11 ways to save gas
With gas prices on a steep trajectory upward, it could be a cruel, cruel summer at the pump. Here are 11 ways to save on gasoline.
1. Comparison shop by checking average gas prices and looking up prices in your area. Handy online tools exist to help, including this msn.com site, or gasbuddy.com,which maintains a site for Ann Arbor.
2. Don’t drive. Bike, walk, take the bus or take the train.
As fuel prices continue to spike, here are 11 ways to save on gas. Leave additional suggestions in our comments section.
Flickr photo courtesy of Mykl Roventine
4. Remove excess items, like bike racks or unnecessary items you’ve been stowing in the trunk. More weight will use more fuel.
5. Use the lowest octane gasoline recommended by the manufacturer.
6. Driving the speed limit or below will equate to better mileage.
7. Keep the tires at recommended air pressure and the engine tuned.
8. Avoid using the air conditioner; use flow-through vents instead.
9. On the highway, keeping the windows up will reduce drag.
10. Sudden bursts of speed use more fuel; gradual starts and stops will reduce wear and tear and save gas.
11. Cruise control saves fuel by keeping the speed of your car steady.
Source: Michigan.gov
Do you have additional suggestions? Have you changed your driving habits because of rising gas prices? Leave a comment below.
Juliana Keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
Gassaver
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 4:28 a.m.
I found a great way to save money on my gasoline by joining a gas rebate club! You can buy gas at any gas station. When you join you can get up to 50% back of what you spend back every month. Check it out! <a href="http://www.fillerupclub.com/17362/invite" rel='nofollow'>www.fillerupclub.com/17362/invite</a>
Ann English
Wed, Apr 27, 2011 : 12:04 a.m.
You don't need to visit gasbuddy.com, and then type in the zip code you'll be driving in; just go to <a href="http://www.annarborgasprices.com" rel='nofollow'>www.annarborgasprices.com</a> directly. There you'll find both the least and most expensive gas prices in the area with the time of the price sightings given. From that website you can go to a Price By County page, where all the states are color-coded by gas price, but still alll you need to do is type in the zip code of the area you're interested in. Kroger shopping cards can take ten cents or more off every gallon of gas you purchase at their own stations and some Shell stations, but the number of points your Kroger grocery receipts indicate are not necessarily the number of points the gasoline cashier scans from your Kroger card. The last time I went to the Carpenter Road Kroger gas station, gas cost $3.68 per gallon with the card points, instead of $3.88 per gallon as indicated by the price sign for regular gas. When you pay with cash, you can buy your gasoline anywhere; you're not limited to those with whom you have credit cards accounts.
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Apr 27, 2011 : 1:38 a.m.
Thanks for the tip, Ann. I had not seen this. Let me add it to the story. Also, I definitely use my Kroger card to save gas. It's a great perk.
Nancy Shore
Tue, Apr 26, 2011 : 2:16 p.m.
Here are getDowntown's tips for saving on gas: <a href="http://blog.getdowntown.org/2011/03/10/6-tips-for-saving-on-gas/" rel='nofollow'>http://blog.getdowntown.org/2011/03/10/6-tips-for-saving-on-gas/</a>
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Apr 27, 2011 : 1:36 a.m.
Hey, I think I signed up for your program! Hopefully this will force me into a healthy biking routine...
krc
Tue, Apr 26, 2011 : 1:51 p.m.
How do you 'draft' a truck? Sounds like a good idea, as long as I wouldn't be tailgating or left lane cruising.
clownfish
Tue, Apr 26, 2011 : 1:06 p.m.
The #1 thing we can do to save gas is SLOW DOWN! There is no need to drive 80 mph on the highway, 70 on US12 or 45 on Packard. Draft trucks. By driving at their rate of +- 65 and drafting I have improved mileage 10-13%. That is money I get to keep. This is not just about saving money, it is also about saving resources for the next generation.
FredMax
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 11:19 p.m.
12. Dont get stuck behind the bus going down Liberty street; it stops every 25 feet. 13. Take a NASCAR training course where you can perfect valuable gas saving skills like drafting
Awakened
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 8:46 p.m.
Replace the do nothing taxers in Washington.
clownfish
Tue, Apr 26, 2011 : 1:10 p.m.
