeflir29 0]

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I love my little car. 30mph in town, and 36 on the freeway!

And all the waves from those friendly gay men.

[yardhippie 0]

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I love my little car. 30mph in town, and 36 on the freeway!

And all the waves from those friendly gay men.

listen here sheepfucker!
As long as theyre waving its all good, and unlike some people I know... just cuz there is a cute white litte furry sheep in the side of the road... I wont stop!
much less, let my picture be taken!

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[Skolls081102 0]

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1. Inflate all your tires as much as is safe. Certainly to the limits listed with the car; it is generally safe to go to the limits printed on the tire, although handling may be affected.

billvon- thanks for the great post. Lots of good tips here- just wanted to comment on the first one though. Higher pressure in your tires will give you slightly better gas mileage- the downside, is that if you overinflate your tires (exceed whats posted on the door jam, but stay within tire pressure limits) you'll be replacing your tires alot quicker. The center of the tire will wear out considerably quicker. Of my 12 years working for Costco, about 9 years have been spent (on and off) working in the tire center (including being the supervisor for that dept).

But again, thanks for all the tips- I'll be using quite a few.

The sole intention, is learning to fly.Condition grounded, but determined to try.Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies.Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit.

[freeflir29 0]

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much less, let my picture be taken!

You've seen the pics. She was BEGGING for it!

[masterrig 1]

I heard a comedian say he could help folks save gas! For $40.00, you get a length of rubber hose and a list of names and addresses of 40 people who just filled-up!


Chuck

[yardhippie 0]

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much less, let my picture be taken!

You've seen the pics. She was BEGGING for it!

that looked more like shear terror!!


masterrig: we call that an Arkansas credit card back home!

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[WatchYourStep 0]

Thanks for all the tips. Even the big bikes get good mpg. My 1000cc gets between 40-50mpg depending on how I and where I drive it.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[masterrig 1]

masterrig: we call that an Arkansas credit card back home!

[rhino 0]

Diesel is cheaper here than everything else.

Also, of you are military you can get discoutned fuel on base.

My Jetta TDI gets between 48-54 mpg.

[MikeJD 0]

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that looked more like shear terror!!

Since the thread's already been hijacked, I have to ask - was that a deliberate misspelling? Because it made me smile. 'Sheep'. 'Shear'. geddit?

[TFFTM 1]

Ref:Motorcycles
Watch out for premature deployments on your way to the DZ

BSBD
Home of the Alabama Gang

[gravitational 0]

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I like the motorcycle idea, way ahead of you. Of course this winter may be an issue.

The last motorcycle I had I did manage to ride year round with exception to the snow days. Just had to be a bit more alert after those snow days from the sand that was put down on the road. It can be done. It's cold, but doable.

------
Michael

[freeflir29 0]

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was that a deliberate misspelling?

Damn.............I didn't even notice that the first time I went by. Funny shit!

[Faber 0]

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6. Drive with the windows up. It's more efficient to roll the windows up and use A/C than drive with them down. Of course using the fan instead of A/C is the best solution of all, but not always practical when it's 108 out.

driving whith windows down and A/C on will deafently eat alot of gass...
take the windows DOWN,NO A/C you could then use the Fan if needed aswell

"funny" to see you guys complain about gas prices.. you should try pay the price we has arround here..
10dkr/1litre of gass now 1$is roughly 7dkr do your own calculation about what we pay arround here

I can give you some help.. Buy a smaller car... most of you guys have big cars/trucks thouse eat alot of gass,smaller cars are more economic about gas...(just look at euprope cars.. we cant effort to pay the price here as some others get it "for free"

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[justinb138 0]

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2. Change to synthetic oil. A bit more expensive but you could pick up a mpg or so.

If you're going to use synthetic oil, don't be cheap with the filter (Fram, motorcraft, etc..) Find one without paper filter material in it. (Mobil1)

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7. Drive slower. You can save 10-15% by driving at 55mph instead of 75mph.

Also, if you're driving on the highway for an extended period of time, get behind a big truck. You can cruise at 70-75 mph without a huge amount of wind resistance. I've been able to get over 40mpg out of my V6 grand prix on the trip to the DZ doing this (95mi). Just don't get close enough to piss the driver off.

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Get a motorcycle. Again, used ones are cheap, and unless it's an 1100cc monster it will get better gas mileage than a car.

The two best bikes for gas mileage are the Kawasaki EX250 and another 250 made by Honda thats more of a crusier-style bike. Both will get 60-70mpg, but the EX will fare better on the highway. Also, both are less than 3K brand new, and you can find used ones for around $1500.

[sinker 0]

bill, one thing I really admire you for is your energy conservation mindedness. I got a lot out of your post. I went out to REI yesterday and bought this... see pic. It's a k2 attack 2.0. disc brakes, fully suspended, nice for my overweight self. I need to get into shape anyway and w/ gas prices in Nashville now over 3$/gallon, and only rising, if Atlanta prices are any indication of what is coming our way (almost 6$?!!), I'd gladly peddle my way to the store.

also, instead of taking the suburban everywhere, we bought my mom's old escort wagon for the go-go-grocery getting. only when all the kids need to go w/ us do we all pile in the fossil-fuel waster.

-the artist formerly known as sinker