Fuel Savings

With gas prices they way they are, I decided to do some research on how to save gas, and in turn save some cash at the pumps.
Here is what I found out:

• Fill up with lower-octane gas - This may seem like a no brainer, but I know people that only use 91 octane in their car. I always use the cheap stuff unless the car tells me it needs it. The higher octane does not boost fuel efficiency or performance.
  
• Combine errands - Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
• Remove excess weight from the trunk - Avoid carrying unneeded items, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk reduces a typical car's fuel economy by one to two percent.
• Don't top off - Here is one I'll have to stop doing. What happens, is it will slop or seep out, and you don't end up burning that gas anyway. When the pump shuts off automatically, your tank is full.
• Make sure your gas cap is tight - Gas will evaporate if it has a way to. Loose or missing gas caps just waste gas.
• Park in the shade - This helps keep the heat build up in your car down. As stated above, gas likes to evaporate. The hotter things are, the faster they will evaporate.
• Use a windshield shade - This also helps keep the heat from building up in your car as bad.
• Use a garage - If you have it, use it! Move the junk and park in there! It keeps the car cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter, and the A/C and defroster don't have to work as hard. (Poor me, I don't have one)
• Proper Tire Inflation - Keep the air in your tires! Under inflated tires can drop your gas mileage by 15%. Check your tires while they are cold, (relatively speaking). Best bet is first thing in the morning after the car has set there all day.
• Get a Tune-up - Fixing a car that wont pass an emission test can boost your gas mileage by 4%. Also, misfiring spark plugs can drop it by about 30%!!! (glad we fixed the pick-up).
• Replace air filters - Replacing a dirty air filter can boost gas mileage as much as 10%!
• Don't skimp on maintenance - The harder your car has to work, the worse your gas mileage will be.
• Easy goes it - Don't be an aggressive driver. Slow down on the acceleration, that can help a lot.
• Avoid excessive idling - Your car is getting Zero miles per gallons when you idle. If you warm your car up before driving, just give it a couple minutes.
• Don't speed - According to the US Department of Energy, Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. Each mile driven over 60 will result in an additional 10 to 34 cents per gallon.
• Use cruise control - This will help your speed remain constant!
  
• Proper Air conditioner use - If you are going below 45 mph, roll down the windows and turn that thing off! Doing that will give you a 10 to 20% fuel savings! However, at highway speeds, anything over 45, roll up the windows. Wind drag becomes an issue, and your gas mileage can drop 10%. And speeds 55 mph and higher can make it drop as much as 20% or more. Now, if you are hard core, roll up the windows and just turn on the vent, but since I'm not hard core (I hate the heat), I'll be using the A/C.
  

I found all of these tips at here, here and here just in case you want to read more of what they had to say.


Looking to buy a car?
You might want to check out fueleconomy.gov. This site has information on fuel economy of cars and other information.

Also, in my own personal experience, I have found manual transmission cars get better gas mileage than automatic transmissions. Might keep that in your head when your are shopping.