Daily Fuel Economy Tip

Social Media Management for Small Business

2010-06-30T17:29:00.001-04:00

Traditional forms of advertising for businesses - things like the yellowpages, billboards, print ads, radio/TV commercials - are dead. They're expensive and likely aren't bringing a positive ROI.

Online advertising - things like SEO, SEM, social media management, online video marketing - are the way of the future. They're cheap, and bring tons of qualified traffic to your website.

Think about it, when was the last time you used the yellow pages? When was the last time you Googled? Exactly!

Small Business Online Marketing and Social Media Management

2010-06-29T19:17:00.001-04:00

Traditional forms of advertising - things like billboards, newspaper ads, yellow pages, etc. - are dead. They don't bring in new customers because we've learned to tune this out.

Internet marketing, on the other hand, is growing by leaps and bounds and is becoming more and more effective each and every day. What are you waiting for?

Fuel Economy Tip - Fill Your Tires With Nitrogen?

2006-08-03T19:14:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you increase your car's fuel economy by 1 to 2%. While that may not seem like much, over time, it'll definitely add up (assuming this theory is correct).

Fill your tires with pure nitrogen as opposed to filling them up with "regular air."

The last time I had the tires changed on my car (which was a week or two ago), when I got the receipt back, I noticed a small additional charge for filling my tires with pure nitrogen. I didn't really think much of it at the time, but a few days later I decided to do some "internet investigation" and find out why I was driving around on nitrogen filled tires.

As a side note, yes, I realize I could have just called the tire place, but that would have been too easy.

Anyway, what I found out through my research (here's one site I found) is there is a belief that tires filled with pure nitrogen tend to hold proper tire pressure longer than tires filled with regular air. The theory behind this is because nitrogen molecules are bigger than oxygen molecules, thus less likely to escape the tire.

To be honest, I haven't really noticed much of a difference, but maybe a month down the road when I go to check my tires, I'll be pleasantly surprised to see that my tires have held their pressure.

So, for the time being, I would recommend that if you go out and get a new set of tires in the near future, go ahead and spend the couple extra bucks to try it out. If it doesn't work out, you're not going to be out much, but if it does work out, you stand to save some gas and money.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 13

2006-08-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

This past week I drove 314.5 miles, used 10.28 gallons of gas and paid $3.00, all of which equates to an average of 30.6 mpg or 5.5% above my car's average fuel economy.

This 5.5% increase in fuel economy equates to a "savings" of roughly $.17 per gallon, which saved me $1.75 on this particular fill up. Not too good, but I'll take it.

This $1.75 combined with my previous 12 week savings amounts to a total savings of $64.29, or roughly two fill ups.

Not bad for just paying better attention to my driving habits.

Fuel Economy Tip - Reduce the Use of "Electrical Devices"

2006-08-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is along the same idea as the headlights tip, only it's a little more broad.

Minimize the use of your car's "electrical devices."

Here's what I mean by "electrical devices":

Rear window defrost
Radio
Navigational systems
Dome lights
Power locks and windows
Plug-in DVD players

While this certainly isn't an all-inclusive list, I think you catch my drift.

Anyway, the reason behind minimizing the use of these devices is when you use your car's electrical systems, in a round about way you are using more gas.

This is because your car's electrical systems are powered by it's alternator (while the car is running), and the alternator gets it's energy from the car's engine. If you need the alternator to produce more power for the electrical systems, it's going to sap more energy from the engine, meaning worse fuel economy.

Obviously, having a failing alternator will only exacerbate the problem.

So, long story short, if you can minimize the use of your car's electrical systems, you should see a slight increase in your vehicle's gas mileage.

New Transmission Could Increase Gas Mileage by 20 to 30 MPG

2006-07-31T20:14:00.000-04:00

It's amazing what you can find on the internet.

Today, I came across an article about a lifelong inventor who has come up with a transmission that would improve gas mileage by 20 to 30 mpg. For a technical explanation of how the new transmission works in comparison to current transmissions, I highly recommend clicking the link - I'd love to explain it, but most of this stuff is beyond me.

Anyway, aside from wanting to bring the new transmission to your attention, I also wanted to show that there are a lot of people out there that are trying to find new ways to make cars more fuel efficient.

Whether it's improving transmissions, finding out how to change a hybrid to get 100 mpg or finding newer, cleaner and (most importantly) renewable sources of energy, people are out there working hard to make these things a reality.

While many of these inventions or ideas never get past the drawing board, the fact remains that we much continue to explore every option, no matter how silly or impossible they may seem at the time.

Teacher Rides Horse to Work to Save Money on Gas

2006-07-30T17:37:00.000-04:00

While I've had some pretty off the wall suggestions for ways to save gas (wash and wax your car, lose weight, and don't get new rims), nothing compares to what a Wisconsin high school teacher has done to help offset the rise in gas prices:

He bought a horse and rides it to and from work.

According to the article, the teacher has decided to ride a horse instead of his car for two reasons:

To save $40 per week on gas
To make a statement and show that people can conserve gas

While I think this may be a bit excessive considering it now takes the teacher two and a half hours to commute round trip, it does prove a point that we can conserve gas - and you don't even need to go out and buy a horse to do so!

Simple things like watching your speed or checking your tire pressure can help you save a lot of gas and a lot of money.

So, unless things get much worse, I'd recommend making simple changes to your driving habits - not going out and buying a horse!

Fuel Economy Tip - Don't Use Your Headlights During the Day

2006-07-29T13:50:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a bit of money on your car's gas as well as help your headlights last a little bit longer.

Don't use your headlights when it's sunny out.

I got this idea from an article on HowStuffWorks.com, which was about how much gas Americans would waste per year if the Government required all new cars to utilize daytime running lights. According to the article, if every car on the road had daytime running lights, we (Americans) would waste over 406 MILLION GALLONS OF GAS each year!

With gas being roughly $3 per gallon, that would be a loss of $1.2 billion.

While I'm not going to go into how exactly the people at HowStuffWorks.com went about calculating how much gas would be wasted, the logic behind their numbers certainly makes plenty of sense.

With that being said, if you don't want to add to the amount of gas wasted each year, I would strongly recommend keeping your headlights off during the day, unless it's raining, you're driving through a tunnel, etc.

I certainly don't think that the savings will amount to much for each individual driver (on average, it's probably less than $10 per year), but like I've said many times before, all those little savings will add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars each year.

Is It Time to Tax Big Oil's Windfall Profits?

2006-07-28T18:05:00.001-04:00

Earlier this week, ExxonMobil recorded a second quarter profit of $10.6 BILLION amid record highs in the price of crude oil. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the exception to the rule, as most all big oil companies are recording quarterly profits in the billions of dollars.

This doesn't exactly seem fair when the price of gas is up 50% on the year.

With that being said, there has been a growing movement for a one time tax on big oil's windfall profits. The purpose of levying an extra tax on these profits is to attempt to return much of the collected money to drivers, helping to offset the increase in the price of gas.

While in theory this may be a great idea, in practice this would be ridiculously dumb. Here's why:

If these big oil companies have found ways to pass the cost of higher oil on to the consumer, don't you think they'll find creative ways to recoup the hundreds of millions (or billions) they stand to lose in this windfall tax? My bet is they'll find a way to get that money back.
Much of the reason for the higher price in gas isn't due to an increase in the cost of crude oil, but it's due to the lack of refinery capacity. Big oil companies have been reluctant to increase refinery capacity (a.k.a. building additional refineries) because it takes a long time to see a return on the investment. Maybe instead of forcing the big oil companies to return money to consumers it might be a better idea to force them to use the money to increase refinery capacity.
Here's the greatest idea of all - MAKE BIG OIL COMPANIES TAKE THE MONEY THEY WOULD REPAY TO CONSUMERS AND MAKE THEM INVEST IT IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL SOURCES.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is this windfall tax is like trying to use a band aid to treat a gunshot wound. This tax completely ignores the fact we need to use big oil's money to find ways to reduce our dependence on oil.

The Effect of $100 a Barrel Oil

2006-07-27T18:52:00.000-04:00

Today's post is going to start off pretty gloom and doom, but hopefully by the end of it, you'll realize that no matter what the price of oil (and then gasoline) becomes, there are still plenty of ways you can change your driving habits to stretch your money even further.

I came across an interesting article posted on reddit.com that talked about the effects on the global economy, specifically America's economy, if oil hits $100 per barrel. Since I tend to be a realist (a kind word for a pessimist), I think that the article should have been changed to be more about WHEN, not IF, oil hits $100.

Editorial comment: Let's be honest here, this is really just the beginning of the meteoric rise in the price of oil. With the increased demand from emerging economies such as India and China (who happen to account for nearly 2/5ths of the world's population), an increasingly volatile Middle East (where hatred of America seems to be the only unifying theme), and with the likelihood of production DECREASES in the near future, the chances of the price of oil dropping are about as slim as the chances of this article making it on the front page of Digg. Thinking the price of oil will slow or top out at $100 seems pretty optimistic.

Anyway, back to the post. The author of the Business Week article seems to think that, for the most part, the world economy should weather the $100 storm just fine.

However, the author does believe that Americans will feel the biggest effect. A lot of this has to do with the fact that Europeans are already paying the equivalent of $7 or $8 per gallon and more than likely their gas prices wouldn't increase much. Americans, on the other hand, would see gas shoot from roughly $3 (already 300% higher than where it was in 1999) to around $5, another 66% increase.

I don't know about you, but having to spend $60 to fill up my little economy car is certainly going to reduce my discretionary income.

Since there appears there's not much you can do to stop the increase in the price of gasoline, you're going to have to take other measures to help offset the extra money you're going to spend.

(This is where the article gets decidedly more optimistic)

By making slight changes in your driving habits, you have the ability to "offset" the rise in gas prices by 20% or more. And, once these more efficient habits replace your bad habits, you'll save hundreds of dollars per year!

For example, by utilizing the following three tips, you can increase your fuel economy by 10% (roughly $.30 per gallon) or more:

Even doing just these three simple things will net you an extra couple hundred dollars each year.

And, with the way things look, I'd start saving as much as I can.

Is This the Car of the Future? Let's Hope!

2006-07-26T19:31:00.000-04:00

I came across an interesting article about the Tesla Roadster, a battery powered sports car that is able to go from 0 to 60 in a little over three seconds.

While hybrid cars are the current rage, they still have one fatal flaw - they still need gasoline. Regardless of the fact that hybrids get outstanding gas mileage, they are in essence just biding time until we find reliable vehicles that run on something other than a fossil fuel.

That's where cars like the Tesla Roadster come in:

"The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries -- the same cells that run a laptop computer. Range: 250 miles. Fuel efficiency: 1 to 2 cents per mile. Top speed: more than 130 mph."

While the 250 mile range isn't exactly great, when I look at the above quote, it's hardly the number that stands out. As you are all well aware, I love to save money, and I'll be the first to admit, I would be one happy dude to have a car that costs $.02 per mile to run.

