It's no surprise to turn on the news these days and see stories of how gas prices have shot through the $4 a gallon mark.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of experts who fear that gas prices will continue to rise significantly over the rest of the year.
The public is now desperate for ways to increase gas mileage and save money on gas.
But what to do, when old, outdated myths and outright scams are filling the airwaves and internet? Just today we saw a television news station advising drivers to fill up their gas tanks in the morning when gas is cooler and more condensed, as a way of getting more for your money. Liquids do take up less volume when they are cold, but this advice is not going to make a massive difference to your gas bill.
This outdated advice may have been true once-we don't know for sure-but we do know that today gas stations store fuel below ground in 30,000-gallon tanks. What this means is that the gas will remain at near a contsant temperature so that daily cycles will not cause it to expand or contract.
We've seen all sorts of other bad advice that's outdated, ill-advised or just outright fraud. Claims that devises which bleed air into the carburetor can dramatically increase gas mileage turn out not to be true when put to the test under closely monitored conditions.
Face it-with a long-term gas crises looming ahead, there are plenty of governmental bodies and even private industries that have good reason to want to help you save on gas. So counting down, here are the top 10 tips that you can use to really help save money on gas and reduce consumption:
10. Keep your tires properly inflated according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Under inflated tires make the vehicle run less efficiently and waste gas. In fact, it can be estimated that for every 1lb of under inflation, you could be losing up to 5% of your gas mileage.
9. Don't be an aggressive driver. Jackrabbit starts, tire screeching stops and speeding can lower your gas mileage by 5% on city streets and as much as 33% on highways. Try to anticipate stops ahead of time so that you can ease up on the gas and coast to the stop, and accelerate less aggressively to conserve your gas.
8. Avoid excessive idling. You waste a gallon of gas for every 15 minutes your car is left idling. If you can, time your journeys so that you avoid sitting forever at traffic lights and try and cut the time you need for your car to warm up. If the weather is warm outside, the most effective way to get an engine up to temperature is actually just by driving. Idling is the worst thing you can do - you get zero miles to the gallon if your car is running but not moving!
7. Slow down. The faster you go, the less efficiently your vehicle uses gas. 55 is the most efficient mph on highways. Go above 60 and your fuel efficiency decreases rapidly.
6. Remove excess weight. If you're used to driving around with your golf clubs and a chain saw in your trunk, you're paying a heavy price for it. Removing an extra 100 pounds from your car will increase your fuel efficiency by as much as 2%.
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