Do those money saving Gas Tips really work?

As we all watch gas prices once again raise many of us are looking for ways to lower our gasoline bills.  There are plenty of ways to do that but the question is do all of them actually work?  With that in mind we put together a list of some of the tips that, while they sound good, aren’t exactly going to save you very much gas or money if at all. Now this won’t particularlyhelp you but they might save you time and / or energy if you’re currently doing some of them. Enjoy!

I common misconception is that if you fill your tank in the morning you will get more gas because the fuel is cold. Consumer Reports found that this idea, while it might make some sort of small scientific sense, really doesn’t do much of anything for the amount of gas you get, so stay in bed 15 minutes longer.

The increase in performance and gas consumption is also negligible when you change your air filter, mostly because today’s modern car has all sorts of sensors that will adjust the airflow if it becomes clogged.  Sure you should probably change them once a year but no more.

This one is a doozy.  Premium gas, while yes it may be slightly better for your car, provides such a small advantage that it in no way makes up for the extra cost.  Save your money and use regular unless you have a serious sports car that the manufacturer says needs the good stuff.

Some people have taken to overinflating their tires, the theory being that if there’s less rubber touching the road the car will use less gas.  While this is slightly true the fact is that, if your tires are over or under-inflated, this can cause your car to drive poorly and cause an accident. That’s definitely not worth the extra minimal gas savings in our opinion.

Another commonly held ‘belief’ is that using the AC uses a lot more gas.  Today’s cars however have modern AC systems that just don’t use that much extra fuel. In fact, driving around town with your AC on decreases your car’s mileage by about a mile per gallon which, on a blazing hot day, just isn’t worth the savings unless you’re really a big fan of sweat.

Before you drop big bucks at the local auto parts store on bottled additives for your car that say they will increase your mileage ask yourself this question; do you think the oil companies aren’t doing everything that they can already to increase the miles you get out of every gallon?  They do and the fact is that, if there was something that you could add to your tank to really get more mileage, it would already be in your gas.

Another way to save some gas money is to switch out your car for something a bit more fuel efficient. Yes, it will be sad to see your old car go, but your wallet will thank you. So, how should you go about getting rid of your old vehicle? Trade it in? Sell it? Scrap it? Those are all viable options, but there are also a number of benefits if you donate your car to charity. The immediate benefit is that this will look great on your taxes, as it is a large donation. You’ll also be helping out your choice of a number of great causes.

Hopefully we didn’t burst anybody’s bubble with these revelations.  Yes, there are a lot of things you can and should be doing to save gas like maintaining your car and driving no faster than 65 mph but the ‘solutions’ above aren’t on that list.  Cheers!