Let's say I have a car that gets 30 miles per gallon. Since fuel is roughly $3.00 per gallon, it costs me about $.10 per mile to run my car. If I drive 10,000 miles per year, that's a cost of $1,000 per year.

Now, lets say I have this Tesla Roadster (click here for pics). That 10,000 miles would only cost me $200. Think of what you could do with an extra $800.

Or, I could just go out and get a car that gets 150 mpg and call it even.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling these car's aren't going to be as inexpensive to buy as they are to operate, but that's a different story for a different day.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 12

2006-07-23T19:27:00.000-04:00

This wasn't a very good week.

This past week I drove 345.2 miles, used 11.319 gallons of gas and paid $2.95 per gallon when I filled up, all of which equates to an average gas mileage of 30.50 mpg, or 5.15% above my car's average fuel economy.

This 5.15% increase in fuel economy equates to a per gallon "savings" of roughly $.15, and saved me $1.72 on this particular fill up. In combining the $1.72 with my previous 11 week savings, I have now saved $62.54 the past 12 weeks.

This is by far the worst gas mileage I have achieved since I started making a conscious effort to get better gas mileage. I believe a lot of this is due to constantly running my car's air conditioner, twice being stuck in traffic on my afternoon commute as well as a few cases of having a lead foot.

So, hopefully this upcoming week will be a little bit better and I'll return to the mid-30's mpg I've grown accustomed to.

Fuel Economy Tip - Plan Your Trips in Advance

2006-07-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

As luck would have it, for the third day in a row I found an interesting article that goes to show the importance of planning out your trips BEFORE you get in your car.

The basic premise behind this article is UPS has gone so far as to try and find ways to minimize the number of left turns each driver has to make while they are out delivering packages. The article states:

"According to spokesperson Steve Holmes, avoiding left turns at intersections reduces idling which in turn lowers fuel consumption. 'It seems small, but when you multiply it across 88,0000 vehicles making nearly 15 million deliveries every day during the course of a year, it adds up.'"

If a multi-billion dollar per year, international company is willing to explore ways to get better gas mileage, don't you think it's time you try and do the same?

I'm not saying that you should go so far as to try and minimize the number of left hand turns you make, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to try and plan out your trips before you get on the road.

For example, combining several small trips into one trip is a simple and easy way you can plan ahead and save a bunch of gas.

So, When is it REALLY Going to Hurt?

2006-07-21T18:03:00.000-04:00

I came across another interesting article today (it's amazing what you can find if you just put a little bit of effort into it) that argues that even if gas prices rise to $4 or $5 per gallon, Americans probably won't change their driving habits much.

The article references a quote from a UCLA finance professor from March, 2000 (when gas was $1.50 per gallon) that states, "I believe that another $.25 to $.50 increase, people would cut back on consumption. It exceeds the psychological barrier."

And now, we long for the days when gas was $2.50, let alone $1.50.

But certainly, people are offsetting the worries brought on by higher gas prices by buying more fuel efficient vehicles, right?

Wrong.

According to Automotive News, in the first half of 2006, three out of the top four selling vehicles in the United States were large trucks (1. Ford F-150, 2. Chevy Silverado, 4. Dodge Ram).

So, it looks like the author that is arguing that demand/consumption won't drop significantly until gas hits $4 or $5 has a valid point.

I have my own theory though.

Could it be that the demand hasn't decreased because it's easy for people to adjust their driving so that they are able to stretch their car's gas a little bit further? I would bet that most people have made slight changes in their habits (just look at the recent growth in the number of sites like this, as well as the increased number of people who frequent these sites), and are getting better gas mileage, which greatly offsets the meteoric rise in the price of fuel.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to lay claim to a revolution (although I do think Daily Fuel Economy Tip is one of the best resources for smart, gas saving drivers); I still think that for most people, the price of gas hasn't risen enough to really affect them in the wallet.

I do, however, think that people are more conscious of their driving habits, and that will continue to be the case as long as gas stays at these record prices.

A 100 MPG Car??

2006-07-20T21:46:00.000-04:00

I found an interesting article today about how some car manufacturers are going to start to soup up their hybrids, enabling them to achieve even better gas mileage.

For those of you who don't know how hybrids work, here is an excerpt from an article posted on About.com:

"Hybrid cars work by seamlessly integrating a gas engine, an electric motor and a high-powered battery. The battery provides power for the electric motor and is recharged by recapturing energy that would normally be lost when decelerating or coasting. This recapturing of energy is called regenerative braking. If needed, power from the gas engine can be diverted to recharge the battery as well. Because of these charging strategies, hybrid cars never need to be plugged in."

The most interesting thing I found when reading the 100 mpg car article is that some hybrid owners are already getting close to 100 mpg thanks to some "slight" modifications they have made on their own. Essentially, what they have done is add extra batteries to their hybrid vehicle, thus using even less gasoline.

Unfortunately though, these modifications will not only void your hybrid's warranty, but will also cost you between $3,000 and $12,000. Seems like it would take a very long time to recoup that money in what you would save on your car's gas.

So, what does this all mean? It means that more and more hybrids are likely to hit the road and, in the future, they will probably be getting even better gas mileage than what they are currently getting.

It also means that in the meantime, the only way you're going to get better gas mileage is by making slight adjustments to your driving habits. And wouldn't you know it, I've come up with my list of the top 5 ways you can easily increase your gas mileage:

Getting better gas mileage isn't hard if you're willing to make slight changes to your driving habits!

Fuel Economy Tip - Don't Brake Check

2006-07-17T20:53:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a little bit of gas, but will more than likely help to save yourself a lot of aggravation.

Don't brake check; just move over.

For those of you who don't know, "brake checking" is when you continue to slow down or tap your brakes when you have someone tailgating you.

The reason brake checking will hurt your gas mileage is because it causes you to constantly be on and off of your accelerator. Smooth drivers - drivers that slowly accelerate to speed and then maintain that speed - tend to get much better gas mileage than jack rabbit drivers - drivers that hit the accelerator and the brakes pretty hard, and go back and forth far too often.

So, if you notice someone is tailgating you, go ahead and move over to let the person pass. If you don't have the opportunity to get over, just maintain speed and don't "retaliate" by brake checking.

Another nice thing about not brake checking is you tend to not worry as much when someone is tailgating you. Don't let them being an aggressive driver agitate you and cause you to do something stupid.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox. Hopefully you've learned something that will help you save some cash.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 11

2006-07-16T20:04:00.000-04:00

This week I drove 372.4 miles, used 11.295 gallons between fill ups and paid $3.00 per gallon, all of which equates to an average of 32.97 miles per gallon. This amount is roughly 13.69% above my car's average fuel economy.

This 13.69% increase equates to a per gallon "savings" of about $.41, and saved me $4.64 for this tank of gas.

Combining the $4.64 with the $56.18 I've already saved, my 11 week savings comes out to $60.82. Spread out over a 52 week period, I should save about $285.

I can think of a bunch of things I'd rather do with that money than burn it in my car's gas tank!

Fuel Economy Tip - Minimizing Idling

2006-07-14T20:17:00.000-04:00

Today's tip, according to Fueleconomy.gov, could help you increase your vehicle's gas mileage by up to 17%!

Reduce the amount of time your car is in idle!

I came across a great article and diagram on Fueleconomy.gov that states the following:

"Only about 15% of the energy from the fuel you put in your tank gets used to move your car down the road or run useful accessories, such as air conditioning. The rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies and idling. Therefore, the potential to improve fuel efficiency with advanced technologies is enormous."

That's an amazing statistic! If this is true, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, for every 10 gallons of gas your car uses, only 1.5 gallons are used in getting your car down the road (or to use your AC, etc.).

So, with that being said, unless you are a mechanical engineer or just happen to be a wiz with your car's engine, the only real possibility for you to save gas is to reduce the amount of time your car is idling. According to the chart on the site I referenced, 17.2% of your car's fuel is wasted while your car idles.

So, with gas being about $3 per gallon, every $.52 you spend on gas is wasted while your car sits in idle.

Here are some things you can do to help reduce the amount of time your car is in idle:

Avoid being on the road during rush hour. Even staggering your commute by 30 minutes can have a great impact on the amount of time you sit on the highway.
If you know of times when your car is going to sit and idle (running into a friend's house, going into Blockbuster to pick up a movie, etc.) go ahead and park the car and turn the engine off.
Instead of turning on your car and then putting on your seat belt, adjusting your mirrors, picking out a CD, rolling the windows up or down, etc., go ahead and do those things BEFORE you start your car.
In the winter, don't let your car sit and idle while you warm it up or scrape frost off the windows. Scrape the frost off before you start your car and invest in a nice set of gloves to where while you're driving down the road, waiting for your car to warm up.
Same thing goes for idling while running the AC and waiting for the car to cool in the summer.
Avoid going through the drive thru. Just go in and order your food.

Obviously this isn't an all intensive list, but hopefully it'll give you a few ideas on ways you can reduce the amount of time your car idles.

Fuel Economy Tip - Pick Your Lane and Stay In It

2006-07-13T18:43:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a little bit of gas and a whole lot of aggravation as you're driving down a busy interstate.

Pick your lane and stay in it.

How many of you have seen the movie Office Space? You know the opening scene, where Peter is driving to work and he keeps switching lanes, only to find that the lane he just left speeds up while the lane he moved to has come to a stand still?

Well, according to Edmonds.com, the above scenario may not be that far from the truth. Edmonds.com states that "studies have shown that changing lanes does not significantly reduce travel time."

So, instead of weaving back and forth, in and out of traffic, once you get on the highway, go ahead and pick a lane (preferably not the left, or fast lane) and maintain a nice, constant speed, hopefully somewhere right around the speed limit.

This should help you save a little bit of gas and a whole lot of aggravation, since you won't be worrying about picking the "right" lane.

Oil Closes at $76.70 Per Barrel

2006-07-13T17:23:00.000-04:00

First, I apologize for the long delay between posts; this past week I was on vacation and did not have internet access.

That being said, oil prices closed near $77 (at a record $76.70) per barrel, meaning gas prices will be soon to follow.

So, because of that, I will step up the efforts here at Daily Fuel Economy Tip to help all of you get the most out of your car's gas mileage.

Fuel Economy Tip - What To Look For When Buying a New Car

2006-07-04T17:45:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully give you some things to look for when you're out looking to buy yourself a new car and are trying to find something that is relatively fuel efficient.

