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Saving Gas Made Easy »
As you all know, gas prices are rising, and I’m sure each of you dread going to the pump to see just how much it’ll cost to keep driving. I’ve written this up to give you some ideas on saving gas and money. The first couple points are psychological shifts you might want to make before taking on the more tangible tasks described later.
Psychological things to consider to be a gas saver
1. The fact is, that most likely gas will never ever be as cheap as it was even just 1 year ago. Maybe you never gave it much thought, but there is only so much petroleum in and on Earth. It’s becoming more scarce and the more countries that become developed (especially China), more countries will want to buy gas. The US won’t have a monopoly on gas usage (plus we are already the largest consumers of it). Pricing competition will force oil prices higher for every industrial country in the world. Even if gas prices do dip down, they will be going back up, so if you plan for higher prices now, you can have an easier time later.
If you don’t really believe it, check out the “Hubbert Oil Peak” website. Hubbert was a scientist for an oil company and predicted the 1970s oil crisis in the US. Check out: http://www.hubbertpeak.com
2. Realize that the only way to keep gas prices low, or at least keep YOUR spending on gas as low as possible, is to change your driving habits. Yes you. You can’t expect other people to do it, you’ll have to take responsibility for saving the planet and saving your own hard earned dollars. You’ll have to change your driving habits regularly and permanently. This might sound tough, but really it isn’t all that bad. Every time you start your car or truck, you are spending your own money. Even for a 1 mile trip to the grocery store, it’s costing you something. You’ll have to be concious that driving your car uses natural resources, and costs you money, so you have to consider this every time you go out.
3. Have a mindset that driving faster isn’t going to get you there much faster. Most of us spend most of our miles driving to and from work. Think about your drive. If you drove 5 mph faster, would you get to the office much quicker? For some, maybe, but most, probably not. I know that I can save more time by taking a different route or leaving 2 minutes earlier. But there is a traffic jam up at some point along the way, there are other cars in front of me, stoplights, stop signs, and sometimes construction. Driving a little slower and more even paced will get you to work about the same time as most other people, but save gas.
How? Here’s how and why:
Tangible things to do to save gas. (There are also more tips at http://www.rmfdevelopment.com/SaveOilNow.htm )
4. Driving manuals and other gas saving tips always say to avoid jackrabbit starts (fast burnouts) and hard braking. Why? Revving up the engine to take off uses A LOT of extra gas, then you are going to have to slow down and stop sooner or later. Really speeding away from stoplights and intersections might get you to the next intersection sooner, but if you have to stop, then you’ve wasted all that gas. And sitting idling will get you precisely 0 (zero) miles per gallon. Even if you don’t have to stop, burning out, or even a slightly harder takeoff, will use more gas. Accelerating uses far more gas than driving at a steady speed. Practice driving away from a stop and pretending you have an egg under your foot on top of the gas pedal. If you smash down hard and quick it’ll break. But if you apply pressure very slowly, the egg won’t break but you will still take off from a stop, and use far less gas. Plus consider if you are driving with a lot of frustration or emotion and you are speeding or revving your car. This is dangerous and costly, in more than just gas. Don’t become over emotional when driving and don’t try to race everybody, or let feelings of being late take over and make you drive unduly fast. Stay calm and drive smooth.
5. Look farther ahead down the road, and anticipate stopping. If you are on the gas all the time just until you hit the brake, you are using a lot of extra fuel. If you look far ahead down the road, and see a stoplight about to turn yellow or red, you can get off of the gas, and coast for a while. That saves gas. Don’t worry if the space between you and the car in front grows a little bit. If you know you are going to slow down and stop, you don’t have to be on the bumper of the next guy. Sometimes you may be able to slow down enough you barely need to brake before the car in front of you goes or the light changes green. As well as saving some gas, coasting and reducing speed can help save your brakes.
6. Driving a smaller lighter car. This one is the biggest factor in saving gas and money. Consider what you drive and how much you drive it. Do you drive a big SUV or truck? Do you pretty much only drive it to work and back? Those big trucks are heavy! And excess weight is what makes you have poor gas mileage. Little tiny cars like Geo Metro’s, Yugos, and little Honda’s, get great mileage because they are light and small. A lighter car doesn’t need as much power to move it, to turn it, or to stop it. It has a much smaller engine than a big truck, so it gets better mileage. Whether you can afford to just sell your truck and get a smaller car is up to you, and might not make sense if you use your truck for hauling stuff often. But if you have 1 truck in your family, your other commuter car can be a small car. Drive the smaller car on longer trips or to the farther job (for couples). Consider a smaller car for your next vehicle, and or a car or truck with hybrid engines. Some new trucks (and cars) will turn off the engine when stopped at a light or in traffic and automatically restart it as soon as you press the gas again. Hybrids still take gas but use electric motors when you are in traffic to save gas and emissions. Electric motors don’t use any energy when you are stopped, unlike a regular engine that idles (0 mpg). But primarily think about smaller being better. The less a car weighs, the better mileage it can get.