Federal gas tax is 18.4C/gallon. Less than 5%. Is that really too much for you to pay to use our roads? If it is, what would you suggest as a way to pay for public infrastructure such as roads and bridges?
clownfish
Tue, Apr 26, 2011 : 1:02 p.m.
How will that reduce your use of gas?
Kristine
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 7:18 p.m.
Oops -- my comment to catfishrisin above should've said I'm not on UNemployemt anymore. Hope you all got the gist of that message just the same... :)
TaxPayer
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 5:41 p.m.
This is an extension to #4.....lose weight. More weight = more gas.
Juliana Keeping
Wed, Apr 27, 2011 : 1:35 a.m.
Good point, TaxPayer
Atticus F.
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 5:05 p.m.
I really hate it when people suggest that these rises are due to station owner "gouging" people. It takes the focus off of the real problem.
ex734
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 4:13 p.m.
Besides bikes which is very important, change the culture to allow for increased moped/scooter use. Bottom line is we need to make people smarter and better drivers which equals safer roads.
grye
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 4:07 p.m.
All left turn signals should be flashing red to allow turning if there is no oncoming traffic. Stop signs should be treated as yield to allow rolling through. If at an intersection and there are not cars in sight, ok to run the red light. Need training for drivers unfamiliar with roundabouts. No need to sit and wait for it to be clear and then wait another 10 seconds just in case someone may be approaching. Enter the roundabout in space provided as long as you do not impeded the next vehicle. If you are unsure, take a different route to a stop sign intersection.
a2susan
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 4:36 p.m.
I totally agree that the left turn signal should be a flashing red. I turn from Washtenaw onto Manchester and sit in that left turn lane while cars coming from Washtenaw and Stadium go through several cycles of traffic lights. It's so frustrating to just sit there when there is empty space. It is true, though, that before they put the left turn signal in, sometimes it was hard to take a left. But I think it should be re-evaluated now.
Mike D.
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 4:03 p.m.
Reiterating FreedomOfSpeech's comment, we need to make timing lights a municipal priority to save gas. Most of the gas we use is for starting and stopping. Timing the lights on Ashley, First, Huron, Washtenaw, Packard, Eisenhower, Main, and A2-Saline would save literally hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of gallons of gas per year.
Barb
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:59 p.m.
I'm going to second @Ignatz suggestions - anytime you can keep your car from idling for long, you will save on gas. But I really like the idea of avoiding drive thru's. Get off your butt and walk in! :)
Top Cat
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:45 p.m.
There was an Our Gang comedy named "Free Wheeling" where the Gang had a car used as a taxicab that consumed zero gas because it was pushed by a donkey. I think that's called legacy technology.
grye
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:32 p.m.
Hypermilers coast a lot when travelling downhill or when slowing down by putting the car in neutral. Not sure if this is legal but you would be amazed at how far you can coast.
chapmaja
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:14 p.m.
One other thing that will save fuel. Combine trips. Instead of going to work, then coming home then going to the store to do shopping, combine those into one trip. It might not seem like much, but even at 2.5 miles to the store (distance from my house to the local store) a round trip costs miles miles of distance or about 1/5 of a gallon ($ 0.80). If that happens 3 or 4 times per week you've save close to the amount of a gallon of fuel alone in one week.
chapmaja
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:09 p.m.
I disagree with one of those items on the list. The one that says don't use the AC or heater on the car. Recent studies have been conducted and have determined that using the AC, as opposed to rolling the windows down uses less fuel. I don't know about other people cars, but if I use only the flow through vents on my car, it will still heat up way to hot to be comfortable to ride or drive in. I have to use the AC or my car will rapidly heat to over 100 degrees inside with just air from the flow through vents. I kept a thermometer in the car last year to test that theory. I did make sure all over the vents were open as well and it was unbearable to drive after about 15 minutes on a bright sunny day without the AC on. Most of the list I do agree with. I have emptied a lot of items out of my car and when I have time I'm driving 60-65 on the highway instead of 70-75 I used to. I have seen a increase in mileage from 27 to 29.5 or 30 just with a couple minor changes. As for the comments about living near your job. It's nice if you can do it, but not everyone can. As an example my family is a bit further from our jobs than we would like. We live in Pinckney while my father lives in Dexter. When my parents bought the house my mother was working in Pinckney, but has since been forced to switch jobs to work in AA and is now unemployed and looking. When you own a house you can't just pick up and move to be closer to your job because gas prices are higher. What you might save on fuel you can easily lose on things like property taxes. Plus some people work in multiple different places (such as myself) so it isn't as easy to do that as some people think.