While this is by no means an all inclusive list, the items I list below should be a good place to get started:

Look for something that is light weight: As you know from one of my previous posts, for every extra 100 pounds on your car, your fuel economy is reduced between 1 and 2%. So, by buying a car that weighs 2,200 pounds versus a car that weighs 2,000 pounds, you'll be getting between 2 and 4% worse gas mileage, which over time will definitely add up.
Get a manual transmission car: Manual transmission cars tend to get better gas mileage than their automatic counterparts. A lot of the reason is because with a manual transmission vehicle, the driver is able to shift to anticipate driving conditions and is able to keep the transmission in the highest possible gear.
The lower to the ground, the better: Cars that are higher off the ground (especially ones that are augmented from the way they should be) tend to get worse gas mileage than cars that sit lower to the ground. This is because cars that sit lower tend to be a little more aerodynamic.
Get a light colored car: I know this is a bit picky, but light colored cars do a much better job reflecting sunlight, thus they tend to be a little bit cooler. And, since we know that air conditioning wastes a lot of gas, the cooler you can keep your car without the use of AC, the better.
Avoid a car with a sunroof: While a sunroof may be a nice luxury to have, driving with the sunroof open greatly increases the amount of drag on your vehicle, thus reducing gas mileage.
Get a car with a smaller engine: This is sort of a double-edged sword. Cars that have smaller engines naturally tend to use less gas, but in addition to that, if you have an engine that really can't speed, you're probably less likely to speed. And, since the engine has less "get up and go," you're probably going to take it easy when you accelerate.
Find something that is two-wheel drive: Unless you live in the mountains or in an area that snows a ton, you probably don't need to have a four-wheel drive vehicle. And, since four-wheel drive vehicles tend to use more gas than their two-wheel counterparts, it's probably worth it to skip the option.

In addition to these items, I would obviously not recommend getting any sort of truck or SUV, and I think it goes without saying that if you're really in to saving gas, you probably should look at some sort of hybrid vehicle.

Other than that, I hope this has been of some help, and if you can think of anything else, please feel free to leave a comment.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 10

2006-06-29T18:26:00.000-04:00

Wow, hard to believe I've been writing the Daily Fuel Economy Tip for over 10 weeks. Hopefully you've been able to save some gas, and in the process keep some cash in your pocket!

This week I drove 369.0 miles between fill ups, used 11.564 gallons and paid $2.96 per gallon, all of which equates to and average of 31.91 MPG, by far my lowest average gas mileage since I've been making a conscious effort to have better driving habits. That being said, I still achieved roughly 10% better gas mileage than my car's average, which saved me about $.29 per gallon, or $3.53 for this fill up.

Combining that with the $52.65 I've saved over the first nine weeks, I have saved $56.18 thus far. Average that out over an entire year, and I'm on pace to save about $295.

I'm fine with that.

Fuel Economy Tip - Gas Saving Devices Mostly A Scam

2006-06-27T20:16:00.000-04:00

Today's tip won't help you save any gas, but it'll help save you from wasting your money on scams that claim to help you increase your car's gas mileage.

Avoid buying devices or products that claim to help increase your vehicle's fuel economy - they are more than likely a scam.

The basis for this tip came from an article I read on MSN.com, which talked about various devices and products (like many of the AdSense links on this site) that claim to increase fuel economy, but almost always fall well short of their claims.

Whether these devices bleed air into the carburetor, heat the gas before it is ignited, or try to change the gas' molecular structure, one thing remains constant - they don't work!

There are a couple of items from this article that I though were particularly interesting and want to elaborate on:

In the September 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics, experts tested seven "fuel saving" products and found that none of them increased gas mileage, and two actually increased fuel consumption (decreased gas mileage). With some of these items costing what a tank of gas typically runs, it sounds to me like you would be better off just keeping that money in your pocket.
The advertising that goes along with these products is often faulty and very misleading. For example, one advertisement may make the claim that the product will increase your gas mileage by up to 20%. That's all fine and dandy, but there is no information given as to how they were able to come up with that figure. As you know from reading this blog, there are many different ways to affect gas mileage - you driving habits (speeding, jack rabbit driving), traffic, your car's condition, etc. So, unless the advertisement states that the product was tested in identical conditions as what most drivers face, don't believe the hype.
Fuel tank additives really don't work. This one was the one that got me, because I actually believed the claims that these additives would help clean my car's fuel line. That being said, there are enough detergents already in gasoline that this shouldn't be an issue.
There is no conspiracy among the automotive manufactures. If car makers could come up with new ways to help increase their vehicles' fuel economy, they would probably go ahead and incorporate it into the vehicles. So, these products that are all add-on, have all been reviewed my automotive manufacturers and have been deemed to not live up to the hype. If a company that has billions of research dollars at its disposal doesn't believe in a product's claims, you probably shouldn't either.

So, the moral of this story is (much like I have claimed all along) the only real way for you to increase your car's gas mileage is to change your driving habits.

Sorry, I Was Out of Town

2006-06-27T20:03:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to apologize for being so delinquent in updating the Daily Fuel Economy Tip. I was out of town coaching at a basketball camp, so needless to say, I didn't have any internet access.

Anyway, back to more tips....

Fuel Economy Tip - Go Early, Stay Late

2006-06-21T20:15:00.000-04:00

I got today's tip from a commercial for Maryland's Eastern Shore, but I thought it was a pretty good idea for helping to save gas while on the road for your summer vacation(s).

Go early, stay late.

The basic idea behind this commercial's motto (and today's tip) is to avoid getting stuck in traffic by being on the road during non-peak driving hours.

I would imagine that on a three or four hour trip to or from the beach (leaving your regular time and getting stuck in some traffic), you could shave off at least a half an hour by simply getting on the road during non-peak hours. In addition to saving time, you're probably saving a gallon or more of gas, and that's probably a conservative estimate!

This "go early, stay late" motto doesn't just have to apply to your vacations; it can apply to your daily commute, going to a game, going shopping, etc.

Just goes to show that small changes in your driving habits can greatly affect your vehicle's gas mileage and your bank account.

Fuel Economy Log Weeks 8 & 9

2006-06-20T20:40:00.000-04:00

Week 8, I drove 381.4 miles between fill ups, used 11.203 gallons and paid $2.98 per gallon, which equates to 34.04 miles per gallon. This is a 14.8% increase over my car's average gas mileage, which is a savings of roughly $.44 per gallon, or $4.93 for this fill up.

Week 9, I drove 331.5 miles between fill ups, used 10.124 gallons and paid $2.90 per gallon, which equates to 32.75 mpg. This is a 12.93% increase over my car's average fuel economy, which is a savings of roughly $.38 per gallon, or $3.85 for this fill up.

This brings my total savings up to $52.65 for nine weeks, which over the span of a year means a savings of well over $300.

Not bad for taking it easy and being a smart driver.

Fuel Economy Tip - Limit Your Use of Defrost

2006-06-19T23:18:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is just another one of many ways for you to easily save some money on gas without having to alter your driving habits.

Don't forget to turn your defrost off after it has done its job.

On hot, muggy mornings, it is pretty much a necessity to throw the air on defrost to help reduce the condensation on your windshield. However, once the defrost has done its job and cleared your view, make sure to return your air settings back to normal vent.

All too often, people forget to turn their setting back from defrost to vent, which is an easy way to rob your vehicle of gas mileage. This is because the defrost setting automatically uses your car's air conditioning, which, as you should remember, can greatly reduce your car's fuel economy.

So, after the defrost has done its job and cleared your windshield of condensation, turn the air settings back to vent and you should see an increase of between 1% and 3% in your vehicle's gas mileage.

Fuel Economy Tip - Keep Your Sunroof Screen Closed

2006-06-16T19:15:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a little bit of gas and, at the very least, help keep your car a little less hot during the bright, sunny summer days.

Keep your sunroof "screen" closed.

As I write this the actual name for what I'm trying to describe is escaping me (although I'm sure one of my faithful readers will point it out in the comments section). But, for most car's with a sunroof, there is the actual glass sunroof and then there is the section in the interior of the car that you can slide back to allow sunlight to enter.

That's the part that I'm telling you to keep closed.

Keeping this section open will cause your car to heat up even faster, and will negate the work your air conditioning is doing, essentially causing you to waste gas.

So, go ahead and keep your sunroof "screen" closed, and you should be able to help keep your car a little bit cooler.

Fuel Economy Tip - Addendum to "Don't Get 'Sweet' Rims"

2006-06-15T20:26:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is an update to my previous post about how it was a bad idea to put customized rims on your vehicle.

If you feel the need to replace your vehicle's rims, make sure you're getting rims that weigh less than the ones currently on your vehicle.

I'll be the first to admit when I make a mistake, and in my previous post, I was very unclear in what I meant by not putting "sweet rims" on your vehicle.

What I meant was to not go out and buy rims that are wider than the rims currently on your car and/or had all those extra bells and whistles that make them weigh more than your current rims.

As many of you graciously pointed out, I was wrong in condemning all rims because there are rims out there that will help you INCREASE your gas mileage. This is mostly because they are made out of material that makes them lighter than what is currently on your vehicle.

So, thank you to those of you who pointed out the error of my ways. Hopefully this addendum has helped to clear up any confusion.

Fuel Economy Tip - Accelerate Before You Reach the Hill

2006-06-14T20:13:00.000-04:00

First off, I just want to thank whoever posted yesterday's tip on Fark.com. This site definitely got more hits in one day than it has in the past month. Thanks.

Today's tip is more of a common sense driving tip, but is a good way to help you save some gas.

Accelerate before you start going up a hill.

A lot of this goes back to anticipating and paying attention to the road ahead while you're driving. When you're driving, especially on flat terrain, and you see a large hill, go ahead and gently accelerate before you get on the hill.

The reason being, you're already going to expend more gas by going up the hill, you're only going to exacerbate the problem by waiting to jam on the accelerator to maintain speed.

So, by slightly accelerating before you start up a hill, you should be able to maintain much of your speed while not having to use as much gas.

Fuel Economy Tip - Wash and Wax?

2006-06-13T20:44:00.000-04:00

I wish I knew for certain that today's tip actually does help you get better gas mileage, but even if it doesn't, you'll have the nicest looking car in the neighborhood.

Regularly wash and wax your vehicle.

If this idea actually works, I wish I could take credit for it (if it turns out to be a scam, you didn't get the idea from me). While searching other gas saving sites, I came across a tip that claims if you wash and wax your car, you can improve your gas mileage by up to 7%, which based on today's prices would be about $.21 per gallon.
Not too shabby.

The basic idea behind it is, after washing and waxing your car, the surface of the vehicle is much more likely to be nice and smooth, therefore, it should be more aerodynamic than when you have lots of bug guts smeared all over.

It looks like a sound theory, but I don't know if simply cleaning your car will increase your fuel economy that drastically. However, it's worth a shot because at the very least, your car's going to look nice.

Especially if you're NOT kicking sweet rims.

Fuel Economy Tip - Lay Off The Doughnuts

2006-06-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save a small amount of gas while helping you prolong your life.

Go on a diet and lose some weight.

Look, I know I'm reaching here, but it's true: if you lose some of that spare tire you're carrying around your mid-section, you will get better gas mileage. Take that Jared dude from the Subway commercials as an example; he's not happy about the fact he's getting free subs for life, he's just pumped he's saving on his car's gas.

As I have stated in previous posts, carrying around an extra 100 pounds will reduce your gas mileage by roughly two percent. For example, if you're carrying around an extra 25 pounds, you're reducing your gas mileage by about about two cents per gallon.

