I filled up my Toyota Avalon with gas this morning: $69 for a tank of gas!!! My email inbox throbbed with a CNN story that the average American family paid $385 for gas in April. So, oil, insurance, tires, and registration was on top of that. Getting around isn’t cheap.
What’s a budget to do? I looked up the gas saving tips that come round each time the price of gas goes beyond the then-current tolerance of the public. If you are over the age of 24, you probably know them:
- Eliminate fast starts and hard braking
- Reduce speed
- Keep your car tuned up
- Maintain correct tire pressure
- Combine errands to make fewer trips
Further looking found those who actually tested out the conventional wisdom.
Edmonds did some real world tests on some of the standard tips for saving gas and found a number of them to be old wives’ tales. The ones that worked, however, can result in up to 37% improvement in your gas mileage. Tips that didn’t stand up to scrutiny? Foregoing air conditioning and correct tire pressure. (It’s interesting that Edmunds did their study in 2005; some things never change).
In 2008, CNN took a stab at exposing gas saving myths; they debunked the idea that you get more gas if you buy it in the cool, cool of the morning. Likewise, they found no benefit in changing your air filter, or buying fuel additives.
So, bone up on the real gas savers. Drive less and drive better. And save your pennies, ’cause you’re still likely to need them at the pump.
Image courtesy of daryl_mitchell
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