FreedomOfSpeech
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:06 p.m.
1.) There is no need to have traffic signals stopping people at empty intersections all night or even after 10pm in most places. Of course I might suddenly decide I want to turn into Briarwood Mall Circle at 2am, while idling for 2+ minutes on State St. but... The mall is CLOSED! 2.) Expecting the mayor and the city to get the light fixed, considering that A2's roads now resemble 3rd world, is probably too much. However, a law could be passed allowing people to treat all red lights as stop signs after midnight. BTW: Myth busters showed that running the AC in your car has little to do with over all gas mileage... Unless you are parked and idling to stay cool. How about: Leave car in neutral and have some Bike Bullies push you... Just not off a cliff.
djm12652
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:57 p.m.
Or be like most a2 drivers as well as bike bullies and dont stop for red lights...it's a common energy saving act [or at least I think so] and not at all the actions of people that don't believe red lights mean stop...they're just trying to drive green...
Linda Peck
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:35 p.m.
I like that post midnight idea!
FreedomOfSpeech
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:29 p.m.
On Myth Busters, they drove a car until empty with the AC on ad with it off... It didn't help to have it off and in fact having the windows down is worse, as a poster below notes.
Juliana Keeping
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:15 p.m.
Michigan.gov reported that it helps save mileage. Elsewhere on the web, a Sun Sentinel automotive writer called the AC tip "True and false." Read more here: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3v4lbkg" rel='nofollow'>http://tinyurl.com/3v4lbkg</a>
Juliana Keeping
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3 p.m.
I lived in China for a spell and noticed all the cab drivers turned their cars off at lights. They never idled their vehicles while waiting for patrons, either. They would, in fact, put the car in neutral, get out and push it up a few feet if they were parked somewhere and needed to move up a little bit. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Ann English
Tue, Apr 26, 2011 : 11:44 p.m.
I once tried turning off my engine at lights I knew were long red lights, but when traffic ahead of me moved forward, I had to make jackrabbit starts, which use more gas than merely taking my foot off the brake and putting it on the accelerator.
FredMax
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 11:11 p.m.
A lot of developing nations that I've traveled through tend to have a much lower standard for safety; I'd suggest that the dollars saved per year in gas is in direct proportion to the risk one puts upon losing one's life while in the road.
Linda Peck
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:34 p.m.
I had read or heard years ago that idling burned less gas, if doing so for a few minutes, than turning your car off and on, as the latter required more gas. I think police cars idle a lot and I have noticed myself that idling seems to burn very little gas. Am I wrong or just out of date on this?
FreedomOfSpeech
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 3:24 p.m.
Yeah... I want to be more like China... Not. When the Chinese execution/organ harvester van is on it's way to the airport with a condemned prisoner/donor and conducting ... Business and they hit a red light do they get out and push or turn of the engine? Just sayin'
Top Cat
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 2:57 p.m.
Jack Benny was once asked how he saved gas. He responded "I coast a lot."
catfishrisin
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 2:54 p.m.
How about living near your job. At 2 miles a day I can make a tank last a month. Also, stores are close, doctors are close, bank is close, etc. Where you live matters.
Kristine
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 7:17 p.m.
I was out of work for a year. When I finally did get a job, it was in Belleville. Yes, I use about a gallon of gas a day to get to and from work, but at least I'm not on Employment anymore.
LAEL
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 6:24 p.m.
Because it's unreasonable to expect people to move everytime they change jobs in the local area or their employer moves to a new office?
Ignatz
Mon, Apr 25, 2011 : 2:39 p.m.
A few more, which happen to be pet peeves of mine: Don't use your car as a heater or air conditioner. That is, don't sit in it at idle just to keep warm or cool. Akin to the above is not to "warm up" the car. Wear a coat, hat and gloves in winter. Dress for the weather, not the car. Don't use drive throughs. Shut off the car and go inside. Modern engines typically use a half to one minute of fuel at idle to start the engine.