So, if you need some extra incentive to get off the couch and stop doing the 12 ounce curls, maybe this'll do it.

Or, you can check out all the research that links being overweight to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. Whatever floats your boat to get you to live a healthier life, take it and run with it.

No pun intended.

Fuel Economy Tip - Make it a Night In

2006-06-11T20:28:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will help you save a little bit on gas and hopefully make for a nice, relaxing evening at home.

Make it a night in.

Instead of going out every Friday night to your favorite restaurant and then to see the latest summer blockbuster (or flop), cancel your reservations and make it a night in. Not only is this a great way to save money on food and entertainment, but it's also a great way to help save a little bit of gas.

Think about it, instead of going out to a restaurant and paying $50 or more for a dinner for two and then dropping another $20 at the movies, why don't you just make a great home cooked meal for less than $25 and watch one of the millions of DVDs you own but never seem to find the time to watch.

By doing this, you're probably saving about $50 on food and entertainment, not to mention the fact you're probably saving more than a gallon of gas by not driving around all over town. Tack on that $3 savings and you've saved enough money to pay for your next two fill ups.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that you become a shut-in, but reducing the amount of "nights out" will do nothing but increase your savings!

Fuel Economy Log - Week 7

2006-06-10T18:14:00.000-04:00

This past week I drove 374.1 miles between fill ups, used 11.648 gallons and paid $3.04 per gallon, which equates to 32.12. For the second week in a row I have achieved the lowest gas mileage since I started making a conscious effort to get the best fuel economy possible.

That being said, the 32.12 miles per gallon is an 11% increase over my car's average gas mileage, which is a savings of roughly $3.90, bringing my seven week savings up to $43.87. All things considered, that's not too shabby.

The reason why my fuel economy was so much lower this week is because I did a lot of driving with the windows down (the weather was nice) and there were two instances when I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for more than a half an hour.

Either way, I'll still take the savings!

Fuel Economy Tip - Keep Your Tailgate Up

2006-06-08T21:33:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will probably come as a surprise to most of you, but will be especially useful for those of you who drive trucks.

Driving with your tailgate down doesn't help you save gas.

I'll be the first to admit, I bought into the notion that by having your truck's tailgate down while you're driving down the road (especially the highway) you would greatly increase your truck's fuel economy. Apparently that just isn't true.

According to several sites (Ask Yahoo! for example) state that you get roughly the same gas mileage driving with your tailgate up as you do when your tailgate is down.

According to the Ask Yahoo! article, this is the reason why:

"When the tailgate is raised, a "separated bubble" of stagnant air is formed in the bed of the pickup. Wind tends to swoosh over this bubble as though it were part of the truck. Lower the tailgate, and the bubble disappears, which leads to increased wind resistance."

So, get rid of that net you used to replace your tailgate and go ahead and drive around with your tailgate up!

Fuel Economy Tip - Park in the Shade

2006-06-07T21:05:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save some gas as well as make getting in to your car a little more comfortable.

Park in the shade whenever possible.

The reasoning behind this tip is simple: if you park in the shade your car will be cooler and you won't have to use your air conditioning as quickly.

I would also recommend that you keep the windows of your car rolled down as well. This will allow a good cross breeze and will help prevent heat from building up inside your car. Even if you can't park in the shade, I would recommend keeping your windows down.

While this tip certainly isn't going to help you save a noticeable amount on your car's fuel bill, it will help make for a more comfortable experience when you get into your car.

Fuel Economy Tip - Car pool

2006-06-06T20:46:00.000-04:00

Chalk another one up for the obvious tips (although sometimes it's good to be reminded).

Try and car pool as much as you can.

I know a lot of you are saying that car pooling is inconvenient and is a waste of time. I beg to differ; I think it's relatively easy and can help you and your buddies save a bunch of cash.

For example, you and a co-worker live a half a mile away from each other, and each of you separately commutes 15 miles into work. Both of you drive relatively economic cars that get 30 mpg, so between the two of you, you're using two gallons of gas each day.

One day, the two of you get smart and decide that one of you will pick the other up each day to drive in to work and to make it fair, you'll alternate weeks.

Now, you're using a little over a gallon of gas - you have to take the extra distance between the two houses, as well as the extra weight, into consideration, so we'll say 1.1 gallons of gas - between the two of you each day.

Over the 250 or so days you'll commute into work, you're going to save 225 gallons of gas. At today's prices, that 225 gallons equals $650 saved between the two of you.

By simply car pooling to work with one coworker, you'll be saving $325 each year.

And it doesn't have to just be car pooling to work. You can car pool to school, soccer practice, concerts, etc.

So, if you want to save money and gas, I would say car pooling is a very easy, viable option.

Fuel Economy Tip - Anticipate Driving Conditions

2006-06-05T21:00:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will not only help you save on gas but will also help keep your passengers from wanting to puke.

Keep looking down the road and anticipate what traffic will do.

You can do a much better job of controlling your jack rabbit driving by simply paying attention to more than the car directly in front of you. By keeping your eyes down the road, you will be able to better prepare for slowing traffic (you'll know when you hit the breaks or when to go ahead and coast), stop lights, stop signs, etc.

By not constantly going back and forth between your brakes and accelerator and doing a better job of anticipating driving conditions, you will save a bunch on your gas.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 6

2006-06-04T21:33:00.000-04:00

This past week, I drove 361.1 miles between fill ups, used 10.696 gallons and paid $2.90 per gallon, which equates to 33.76 mpg, the lowest my gas mileage has been since I started making a conscious effort to be a better driver.

This 33.76 mpg is 16.4% higher than what my car typically gets (29 mpg). By getting better gas mileage I saved $5.09, bringing my six week total up to $39.97.

This past week, the weather where I live has been unseasonably warm (mid-90's) so I've had to use my air conditioning more that usual. Hopefully it'll cool down a bit so I don't have to use the AC as much, but in the meantime I'm willing to spend a little extra money to make sure I don't sweat through my suits by the time I get to work!

Fuel Economy Tip - Avoid Engine Braking

2006-06-01T19:57:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is yet another easy way to save money and wear and tear on your transmission.

Avoid engine breaking.

Essentially, engine braking is when you down shift the transmission in order to slow down your vehicle. For example, you're going down a road in fifth gear, you see a red light ahead and instead of slowing your car by using the breaks, you down shift into third gear.

While down shifting is an easy way to take it easy on your brakes, it's also a great way to needlessly waste gas.

Anytime your engine revs and the RPMs increase (which is what happens when you down shift), you will use more gas than you would at the same speed but in a higher gear (lower RPMs).

So, instead of using your engine to brake go ahead and ease on to your brake pedal and smoothly come to a stop.

Fuel Economy Tip - Drive Like You're On Eggshells

2006-06-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is probably the best advice I can give in regards to helping you save a lot of money on you're car's gas bill.

Accelerate and brake like there's an egg between your foot and your car's pedals.

I don't know exactly where I heard this phrase used, but it's the perfect way to describe how you should accelerate and brake while driving your car. Instead of flooring the gas or slamming on the brakes, ease on the pedals for smooth accelerations and stops.

Accelerating quickly can reduce your vehicle's gas mileage by up to 12 mpg, according to General Motor's website. Conversely, accelerating into a stop (slamming on your brakes at the last second) also will hurt your car's fuel economy.

So, be a smooth driver and you'll save at the pump.

Fuel Economy Tip - Use Mass Transit

2006-05-31T19:18:00.000-04:00

Today's tip may not help you save a lot of money, but it will help you do your part to save the environment.

Take mass transit whenever possible.

Obviously, this will be more applicable for people who live in or near a major urban area, but is good advice for anyone. But for those of you who can take advantage of mass transit, whether it's riding the bus, taking the subway, or both, taking mass transit is a great way to save gas.... because you're not using any!

I've read a couple of studies that show you don't really save much (if any) money using mass tansit verus driving, so if saving money is what you're after, it's probably a push.

But, aside from saving gas, by taking mass transit, you're helping to reduce the amount of emissions put into the air each day. That in and of itself may be worth taking mass transit, even if it doesn't help you save much cash.

So, if you're looking for a way to save gas that also has some intrinsic value, mass transit is the way!

Fuel Economy Tip - Clean Out Your Bed

2006-05-30T21:23:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is a great way for those of you who drive pick up trucks to increase your gas mileage by up to 5%.

Once winter is over, remove the sand bags and/or bricks from your pick up's bed.

During the winter, a lot of people will put heavy items in the back of their trucks to help weigh down the back of the vehicle. This helps keep the truck's back end from sliding around on snowy or icy roads.

But, once that danger has passed, all the extra weight does is reduce your truck's gas mileage, which is probably not that great to begin with.

Going back to the reduce excess weight tip, adding 100 pounds to the weight of your vehicle will reduce its fuel economy by roughly 1%.

So, if you're driving around with four 50 pound sand bags in the back of your truck, you're reducing your gas mileage by roughly 2%. While that may not seem like much, you could be wasting $1.50 or more each time you fill up. Over a year, that's over $75.

I don't know about you, but if I could keep $75 in my pocket by not being lazy, I'd probably go ahead and do it.

Fuel Economy Tip - Have The Party At Your Place

2006-05-29T16:06:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will help you save money on gas and make everyone think you're a social butterfly.

Invite people over to your house so you don't have to drive to theirs.

This is a great idea for those summer cookouts and get togethers that are always popping up when the weather starts to get warm.

I'm not recommending that you become a social hermit and not hang out with your friends for fear of spending money on gas, I'm just saying to go ahead and instead of going to the party, have the party come to you.

And, instead of preparing all of the food yourself, make it a pot-luck sort of thing and you won't be spending the money you're saving.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 5

2006-05-29T15:48:00.000-04:00

I've kind of gotten behind on the weekly fuel economy logs, so today's post is for last week. I will post week 6's log tomorrow.

For week 5, I filled up at $2.96 per gallon, bought 11.329 gallons and drove 393.1 miles between fill ups, which means I got roughly 34.7 miles per gallon.

Based on my car's average fuel economy of 29 mpg, I was able to increase my gas mileage by 19.65%. By increasing my gas mileage this much, I was able to save $6.59.

This brings my five week savings up to 34.88, which spread out over a year is a savings about $365.

Works for me.

Fuel Economy Tip - Enjoy Your Memorial Day

2006-05-28T19:25:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm not going to post a tip because I'm going to go out and enjoy my Memorial Day weekend. My only tip is that you go and do the same.

So go eat too much, hang out with friends and have a good time.

Fuel Economy Tip - Tailgating Doesn't Help

2006-05-27T18:49:00.000-04:00

Today's tip won't help you save much gas, but will help you stay out of costly fender benders which, if you ask me, is just as good.

Tailgating doesn't help your fuel economy, so go ahead and stick to the two second rule.

A couple of people have emailed me and asked whether or not tailgating is a good way to help save gas. One person even asked if "drafting, like what they do in Nascar" could increase your car's gas mileage by a sizeable amount.

