Tips to Improve Your Fuel Economy

I know that I will be driving a lot this summer and as this is common for many people this time of year I figured I would share some gas saving tips that I've learned over the years.

1. If your car recommends premium gas, use it! You will end up saving money! Sounds crazy at first right? Before I purchased a new car 3 months ago I had a 1993 Nissan 240sx with around 175k miles on it when I switched from regular to premium. I had been getting roughly 240 miles on a 12 gallon tank when driving 99% highway. When I switched to premium I was getting roughly 300 miles per 12 gallon tank when driving 99% highway. So I went from 20 mpg to 25 mpg! If you consider that premium is usually 20 cents more than regular I was paying $2.40 more per tank to get premium (which is equal to less than 1 extra gallon of gas). Due to the increase in mpg I was getting the equivalent mileage increase of 3 gallons (60 more miles at 20mpg), so I was basically getting 2 free gallons of gas (when compared to what I paid for before). My dad also did this switch with his 2001 mustang and noticed a benefit.

The reason I got a better mpg rating was because the octane level on premium is higher (octane level is just a measure of the energy content of the gas-higher octane=more energy=less volume is burned for the same output as a lower octane). This works particularly well on older cars as carbon get built up in the cylinders and the higher octane premium gas will burn hotter and help to burn off some of this residue. The next time you fill up, try to wait until your tank is almost empty so your tank will be mostly all premium, then note the mileage you get for similar driving conditions/situations.

2. Keep your tires inflated/inflate your tires with Nitrogen. A car with under inflated tires gets an average of 3% less mpg than one that is properly inflated. The basics are very simple, when your tire is properly inflated there is less surface area of the tire touching the ground and less surface area= less resistance = less work that has to be done by the car to move it. Think about how much harder you have to pedal a bike with a flat tire. Even think about how much easier it is to move a road bike on the street compared to a mountain bike.

Filling your tires with Nitrogen can also increase your mpg.

Here is the composition of the air we breathe/fill our tires with:
1% Water Vapor and Other Gases - Escapes up to 250 times faster than Nitrogen
21% Oxygen - Escapes 3-4 times faster than Nitrogen
78% Nitrogen - The largest molecule in air, dry, non-flammable.

By reducing the percentage of oxygen, water vapor and other gases in your tires from 22% to 7% or lower, your tires will maintain proper pressure longer than if you use "plain old air." For example, with 95% nitrogen in your tires, they retain optimal pressure three to four times longer [citation:http://www.getnitrogen.org]

3. Keep up with maintenance! Change your oil every 3000 miles (or whatever your vehicle recommends). When you don't change it, oil turns sludgy, thick and viscous. This means that your vehicles moving components have an extra resistance to work through, causing them to slow and not function properly. Along with an oil change comes a new air filter. Most cars have a paper air filter that takes in all sorts of dust and dirt. This is where your engine pulls in the air from that makes your car go. If your filter is clogged up you engine has to work harder to pull in air and this kills your fuel efficiency.

One thing a lot of people do not do is use fuel injector cleaner after every oil change. They are about $2.50 a bottle and you can get them at any gas station. The next time you fill your car up after an oil change, buy a bottle of this and you simply pour it into your gas tank after you have filled up. Particulate matter gets built up on your fuel injectors (the things that spray fuel into the cylinders) and when these are not clean, they do not function properly. Fuel also gets built up on these, killing their efficiency (and thus your over all fuel efficiency).

4. Stop braking on the highway! I see 99% of drivers do this and no one seems to give it a second thought. The reason your car is rated at a higher mpg for the highway is because you are not constantly braking and accelerating as you do during city driving (the more often/harder you have to press the gas pedal, the lower your fuel efficiency will be). Many people will speed along, then when they come up to another car, they feel the need to brake to slow down.

Whenever I'm on the highway and conditions are clear I will never use my brake pedal unless forced to by another driver. You should be able to judge the distance you have when coming up to a car that is driving slower than you and simply let off the gas at the proper time. Your car will magically slow down without the brake pedal! Now you may say, what's the difference here because you'll eventually speed up again anyway, this is not the case. Everyone (myself included) over brakes. By this I mean that they brake beyond the required amount to just slow down, so they have to accelerate more since they braked more. Give yourself room and time to coast so you do not have to brake. It takes some practice, but you will eventually get it where there is no unsmooth part to your deceleration.

5. Drive the speed limit on the highway. This site: (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/) has a chart showing your fuel efficiency versus speed. You can see how it peaks around 55-60 mph. They also suggest using cruise control, which is very helpful. All those slight taps on the gas pedal on the highway lower your fuel efficiency.

Driving with your windows up and air conditioning on is the best way to stay cool and be efficient at speeds over 45 mph. Having the windows down creates a ton of drag and requires your engine to work harder.

6. Tips to save money at the pump:
"Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is half full or half empty. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, Do not fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money."

Hopefully you will follow this advice and save yourself some money!