All You Need to Know About Saving Gas

The nationwide average for gas has gone over $4.00 per gallon. In California, gas costs a whopping $4.50 per gallon. With the economy slowly floundering and food prices rising, conserving gas is now imperative for the struggling lower and middle classes. While there are obvious ways to conserve gas, like driving your Prius instead of your Hummer, there are also subtle but surefire ways to stretch your gas dollar and make your gallon go that extra mile or miles! Car maintenance is a big factor that contributes to fuel efficiency that many ignore. Here are several maintenance items to be aware of when it comes to your car:

1. Keep your car clean: Yes, a freshly washed and waxed car does wonders for our vanity and general appearance, but many fail to realize that a nice clean and wax car also will have decreased air resistance and allows your car to flow smoother on the freeway. So get rid of all the dirt caked on your hood and you'll go a little further on your gas tank. Keeping the interiors clean is also important, as unnecessary items in the backseat and trunk leads to more gas expenditures. For every extra 250 pounds the engine hauls, your car loses about one mile per gallon in fuel economy.

2. Keep your tires happy: Regular tire maintenance is also crucial to fuel economy as well as your safety. Keeping your tires properly inflated, but not overinflated, will not only save you gas, it'll also decrease the wear on your treads saving you money on tires. Rotating your tires as well as checking your tires for proper alignment and balance will also save you money in the long run. If your steering wheel shakes or your ride is bumpy during high speeds on a smooth road, it might be time to check your balance and alignment. Also be aware that hitting curbs and going over potholes will have an adverse effect on your wheel alignment and balance.

3. Keep your engine tuned: An oil change is the most necessary and obvious way to maintain your engine. Clean fuel injectors and air filters are also major contributors to increased gas efficiency. However, car dealerships and quick lubes are always out to sell you various other maintenance and tune up deals. While it's best to avoid the tune up and maintenance offers from Easy-Lube and the like , aside from oil changes of course, it is definitely smart to bring your car to the dealership or a trusted mechanic for the full tune-up every 30,000 miles. Yes it might cost $200 now, but you'll even out in gas money eventually, especially with today's gas prices. As an added bonus, you'll have less engine headaches when your car is 10 years old.

Driving habits is another big category when it comes to fuel conservation. Let's face it, a large portion of the population enjoy speeding and driving in an aggressive-defensive manner. However, that's exactly the kind of behavior that wastes gas. Driving habits are hard to change, but you'll be rewarded in your pocketbook if you are able to. Here are some tips on and off the roadway to help you save gas:

1. I like to move it move it: Here a simple rule: When your engine is on, keep your car moving! This means try to keep your engine warm up to 1 minute or less (a car's engine really actually need about 30 seconds to warm up anyway). It also means to keep parking with your engine on to a minimum. If you need to idle your car anywhere for more than 1 minute, turn the engine off or you're just burning fuel; it's like burning money. When you are at a parking lot though, park at the first spot you find, driving around for a closer spot wastes time and fuel.

For the advance drivers who have a good grasp on the layout of streets, try avoiding stoplights if possible. If you need to make a left at this street, but the turn light is at red and the straight ahead light is at green, why not keep going until the next left and make a left there. Again this is for the drivers who know the city inside and out and also when the alternate route is not obviously much longer than the original route.

2. Slow down Speed Racer: Remember in our driver's ed courses and DMV testing days, the instructors and DMV pamphlets used to very kindly reminds us that driving 80 mph instead of 65 only brings you to your location one or two minutes faster if it's 10 miles or less? Remember how we really didn't heed the advice and drove 90 mph anyway? After all, it sure feels like we're going faster and who cares when gas was $1.25 a gallon. Well, now gas is $4.50 per gallon and driving fast should only be reserved for the rich and wasteful. Unless you're driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco, speeding will not save you that much time. It's not that shameful to go 65 mph on the freeway, seriously, try it, you might like it. Another note on freeway driving, cruise control will save you gas on an open highway, use it!

3. Stops and turns: The key here is not using your breaks; everytime you use your breaks for stops and turns, you are wasting fuel. For the smart drivers, instead of racing to the red light and stop sign, let go of the accelerator and slowly roll to a stop. Yes it might make the guy behind you give you some obscene fingers and cause him to speed up to pass your slow car, but just know that he is burning his money, while you, the smart one, just saved $5 dollars in gas on a trip to the grocery store. This applies to turns too, slowly roll to a turn instead of racing to it. If you have a lower car that can make sharp turns even better, try making turns without breaking, it will not only prevent wasting gas but also bring some excitement into your driving. Be careful though, if you or your car are not adapt at making sharp turns, don't do it. You might damage your tires, flip your car, or crash into something.

4. 0-60: Yes, it might very well be that your corvette can go from 0-60 in 2 seconds, but it also wastes a ton of gas doing that. Gradual acceleration from a stopped vehicle is the way to go. When your red light turns green, don't floor your gas pedal, lightly push on it for some gradual acceleration. Again, this might make the road rager behind you up in arms, but honestly, nowadays, it is more important to save $10 than to cater or succumb to road rage.

5. To A/C or not to A/C: The common misconception is that A/C uses more gas. This is incorrect. Newer models of cars are designed to be aerodynamic. Driving at high speeds with the windows down will create drag which will lead to higher gas consumption. If you are driving at moderate speeds on local roads where stops are common, then driving with the windows down and A/C off will save gas.

Finally, there are also some techniques to filling up at the pump itself that can save money:

1. Quench the thirst: No, this doesn't mean to go into the Kwik-e-Mart and buy a soda while you're filling up. Quenching the thirst means to driving enough so that your car is actually thirsty (when you have at least used 3/4 of your tank) and fill your gas tank all the way full everytime you're at the pump. If you do not fill up until your tank is almost empty, you extend your gas because you are hauling a lighter load as the tank nears empty. When do need to fill up, fill it up all the way because this will decrease the amount of trips you make to gas stations. Decreased trips mean saved time and money! Lastly, fill your tank full but do not top off. The extra gas from topping off will just seep out, slosh out, or evaporate out within the first 10 minutes of driving, so why waste your hard earned pennies. And as always, remember to tighten your fuel cap, a loose fuel cap allows gas to evaporate and escape from the tank. It's like watching your money disappear into thin air. Literally!

2. Gas purchasing: Gas purchasing is an art! Comparison shopping is obvious, try mapquest.com, gaspricewatch.com, and gasbuddy.com. It is also important to make sure you don't buy your car a higher octane than it needs. Most regular sedans and SUVs only need gas with an octane of 87 which means regular gas. The rule of thumb is that if you have a REGULAR car, buy REGULAR gas. You do not need the Plus and the Premiums contrary to what your dad might tell you. Now, if you have a Lamborgini, that's a different story. Now that you've chosen to purchase REGULAR gas, try paying for it with a credit card that earns points or mileage or rewards. Credit cards are fantastic when it comes to needs such as gas and groceries, and destructive when it comes to wants like big screen tv's. Make sure you pay the complete sum off at the end of the month!

3. Invest in oil companies: With the stock market plummeting, the only stars of the market have been oil companies. If you can't beat them, join them. Use the profit you make from Chervon stocks to buy Chervon gas. What can be easier than that!

The outrageous gas prices have taken some of the joy from driving. With the proper conservation habits, the pain from the pump should be eased a little. Until next time, drive well and prosper!