While the theory is sound, I'll give a couple of reasons why tailgating probably isn't the best way to go about increasing your car's fuel economy.

In going back to the Nascar comment, "drafting" really isn't relevant to us normal drivers. In Nascar, or other forms of motor racing, cars are driving inches, if not millimeters, from each other, and that's how they're able to benefit from drafting. Even the most aggressive drivers don't tailgate that closely on the street.

Also, at some Nascar tracks, the cars are traveling at over 200 mph, so the cars have to use a lot of energy to be able to cut through the air. That's why drafting is so important; by being on the bumper of the car ahead of you, your car doesn't have to use as much energy to go as fast. While driving 60 mph on the street may sound fast, you don't use nearly as much energy to get up to and maintain speed so drafting / tailgating isn't as beneficial or necessary.

Finally, tailgating will exponentially increase your risk for an accident. By driving closely to the car in front of you, you are decreasing the amount of time you have to react in case you have to stop or swerve. Go ahead and stay at least two seconds behind the car in front of you so you can have enough time and distance to properly react.

While tailgating may be a great idea when you're driving 200 mph on an oval, it probably isn't the best way to save gas when you're driving through the neighborhood.

Fuel Economy Tip - Pack What You Need

2006-05-26T17:57:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is particularly relevant with the start of vacation season and will hopefully help you save a bit of gas.

When going on vacation, pack light and bring only what you need.

The whole premise of packing light to save gas goes back to the reduce excess weight tip. For every extra 100 pounds you carry in your vehicle, you will reduce your gas mileage from 1 to 2 percent. On a long road trip, that can add up, especially if you're traveling in one of those gas guzzling SUVs.

Here are some ways you can reduce the amount of crap you're carrying when you go on vacation:

Don't bring groceries, just buy everything when you get to your vacation spot.
Don't over pack your clothes.
Take all the extra junk out of your trunk that's not related to your vacation.
Leave the kids at home (just kidding)

Long story short, it's easy to make sure that you don't over pack and by doing so, you'll increase your car's gas mileage.

Fuel Economy Tip - Check Your Spark Plugs

2006-05-25T18:17:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save some money on gas and help improve the performance of your vehicle.

Check your spark plugs and replace as necessary.

The purpose of spark plugs is to ignite the air/fuel mixture, which turns that mixture into the energy that moves your car.

If you're driving around with fouled spark plugs, the air/fuel mixture will be ignited less efficiently, which robs your car of performance and needlessly wastes fuel.

So, how do you know when it's time to change your spark plugs? According to About.com, you should replace your vehicle's spark plugs every two years or 30,000 miles, although some plugs may get up to 100,000 miles before they need to be replaced.

Also, when the spark plugs become inefficient due to carbon build up, it's time to go ahead and replace them.

So, this tip goes along with the saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." By replacing spark plugs as necessary you'll improve both the performance of your car as well as its fuel economy.

Fuel Economy Tip - Avoid the Spoiler

2006-05-24T19:44:00.000-04:00

Today's tip may or may not be able to help you out, but if it can, it'll help you save a bunch of cash.

If you can help it, avoid having (or adding) a spoiler on your car.

Look, I know this isn't going to help you if you have a car that already has one, but maybe this will help dissuade you from getting a car with a spoiler or adding one to your car.

The basic function of a spoiler is to add downforce to your car to help improve handling at high speeds, so at it's very nature, having a spoiler will hurt your fuel economy.

Much like when you have your sunroof or windows open, a spoiler adds a lot of drag to your car, which, as I'm sure I've made you aware, drastically reduces your vehicle's gas mileage.

So, if you can avoid buying a car that's got a spoiler, or can avoid putting one on your car when you "trick it out," you'll save a bunch of money.

Fuel Economy Tip - Don't Get "Sweet" Rims

2006-05-23T20:16:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will help you save money on your gas bill and will keep you from spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on your car's wheels.

Admire other people's tricked out tires and rims, but don't put them on your vehicle.

First, I'd just like to explain that I do have a bias; I think spending money to put "fancy" rims and wide tires on your car is stupid and a waste of money. If you feel the need to waste that amount of money, go ahead and send me a check for $500.

That being said, there is merit behind why you shouldn't put them on your car.

Your car will get better gas mileage the more "stock" it is, meaning it's the way the automotive engineers designed it. The more things you add to it, the worse fuel economy it's going to get.

Additionally, tricked out rims tend to need wider tires which, as you guessed it, reduces your gas mileage. The wider the tire, the more surface that makes contact with the road. That extra surface requires more energy to get up to and maintain speed, meaning more gas used.

Save your money and save your gas.

Fuel Economy Tip - Check Your Gas Cap Gasket

2006-05-22T20:04:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is a good addendum to the Three Click Your Gas Cap post and is another cheap and easy way to save a lot of gas.

Check your gas cap's gasket for cracks.

In order for your vehicle's gas cap to get a proper seal (which makes sure vaporized gas does not escape from your gas tank) the gas cap's thin rubber gasket must be in good shape. If there are any cracks or breaks in the gasket, the cap will not get a full seal and vaporized gas will escape from the gas tank which needlessly wastes gas and money.

Even if the gasket is in good shape, it may not be a bad idea to ahead and apply a small amount of lubricant to the gasket to keep it from dry rotting and to extend its life.

If you find that you do need to replace the gasket, you should be able to get the proper replacement at most auto parts stores. Even if you can't find the proper gasket, it is probably worth it to go ahead and pay a few extra dollars and just buy a brand new gas cap.

Making sure your gas cap's gasket is in proper shape is just another one of those small things you can do that can help you save gas and money without taking a huge cash outlay or time commitment.

Fuel Economy Tip - Fill Your Tank All The Way

2006-05-21T11:48:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is in regards to several emails I have received about filling up your gas tank only quarter or half way.

Fill up your gas tank all the way each time you go to the gas station.

The logic behind filling up your tank only a quarter, half or three quarters of the way isn't faulty - by putting less gas in your car you're reducing the amount of weight your vehicle is carrying around, thus increasing gas mileage.

While the logic isn't faulty, the practice of not filling up your gas tank all the way more than likely is.

By not filling up your gas tank all the way, naturally you will have to take more trips to the pump, needlessly wasting gas.

Additionally, every time you remove your gas cap to add fuel to the gas tank, vaporized gas escapes from your tank. As I stated in a previous Fuel Economy Tip, over 147 million gallons of vaporized gas escape from gas tanks each year, so the less often you remove your gas cap, the better.

So, I would say that at the very least, the amount of money you save by driving around less weight is negated by the money you'll lose by making extra trips to the pump and vaporized gas you'll lose each time you remove the gas cap.

Fuel Economy Tip - Three Click Your Gas Cap

2006-05-20T15:23:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will probably take you less than a second to implement, but if everyone did this, we would be able to save millions of gallons of gas each year.

When you're done filling up, make sure your gas cap seals the gas tank properly.

According to Advance Auto Part's website over 147 million gallons of gas is wasted each year simply due to improperly seated gas caps. If a gas cap does not get a proper seal, gas is able to vaporize and leak out of the gas tank.

With today's gas average regular unleaded gas price at about 2.90, that 147 million gallons of gas equates to over $425 million dollars wasted each year.

So, to make sure that you aren't needlessly wasting gas and money, make sure that your gas cap clicks three times when you're done filling up. This will help to ensure that the cap is properly sealing the gas tank and that you're not contributing to the 147 million gallons of wasted vaporized gas.

Cutting Your Gas with Acetone

2006-05-19T18:23:00.000-04:00

Today's tip really isn't a "tip" but more of a discussion in regards to cutting your gas with Acetone.

This topic is something I've received a lot of emails about, however I do not feel comfortable recommending it; the reason being I just don't know enough about it to feel like I'm giving good advice that's not going to ruin your car.

Acetone is a colorless, flammable liquid and its most common use is as nail polish remover but can also be used to make plastics, fibers, drugs and other chemicals. (from Wikipedia).

That's all fine and great, but how did people get the idea that it would be good as a fuel additive? Well, some people believe that if you add small quantities of Acetone to gasoline, the Acetone helps to improve the fuel's ability to vaporize completely as well as increase the burning temperature of the fuel. In turn, all this stuff (yes, that's my technical jargon) supposedly helps increase gas mileage and possibly reduce emissions.

On the flip side, there have been plenty of reports that adding Acetone does not increase your vehicle's fuel economy and because of it's nature, over time may erode and weaken plastic and rubber in your car's engine. I have also read that while the Acetone/gas mixture may increase fuel economy, when burned it produces less energy, causing you to use more of the mixture to get the same power. Since you are using more of the mixture, the benefits are a wash.

Long story short, I have not tried adding Acetone, but because so many people have asked about it, I felt it was worth addressing. I do not recommend it, however if you do your due diligence and find that it works, by all means post a comment to let everyone know. Or, if you have had a bad experience, post a comment as well.

Here are a couple of links that might be of interest regarding the use of Acetone:

Acetone as an Additive

Wikipedia

Pure Energy Systems

Fuel Economy Tip - Use the Proper Grade

2006-05-18T20:35:00.000-04:00

Today's tip won't increase your gas mileage, but it can help you keep a bunch of money that you are needlessly throwing away.

Use the proper grade of fuel for your car, as recommended by the manufacturer.

Not that I want to make grand assumptions, but I'm going to assume that most of the people that read these tips are regular Joes (like myself) who drive cars that take regular 87 octane gas. And I'm also going to work under the assumption that most of us always fill up with the regular 87 octane gas.

But, there are some of us who needlessly fill up with mid-grade or premium gas either because we mistakenly think that's what our vehicle should be running on or because we think it's going to make our cars run better.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), needlessly bumping up your vehicle's fuel grade does nothing but drain your wallet. Using a mid or premium gas when your car should be taking regular unleaded does not improve performance, give you extra power or give you better fuel economy.

It is simply a waste of money.... unless it is recommended by your car's manufacturer. Then, by all means, use the higher graded fuels.

But for argument's sake, let's assume you're an average Joe like me and drive a regular unleaded car, but you've been filling it with mid-grade gas, spending an extra $.10 on each gallon of gas.

In terms of money spent, for a 15 gallon car, you're wasting $1.50 every time you fill up. If you fill up once a week, that's over $75 a year, with nothing to show for it.

So, before you fill up with a higher grade fuel, make sure that it's recommended by your vehicle's manufacturer. Otherwise, stick with regular unleaded.

Fuel Economy Tip - Don't Sit and Idle

2006-05-17T21:43:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is more of a personal preference than anything, but can be a good way to save gas, especially for newer cars.

Turn your car off if you're going to idle for more than one minute.

From all of the research I have done, FOR MOST VEHICLES, you waste more gas idling for one minute than you do by turning off and restarting your car.

For example, if you're going to pull into someone's driveway and run inside for a couple of minutes, turn your car off. Or, if you're the the first car to get stuck at a red light and you know you're going to be sitting for a minute or two before the light turns green, go ahead and turn off your car.

