Easy Ways to Save Money on Gas

       

With prices soaring, what driver couldn’t use a few tips on pinching pennies at the pump?

Fill up when your tank is 3/4 empty.According to wikihow.com, this saves you money because you’re hauling alighter load—and gives you ample time to take advantage of a bargain ifyou spot one. But don’t wait until you’re running on fumes to gas up,as this can damage the electric fuel pump.

Buy gas early in the morning.That’s when the ground where gas tanks are stored is cool, maintainse-how.com. The cooler the ground temperature, the more dense the gas,meaning you’ll get what you pay for. (When the mercury soars, gasexpands and what is measured as a gallon at the pump is actuallyslightly less.)

And try to hit the pump midweek.Gas prices will sometimes rise on Thursday, as demand by weekenddrivers increases, writes Vera Gibbons at walletpop.com. Your best shotat finding the lowest prices is usually at midday on Tuesday or onWednesday morning.

Choose the right octane level.Check your owner’s manual, but unless you have a high-performance car,you should stick with regular octane gas. As the Federal TradeCommission points out, filling up with high-octane products generallywon’t increase anything but your bill at the pump.

Keep your tires maintained. Ensuring they are properly inflated and aligned can increase gas mileage up to 3 percent, claims the FTC.

Don’t drive aggressively. Department of Energystatistics cited at walletpop.com show that for each mile you drive atover 60 miles per hour, you are essentially paying an additional tencents per gallon. And erratic acceleration and braking can waste anadditional 50 cents a gallon. Slow and steady wins this race.

Park in the shade. Believe it or not, sayswikihow.com, gasoline evaporates out of your tank, and it does so morequickly when you’re parked in direct sunlight, no matter the season. Andin the summer, parking in the shade means you’ll need less A/C to coolthings off when you return to your car. So pull into a shady space, andto further minimize evaporation, make sure the seal on your tank istight.

Use A/C only on the highway. Air conditioning canburn roughly 8% of your fuel. So when driving at lower speeds, open thewindows instead, advises wikihow.com. While doing so increases drag, theresulting loss in fuel efficiency won’t be as great as if you had theA/C cranked. Better yet, open the vents.