7. If you do purchase a small car that is not hybrid, (whether new or used) purchase a stick shift (standard) transmission. A 5-speed car will get better mileage than an automatic. YOU can control the car’s engine speed and gear it’s in better than an automatic. Plus you can do some tricks to save gas at times when an automatic never could. !!Disclaimer: These are **advanced** techniques and might not be for everyone. It takes full concentration for some of this, so using a cellphone or fiddling with the radio while trying to do these techniques is a very bad idea. Do not be an unsafe driver if you attempt this. I take no responsibility for anything that occurs if you do these things.!!
OK, that said, For example, in my 5 speed wagon, to save gas I:
-Shift up sooner so I don’t rev the engine so high. Higher revs = more gas. I sometime shift much sooner to save gas even though I might not be able to accelerate much. This is called ‘short shifting’ and if you watch racing you may hear that term.
-Stay in a higher gear going up hill, if I can. I can pick the highest gear that will still get me up hill though I may be slowing down a bit as I do it. But I never slow to such a crawl I congest traffic behind me!
-I look ahead and coast when I see a stoplight or stopsign ahead. I take the car out of gear, so the engine goes down to idle and saves gas.
-Around Lancaster backroads there are many hills. Sometimes when driving, I can take the car out of gear and coast all the way down a hill, and partway back up the next hill, before putting it back in gear to continue on. Sometimes I will slow down several miles per hour. But if I am not worried about being extra fast, it is fine (see point #3, driving slower). In an automatic you can take your foot of the gas, but won’t get as much savings since the engine will rev higher even when going downhill, and in fact usually will slow you down as you coast. If you don’t have hills where you drive, this isn’t really an option for you.
8. Carpooling is a simple way to save gas and doesn’t require buying a new car. Find people that live in your town and go to work with you, and find a common meeting place to pick each other up at. Even if you don’t do any of the other tips in this guide, driving 1 car instead of 2 is the easiest way to save, as well as save on tailpipe emissions into the atmosphere.
9. Condense trips down as much as you can. Plan ahead when you are going out shopping and doing errands. Could you make a round about trip to 3 places instead of 3 trips out from your house? Can you stop to or from work for an errand and only go out of your way a tiny bit?
10. Buy lower grade gas. Unless you have a high performance engine, you can get away with using low or medium test gas. High test gas does not have more ‘power’ than low test. In fact it is somewhat less power. High test gas has resistance to igniting in the engine, so high revving sports car motors can run and not ‘detonate’ (that is to explode on its own before the spark plug makes it fire). Low test gas has as much power potential as high test but does not have the explosion inhibitors that high test does (the octane rating). If your car or truck is somewhat ‘average’ check your owner manual and see if you can just use low test.
11. Try to keep track of what sort of mileage your car gets. Do some calculations and see if you had a vehicle that got 7-10mpg better mileage how much money it could save you. Maybe it would also save on your insurance too.
12. Make sure your car’s tire pressures are correct. A low/flat tire requires more energy to turn than a properly inflated one.
13. Consider walking or biking to make short small trips to a store. If you live in town or close to a shopping plaza, a walk can save a little gas plus keep you in shape.
Also check out:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
http://www.rmfdevelopment.com/SaveOilNow.htm
http://www.hubbertpeak.com
http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/
http://www.nsc.org/ehc/mobile/buying.htm
I am not trying to brag, but I’d like to share my personal experience. Some of you know I have a big fast sports car, but last year I bought a little Honda station wagon. I am trying to be more environmentally responsible. My Trans Am gets from 19-27mpg, but usually more like 19-20 around town with some ‘fast driving’. My station wagon is a 5 speed, and weighs considerably less. It’s pretty slow too, with a very small engine. But I am OK driving it slow, I know it saves me money. In fact I have recorded every gas purchase for both cars for the past year. When bought the Honda it cost me about $2000 (used). It gets from 37-43mpg. I looked at the miles I drove last year, and how much I spent on gas. From driving the station wagon about 2/3 of my miles and reducing my Trans Am to only 1/3 of my driving, I saved $1300 on gas alone! That is, if I would have driven my TA everywhere, I would have spent $1300 or more on gas. Halfway through my second year of owning my little car, it will have paid for itself just in gas bills. Think about how much you might save if you don’t have to fill up as often, if your vehicle got 7-10mpg more. Could you drive a little slower and smoother? Could you be happy with a vehicle that’s a little smaller if it saved you money in the long run? If you are a 2 or 3 vehicle family, could having a very gas miserly car benefit you, yet still get you to your job(s) and back while still having a larger vehicle for taking the whole family places?