That being said, the amount of time will vary from vehicle to vehicle. Older cars tend to use more gas when restarted, so the amount of time they should be allowed to idle time may be longer.

Another thing to take into consideration is the extra wear and tear that your car's battery and alternator will be put through. If you have a weak battery or your alternator is due to be replaced, I wouldn't recommend constantly turning your car on and off.

All in all, the moral of the story is the less amount of time you spend in your car idling, the better gas mileage you're going to get and the more money you're going to save.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 4

2006-05-17T20:28:00.000-04:00

This week was my best so far, and because I'm a dork, I'm pretty excited about it.

This week I filled up at $2.90 per gallon, bought 11.198 gallons of gas and drove 412.3 miles between fill ups, all of which means I got 36.8 mpg!

Based on my car's average fuel economy of 29 mpg, I was able to increase my car's gas mileage by a whopping 27%! This increased gas mileage equates to a savings of $8.73 on this tank of gas.

My four week total savings is now up to $28.29, which means I've pretty much paid for one fill up just by being a better driver. Spread that out over an entire year, and I'll save about $370 on gas.

So, for those of you who say the small savings don't add up, I'd like to know what you do for a living because $370 is a lot of money!

Fuel Economy Tip - Bring Your Lunch

2006-05-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will hopefully help you save money on your gas bill and on the amount of money you spend each day on lunch.

Bring your lunch to work each day.

Aside from all the money that you spend each day on McDonalds, Taco Bell or Ruby Tuesday's (if you're high class), you're also spending a bunch of money on gas to get there and back.

If you drive 5 miles each day to grab lunch (10 miles round trip), you're probably wasting between 1 and 3 gallons of gas each week.

Now, if you were to bring your lunch to work, you would only be spending gas to go to the grocery store and bring everything back home. And even that cost might be negligible because you probably have to go to the grocery store at some point during the week anyhow.

By saving between 1 and 3 gallons each week, you are saving between $156 and $468 each year, not to mention all of the money you've saved on lunch each day.

Try this out for a week and then thank me for all of the money you've saved.

Fuel Economy Tip - Replace Your Air Filter

2006-05-15T11:32:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will might cost you up to $20 bucks but in the end will probably help you save 10 times that amount!

Replace your dirty air filter.

According to fueleconomy.gov driving with an excessively dirty or clogged air filter can reduce your vehicle's gas mileage by up to 10%. In terms of dollars, that's the equivalent of adding close to $.30 to each gallon of gas you buy!

Edmonds.com recommends that you change your air filter at least once per year. But how do you know when your car's air filter is dirty enough so that it should be replaced?

Here's a simple way to know that your air filter has become so clogged that it has become a detriment to your fuel economy: Remove the air filter from its casing and shine a flashlight on it. If light (or most of the light) is able to get through, your air filter is fine for the time being. However, if most of the light is unable to get through, it's time for you to replace the filter.

More than likely, the air filter that you would need is readily available at most auto parts stores and you should be able to replace the filter on your own. All said and done, it should take less than 15 minutes to check and, if necessary, replace a clogged air filter.

Sounds to me that 15 minutes and $20 bucks (for the new filter) is time and money well spent if it means your not tacking $.30 extra cents on to each gallon of gas you buy!

Fuel Economy Tip - Clear the Roof

2006-05-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is another one taken from the obvious category, but is still a great way to help you save on gas. Besides, we can always use a friendly reminder.

Clear the roof of your car.

People seemingly have more stuff and less room to carry it, so many drivers have resorted to carrying these extra items on the roof of their vehicles. Whether you're carrying items by just strapping them down or are placing them in carriers designed to be placed on the roof of your car, you are significantly reducing your vehicle's gas mileage.

The first reason you are hurting gas mileage is because you are adding extra weight to your vehicle. As I said before, adding weight to your car decreases fuel economy 1% for every extra 100 pounds you carry.

The second reason you are reducing your fuel economy is because by placing items on the roof of your vehicle you are making it less aerodynamic - much like having your sunroof open - and are increasing the amount of drag.

At highway speeds, carrying items (especially bulky items) on the roof of your vehicle can reduce your gas mileage between 2% and 10%, which is essentially adding between $.06 and $.30 to each gallon of gas you buy.

So, if you can get away with carrying all of your items in your vehicle, you'll be much better served.

Fuel Economy Tip - Walk or Ride Your Bike

2006-05-12T22:30:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is probably one of the most obvious, but sometimes it's nice to get a friendly reminder.

Walk or ride your bike.

Like I said, this tip isn't going to win any awards for originality, but at the same time it is a great and healthy way for you to save on your vehicle's fuel consumption.

Since most of us live either in a city or in the suburbs, we should have almost everything we need within walking distance. I'm sure that within a mile or two of your home there is a grocery store, one of those big box shops like Wal-Mart or Target, a strip mall and a convenience store.

Despite the fact most of us have at least one of the above close to our home, I'm positive most of us can't remember the last time we walked to one of these places.

So, do yourself a favor and when it's nice out, put on a pair of walking shoes or hop on your bike and get to the store that way.

Who knows, you might even lose some weight, which will increase your gas mileage even more!

Fuel Economy Tip - Combine Trips

2006-05-12T17:17:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will help you save a bit of gas and hopefully make your shopping trips a little less time consuming.

Combine your short trips.

Let me give you an example from my own personal experience:

Last weekend I had to make three separate trips to different stores. I went to Office Depot (3 miles from my house) in the morning, Target (8 miles from my house) in the afternoon and Home Depot (5 miles from my house) in the evening.

So, all said and done, I traveled 32 miles to go shopping.

Because I'm a bit of a nerd, after I made it back home from Home Depot, I calculated how much gas I could have saved if I had simply combined all of the shopping trips into one larger trip. Here's how it SHOULD have gone:

3 miles from home to Office Depot
2 miles from Office Depot to Home Depot
4 miles from Home Depot to Target
8 miles from Target back to my house

If I would have combined trips, I would have traveled only 17 miles as opposed to the 32 miles I traveled during the three separate trips.

By traveling those 15 extra miles, I wasted roughly a half a gallon of gas, based on my car's 29 mpg average. With the cost of an average gallon of gas being around $3.00, I essentially wasted $1.50 by taking three separate shopping trips.

If you were to take those three separate trips each weekend, you're losing $75 per year just for poor planning!

Moral of the story, think ahead and combine your small trips.

Fuel Economy Tip - Selectively Use Cruise Control

2006-05-11T11:23:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will help you decide how and when to use your cruise control to help you save gas and increase your vehicle's fuel economy.

Use your cruise control selectively

Using your cruise control will help you increase your car's gas mileage because it will help you maintain speed (hopefully you'll be maintaining the speed limit) and will help with smooth accelerations when you use the "resume" function.

That being said, here is when you SHOULD use cruise control:

Driving on the highway
Driving on relatively flat terrain

All of that being said, there are ways using cruise control can actually reduce your vehicle's gas mileage. When driving on hilly roads, using cruise control may cause your engine to "race" to maintain speed, meaning the engine will reach higher RPMs under cruise control than if you were controlling the acceleration on your own.

So, here's when you SHOULD NOT use cruise control:

Driving in stop and go traffic
Driving on hilly roads

While having cruise control is a nice luxury to have, especially on long road trips, if you're not careful how you use it, it may end up costing you a bit of gas.

Fuel Economy Tip - Stop Driving Like a Maniac

2006-05-10T11:18:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will not only help you save gas, but should help you save your sanity as well.

Stop driving like a maniac.

An aggressive driver not only is an aggravation to everyone else on the road, but also needlessly wastes a lot of gas. Here are some of the things that an aggressive driver does that increases fuel consumption:

Excessive speeding
Tailgating, which leads to constantly tapping the brakes
Very quick acceleration
"Punching it" to pass slower traffic

By all means this isn't a fully inclusive list, but doing the things listed above can reduce your car's gas mileage by up to 33%, according to fueleconomy.gov. With the current average gas price at $2.89 per gallon, a this is like adding $.95 per gallon.

Spread out over an entire year, being an aggressive driver can cost you well over $500 on gas.

Take it easy when you drive, it'll save you both aggravation AND money!

Fuel Economy Log - Week 3

2006-05-09T18:59:00.000-04:00

It's that time of the week again.

Yesterday I filled up at $2.93 per gallon, bought 11.264 gallons and had traveled 394.3 miles since my last fill up, all of which equates to gas mileage of 35 mpg.

Based on my car's average fuel economy of 29 miles per gallon, I was able to increase my gas mileage by a little under 21%, which equates to a savings of $6.93. Combining this weeks' savings with my previous savings, I have saved $19.56 since I've started to make a conscious effort to save gas.

Spread that savings out over an entire year and I'm on pace to save $339.04 this year.

All things considered, I'd rather have that money in my bank account than give it to some huge oil company!

Fuel Economy Tip - Off Peak Driving

2006-05-09T17:54:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will not only help you save a lot of fuel, but hopefully it will help you save a lot of traffic induced aggravation.

Drive during off peak times.

Obviously, if you are on the road when there aren't as many cars, you'll spend less time stuck in traffic, which means less time idling. The less amount of time you spend idling, the less amount of gas you waste.

If you are lucky enough you be able to adjust your work hours slightly, this will probably save you the most amount of gas. From personal experience, by leaving my house to go to work even just a half an hour earlier (from 7:00 to 6:30), I've reduced the amount of time it takes me to commute to work by 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, most of us don't have the luxury of being able to adjust our work hours. That being said there are still plenty of ways you can drive during off peak hours. For example, instead of going grocery shopping at 11 am on Sunday morning (and getting stuck in church traffic) get up a little bit earlier and get your day started at 8:30.

Pretty much, driving during off peak hours boils down to your ability to be on the road either earlier or later than everyone else.

Fuel Economy Tip - Keep Your Sunroof Closed

2006-05-08T17:34:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is right along the lines of the previous "Roll Up Your Windows" tip.

Keep your sunroof closed.

Obviously, if your car doesn't have a sunroof, pay no mind. But, if you do have the "luxury" of a sunroof, make sure you keep it shut.

Just like when you have your windows rolled down, having your sunroof open will increase the amount of drag on your vehicle, making it less aerodynamic. Again, the less aerodynamic your vehicle is, the harder it has to work to move through air.

If you are just taking a leisurely drive through the neighborhood (driving 25 mph or so) the amount of drag placed on your vehicle won't make a noticeable difference, but the amount of drag placed on your vehicle at highway speeds (55 mph or more), an open sunroof may reduce your fuel economy by 3 or 4 percent.

Fuel Economy Tip - Smart Use of AC

2006-05-07T15:15:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is a follow on to the driving with your windows up post and should be especially useful for all of those hot summer days coming up.

Use your air conditioning wisely.

In my previous post, I stated that you should drive with your windows up and use the vent because it is the best way to help you use your vehicle's aerodynamics to help you get better gas mileage. That being said, there are going to be plenty of days this summer when it's so hot outside that you have to use your air conditioning.

While using your AC is a drain on your fuel economy, there are several ways you can use it more efficiently so that it's not so much of a drain.

When approaching and driving up long inclines, turn off the AC
Put the AC on "recycle" mode; this will cool the air that is already in the vehicle as opposed to cooling the outside air and then pumping it into the car
Park your car in the shade or in a covered area so you are able to drive a bit longer without having to turn on the air conditioning
Especially at higher speeds, using the air conditioning is much more fuel efficient than rolling down the windows

Again, the easiest way to make sure you're getting the best gas mileage for your vehicle is to drive without the air conditioning on. However, when it's necessary to use the AC, try some of the above recommendations and you should be able to get the best gas mileage possible.

Fuel Economy Tip - Shop Online

2006-05-06T20:11:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will not only help you save on your car's gas, but will also help you save time as well.

Shop online.

It seems you can shop online for pretty much anything now, whether it's music, movies, clothes, books, even groceries - you name it, there are probably 20 different sites that sell it.

By shopping online, not only are you saving time by not having to drive to a bunch of different stores, but you're also saving a lot of gas.

Since many companies offer free shipping (usually if your total order is above a certain amount), it's not like the money you're saving on gas go towards having the product sent to your house.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that you become a hermit and never leave your house, but if there are times when you can wait for a product to get shipped to you and it's something nominal like a new CD or DVD, you might want to think about buying it online.

Fuel Economy Tip - Drive in the Highest Gear

2006-05-05T11:16:00.000-04:00

While today's tip certainly isn't going to help you win any races down the highway, it will help you save a significant amount of money on your vehicle's fuel bill.

Drive in the highest possible gear.

When you're cruising down the road, try to drive in the highest gear possible. This will help you keep your car's engine's RPMs down, which will ultimately reduce the amount of fuel you end up using.

By doing this, you will notice that your vehicle may not be as responsive when you try to quickly increase speed. This is because you are keeping the engine out of its "power band", which is typically in the mid to upper range of RPMs. Staying in this "power band" requires your engine to use more fuel.

All of that being said, be realistic about keeping your car in the highest gear. You don't want to keep your RPMs so low that the engine bogs down; it's not good for the engine or your fuel economy.

Obviously, it is easiest to control what gear your car is in if you drive a manual transmission (stick, clutch, etc.) car.

Not all hope is lost if you drive an automatic, though. If this is the case, just make sure that you keep the over drive feature on.

If you're someone with a lead foot, this tip will be beneficial because it will help you keep your speeding to a minimum, increasing your gas mileage even more.

Fuel Economy Tip - Maintain Your Vehicle

2006-05-04T11:45:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will not only help you save money on gas, but it will save you even more money by helping you stave off costly engine repairs and by extending the life of your car.

Properly maintain your vehicle.

What I have put together certainly isn't an exhaustive list of things you can do to make sure your vehicle is properly maintained, but it's a good place to start:

Replace dirty air filters
Replace worn spark plugs
Maintain proper fluid levels
Regularly change your vehicle's oil
Use the proper grade of oil

By doing the above suggestions, you will help your car's engine run much more efficiently, which means two important things:

You will use less gas, potentially saving you a couple hundred bucks per year
There will be less excessive wear on the engine, potentially saving you thousands of dollars

While doing the above items may seem like a burden at the time, they will definitely help you save a lot of money in the long run.

For example, driving with a dirty air filter can decrease your vehicle's gas mileage by up to 10%, which is essentially the same as adding $.29 to each gallon of gas you buy. Over a year, this extra cost can total over $200!

Now, just imagine you would have gone out and paid $20 for a new air filter. You'd technically be ahead at least $180 (if not more) instead of out $200.

Take care of your car and it'll take care of your wallet.

Fuel Economy Tip - Reduce Your Driving

2006-05-03T11:45:00.000-04:00

Today's tip may be the most common sense tip in the history of the world, but at the same time, so many people take needless trips that this tip is worth giving out.

Don't drive if you don't have to.

The easiest way to go about saving gas is to simply not drive your vehicle!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating becoming a reclusive hermit. What I am saying is to decide whether or not a trip is necessary before actually going out and driving your car.

If the trip is necessary, can you walk, ride your bike or use mass transit to get there and back?

So, long story short, if your goal is to reduce the amount of money you spend on your car's gas, the most simple way to go about doing that is by reducing the amount of time you drive.

Fuel Economy Tip - Roll the Windows Up

2006-05-02T11:45:00.000-04:00

With the weather being nice, I'm sure many of you wouldn't mind hopping in the car, rolling down the windows and going for a drive. While that's not a bad idea, you may want to keep the windows up if you're trying to get good gas mileage out of your leisurely drive.

Keep your car's windows up, especially the faster you go.

A car is its most aerodynamic (meaning it moves through the air with less resistance) when the windows are rolled up.

When your vechicle's windows are down, especially at highway speeds, there is more drag placed on the vehicle. Drag is the force that opposes your car's movement, so the less amount of drag, the less amount of energy (gas) your car has to use to get up to and maintain speed.

By having the windows down at highway speeds, you can reduce your vehicle's fuel economy by up to 3%, or roughly add $.09 to each gallon of gas you use! For a 15 gallon car that is filled up once per week, that adds up to over $70 per year.

Especially when the weather is nice (not hot), you should be able to keep the windows up and get away with using a cool vent.

We'll talk more about using the AC in a following tip.

Fuel Economy Tip - Don't Accelerate to Stops

2006-05-01T11:41:00.000-04:00

How many times have you been driving, seen a red light or stop sign and continued accelerating until the last possible second before hitting the brakes hard and coming to a screeching halt?

Don't accelerate to red lights and stop signs. Coast and apply your brakes smoothly.

When you continue to accelerate to red lights or stop signs, only to jam on your brakes at the last second, all you are doing is wasting energy, gas and money, not to mention putting extreme stress on your car's braking system.

Why should you be in such a hurry to get to the red light, only to sit there and idle, waiting for the light to turn green?

Much like a smooth acceleration will help you increase your vehicle's gas mileage, so too will coasting and smooth braking.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 2

2006-04-30T19:49:00.000-04:00

First off, I'd like to take this opportunity to "toot my own horn" because, as I write, Daily Fuel Economy Tip is now the 11th most visited automotive blog according to Blog Top Sites. So thank you to everyone who has been coming to check out this site. I'm hope it's helped you increase your vehicle's gas mileage and that you've shared it with everyone you know!

Now for my weekly Fuel Economy Log entry:

When I filled up today, I paid $3.00 per gallon, bought 10.681 gallons of gas and had traveled 384.5 miles since my last fill up. All of that equates to gas mileage of 35.99 mpg.

Based on my Neon's average fuel economy of 29 mpg, I was able to increase my gas mileage by 24%! In terms of money, that's a savings of $7.68 for this week. Couple that with my savings from last week and over the past two weeks I have saved $12.63 on my car's gas bill.

Spread that out over an entire year, that's a savings of $328.38!

Not bad for just making a few slight changes to my driving habits.

Fuel Economy Tip - Take Care of Things Before You Start the Car

2006-04-30T13:19:00.000-04:00

Today's tip will help you find several small ways to help reduce the amount of time you idle shortly after you start the car.

Do all the little things BEFORE you start your vehicle.

Here's a list of some things people regularly do AFTER they start their vehicle that should be done BEFORE they start their vehicle:

Put on their seat belt
Flip through their CDs
Adjust side and rear view mirrors
Make sure children are buckled in
Roll down windows (yes, some people, like myself, still have cars without automatic windows)

In the grand scheme of things, you're probably reducing the amount of time your vehicle idles by between 10 and 30 seconds each time you hop in for a drive. While you're certainly not saving gallons gas by performing these tasks before you start your vehicle, the fact is that you are saving gas and over time it will add up.

By doing the small things listed above before you start your car, I wouldn't be surprised you saved between $10 and $25 per year.

While that doesn't seem like much, it all adds up!

Fuel Economy Tip - Turn Down the Music

2006-04-29T13:04:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is a little more subtle than most, but if you're like me, I know it's going to help you increase your car's gas mileage and save you money.

Turn down the radio.

At first glance, you're probably wondering what difference it makes how loud your radio is. First off, let me tell you that the loudness of your radio isn't a direct drain on your fuel economy; it's not like your radio is gas powered.

More than likely, the loudness of your radio does have a direct effect on how fast you drive.

I'll be the first to admit, when I'm driving, especially on the highway, and I'm listening to a song with a good beat, it's not unusual for me to look down at the speedometer and see that I'm going 10 or more miles per hour over the speed limit!

I'm sure many of you are the same way.

Going back to the very first tip posted on this site, driving even 5 mph over the speed limit, especially at higher speeds, can reduce your car's gas mileage by close to 7%, if not more.

So if you're one of those drivers that tends to get a heavier foot the louder the music gets, take the radio down a couple of notches and save some money!

Fuel Economy Tip - Park and Walk

2006-04-28T11:42:00.000-04:00

It's aggravating to watch people drive up and down the aisles of a parking lot, searching for the closest spot. Getting "stalked" for your spot as you walk to your car is even worse. You should feel some pity for people like that because all they're doing is wasting gas.

Stop searching for the closest spot. Park and walk.

Going back to the Ditch the Drive Through tip, by driving around and searching for the closest spot, all you're doing is wasting gas and dropping your vehicle's fuel economy. All so that you don't have to walk an extra 200 yards to get where you're going.

Especially on days when the weather is nice, park your car in the first available spot and then just walk to where you are going.

Of course, if you have a disability or feel you are in an unsafe area, I would advise parking as close as possible.

Otherwise, park the car, enjoy the weather and take a little walk.

Fuel Economy Tip - Stop Tapping the Brakes

2006-04-27T18:17:00.000-04:00

Are you one of those drivers that makes everyone in the car nauseous with your constant brake tapping? Not only is this a great way to annoy everyone in the vehicle, but it also reduces your vehicle's gas mileage by up to 2%.

Don't constantly tap your brakes.

You may be asking, "what does braking have anything to do with my car's gas mileage?"

It's not necessarily the quick stops or speed reductions that hurt your vehicle's fuel economy, but it's the gas you have to use to get back up to and maintain speed that ultimately causes your car's gas mileage to drop.

With the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded fuel up to $2.92, that 2% decrease in fuel economy amounts to nearly $.06 per gallon. Again, while that may not seem like much, but that could cost you $50 or more per year, and several hundred dollars over the life of your vehicle.

Add in the cost of having to replace your brakes more frequently and you could spend over a thousand dollars over the life of your car just because you tap the brakes too frequently!

Driving at a constant speed may be one of the most important and easiest ways to ensure you're getting peak gas mileage from your car or truck.

Fuel Economy Tip - Ditch The Drive Through

2006-04-26T11:16:00.000-04:00

The fast food or bank drive through (or any other drive through you can think of) has been one of the most convenient "innovations" in the shopping experience. Unfortunately, the drive through can also reduce your vehicle's overall gas mileage and fuel economy.

Stop using drive throughs. Park your vehicle instead.

It's certainly nice to never leave your car and have everything handed to you, but that convenience is probably going to cost you money.

When your vehicle just sits and idles, or moves just a couple of feet every minute or so, your fuel economy drops to a whopping 0 miles per gallon (wow, what a surprise).

So, instead of sitting in the drive through for three or four minutes, wasting gas and money, park your car and go into the restaurant, bank or store.

Obviously there are going to be times when you need to use the drive through, like when you're traveling with children or you're in a rush, but the less you use drive throughs, the more gas and money you're going to save.

Fuel Economy Tip - Brake With Your Right Foot

2006-04-25T18:01:00.000-04:00

I'm sure a lot of you are asking, "what difference does it make which foot I use to brake as long as my car comes to a stop when I need it to?" Ultimately, I guess it doesn't matter as long as you are able to slow or stop your vehicle when you have to, but, breaking with the wrong foot can lead to decrease fuel economy.

Always brake with your right foot!

Since most people do this anyway, it isn't much of an issue, but for those of you that do brake with your left foot, pay attention.

Drivers who brake with their left foot tend to slightly rest their foot on the brake pedal as they are driving down the road. Even slightly resting your foot on the pedal causes the brakes to engage.

By engaging the brakes as you drive down the road, not only will you go through brake pads much faster than you should, you also reduce your vehicle's gas mileage.

By even slightly using the brakes, you are forcing your engine to work that much harder to increase and maintain speed. That extra effort put forth by your vehicle's engine is made possible by using more gas than it would otherwise.

All of that being said, if you do feel more comfortable braking with your left foot and don't want to switch to using your right foot, make sure you keep your left foot off the brake pedal as you are driving down the road.

While this change isn't likely to increase your fuel economy by a sizeable amount, it will help you save a bit of money at the pump and even more money on brake replacements.

Fuel Economy Log - Week 1

2006-04-24T22:02:00.000-04:00

First off, thanks for checking out my site each day to see what the new tip is. I appreciate it and I hope that these tips are helping you to save money.

In order to add a little more concrete evidence that my tips actually do help you save money, I thought it would be a good idea to create a weekly post where I would share how my tips have helped increase my car's gas mileage and fuel economy.

First, some background. I drive a 2000 Dodge Neon and I have tracked my car's gas mileage since I bought the vehicle in October 2004. I know, it's a bit nerdy, but it gives me a good basis for comparison to see how much money I've saved each time I enter in this journal.

I have calculated my base fuel economy to be roughly 29 miles per gallon, which in the grand scheme of things really isn't bad.

This past week, I have made a conscious effort to make sure that I travel the speed limit, I added some air to two tires to make sure they were at the proper pressure and I reduced my car's weight by taking out personal items that were just taking up space.

When I filled up today, I paid $3.00 per gallon (yikes) and put 10.320 gallons worth of fuel in my car. Since I last filled up my car, I had traveled 349.2 miles, which equates to gas mileage of 33.8 mpg, a 16.5% increase over what my car has typically averaged!

In terms of saving money, that 16.5% increase in fuel efficiency saved me $4.95 today. Not too bad for just making a few small changes!

Hopefully from this point forward you will go ahead and join me in keeping a fuel economy log. Please feel free to share how much money you've saved by posting a comment in next week's journal entry.

Fuel Economy Tip - Stop Driving Out of Your Way to Save $.03

2006-04-24T18:43:00.000-04:00

With the proliferation of sites like Gas Buddy, it seems more and more people are trying to find the cheapest gas in their area. This isn't a bad thing, but it may not necessary be good either.

Stop driving across town to save pennies per gallon of gas!

I'm sure some of you are asking, "isn't that the point of this site, to help me save money on my car's gas bill?"

Yes, that is this site's goal, but I'm going to show you why taking even a 5 mile trek out of your way to get cheaper gas probably isn't worth it.

Let's say you're like me and drive an average car with a 12 gallon tank and that gets roughly 25 miles per gallon.

By driving 5 miles (10 round trip) to fill up and save $.03 per gallon, in theory you've saved about $.36 on your fill up. Not bad considering this site's mantra is "every little bit adds up."

But, what did it COST you to save that $.36?

Since your car gets 25 mpg, that 10 mile round trip caused you to use .4 gallons. With the average price of regular unleaded fuel being $2.91 per gallon, that .4 gallons cost you $1.16.

You LOST $1.16 by saving $.36, putting you $.80 in the hole!

So, all of that being said, it probably isn't worth it to fill up anywhere but your closest gas station.

Addendum to Proper Tire Pressure

2006-04-23T09:48:00.000-04:00

I've received several emails in response to yesterday's tip regarding proper tire pressure and fuel economy, so I'll go into more depth regarding the issue today. There are two additional items I'd like to focus on regarding tire pressure:

Where else you can find information regarding proper tire pressure
What happens if you OVER inflate your tires

In addition to being able to find the proper tire pressure for your vehicle in the owners' manual or on the inside of the driver's door, you may also be able to find the proper tire pressure on the actual tire itself.

If you check both the owners' manual and the tire, you may notice that each recommends a different tire pressure, although that may not always be the case. If there is a difference, it should be pretty small.

The reason for the difference is because the tire pressure given in the owners' manual is meant for giving the car the smoothest ride, while the pressure listed on the tire is meant to reduce wear on the tire and maximize its life.

Ultimately, which one you choose will probably just come down to personal preference, and shouldn't really make much of a difference regarding your fuel economy.

Now that you're making sure that you don't have under inflated tires, you also should be aware of the problems presented by over inflated tires. Some things that can happen if you have over inflated tires include:

Faster wear on the tire
Increased stopping distance and time
Increased likelihood of a blowout

Taking the negatives of having either under or over inflated tires into account, it should become even more obvious how important it is to maintain proper tire pressure.

Fuel Economy Tip - Proper Tire Pressure

2006-04-21T18:16:00.000-04:00

Most people tend to care about their tires' air pressure when the tire goes flat. However, properly inflated tires can help you increase your car or truck's fuel economy.

Make sure that your vehicle's tires are inflated properly.

According to AAA, driving with under inflated tires can reduce your vehicle's gas mileage and fuel efficiency by up to 2% which, for a $3.00 gallon of gas, causes you to lose $.06 per gallon.

The reason under inflated tires reduce gas mileage is because they are less "round" than properly inflated tires. Due to being less round, under inflated tires require more energy to begin moving and to maintain speed.

I like to check my vehicle's tire pressure at least once a month, usually when I'm already at a gas station, so that if I have to add any air, I can go ahead and use the gas station's air pump.

You should be able to find the proper tire pressure in your vehicle's owner's manual. If you can't find it there, check on the driver's side door.

Fuel Economy Tip - Reduce Excess Weight

2006-04-21T11:18:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how quickly your car or truck can become cluttered with useless items that do nothing but take up space and add weight to your vehicle.

Clean out your car!

From what I've read, the fuel of thumb is: For every extra 100 pounds you carry in your vehicle, you reduce gas mileage and fuel economy by roughly 1%.

To give you a real life example of how easy it is to "overcome" this, I'll share my experience.

This past weekend I cleaned out just the trunk of my car and removed the following items:

Golf clubs and golf shoes - 18 lbs
Two large CD cases - 20 lbs
Five library books - 6 lbs

By simply taking these items out of the trunk of my car, I reduced my car's weight by 44 pounds, which should improve my gas mileage and fuel economy by about .44%.

While that certainly doesn't seem like much, it all adds up, especially when coupled with some other fuel economy tips that you can get from this site.

Fuel Economy Tip - Accelerate Less Rapidly

2006-04-20T19:32:00.000-04:00

Today's tip is along the same lines as yesterday's, only it doesn't concern how fast you go, rather how fast you get to that speed.

Accelerate less rapidly.

How many times have you pulled up to a red light or stop sign and then "floored it" when the light turned green or it was your turn to go? That's a great strategy if you're a professional drag racer or you just like to waste gas and ruin your vehicle's fuel economy.

According to Car Junky.com, rapid acceleration, coupled with excessive breaking, can reduce your vehicle's gas mileage by up to 33% at highway speeds and up to 5% during local driving.

That's a significant amount of money you're losing for just wanting to be the first person off the line or to fly past the slow poke in the middle lane.

Imagine being able to save literally hundreds of dollars each year on your vehicle's fuel costs by simply taking it easy when you accelerate.

Obviously, there are going to be times when you need to "punch it" but if you can minimize those times, you're not going to needlessly lose money each time you have to fill up your vehicle.

Fuel Economy Tip - Drive The Speed Limit

2006-04-19T21:05:00.000-04:00

This tip is the first tip because it will keep you from losing your money not only to the gas pump, but to tickets and insurance as well.

According to Fuel Economy.Gov, for every additional 5 miles per hour (mph) you drive over 60 mph, you are spending an additional $.19 per gallon of gas. At today's national average price for unleaded fuel, that would be the equivalent to adding over 6.5% to your gas bill.

Let's look at it in regards to the amount of money you're losing in a year by driving 5 mph over the speed limit:

If you fill up your 12 gallon tank once a week, that $.19 per gallon ends up costing you $118.56 per year!

Don't tell me that $.19 per gallon doesn't add up over time.

In addition to saving you money at the pump, driving the speed limit saves you money in additional ways:

Reduces your chances for a speeding ticket (that shouldn't come as a shock).
Reduces your chances for getting into a serious accident.
Because of reasons 1 and 2, you're more likely to have lower insurance premiums.
Reduces the wear and tear on your car, helping it last longer.

All of these things considered, speeding probably costs the average driver several hundred dollars each year.

Care to tell me again why you're speeding?

About Daily Fuel Economy Tip

2006-04-19T20:46:00.000-04:00

Gas is becoming more and more expensive and from the looks of things, the price is only going to continue to increase.

The national average cost for a gallon of gas of regular unleaded gas is up to $2.84.

Whether the next stop is $3, $4, $5 or more remains to be seen, but at some point you're going to feel the pain at the pump. Maybe you already are.

Higher gas prices are going to affect your daily life and habits. That's the bad news.

The good news is there is a silver lining to this very dark cloud.

There are things you can do right now to help improve your vehicle's gas mileage and fuel economy and help you save money.

The best part is, many of these things don't require drastic change. Just make a few simple changes in your driving habits mixed with some common sense and you can be well on your way to increasing your vehicle's gas mileage and fuel economy by 2 to 10%.

While that might not seem like much, over time that 2 to 10% will add up to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars at the pump and maybe even more off your car's maintenance and insurance.

Every day, I will post a new tip that will help you either increase your vehicle's gas mileage and fuel economy or just save you money on your car's gas bill.

Make sure you come back and check this site regularly and share it with your friends because these simple steps will keep you from needlessly losing thousands of dollars at the gas pump.