More Ways to Save on Gas

Here are some money saving tips from a recent issue of Parade magazine. This piece offers ideas on how to save on gas. I've written about this a ton in the past, so I'm only going to share a few of the ideas -- new ones that I like. Here goes:

• Lose the roof rack. Unless you often carry skis or luggage, it’s only hurting your aerodynamics—and wasting fuel.

• Back off the “bling.” Oversized tires, brush guards and other showy add-ons add weight, reduce aerodynamic efficiency and steal mileage.

• Gas prices usually are at their lowest at midday Tuesday and on Wednesday morning. Avoid filling up on weekends and during a big holiday, when lots of folks are traveling.

• Find the busiest gas stations. They’re often the least expensive, and they’re more likely to have fresh fuel, free of contaminants.

• Avoid gas stations on toll roads and off the side of a freeway, where they can stick you with a stiff premium.

My thoughts on these:

1. I have a roof rack on my truck but never use it. I can't believe that it (alone) wastes much gas. Now if it was used, then I could see a big gas drain occurring.

2. Yep, the more weight, the more it costs to move the vehicle. I haul my bike here and there, but it's not that heavy -- and I do so only when I use it.

3. This was new news to me. I'll need to start filling up on Tuesday or Wednesday.

4. In my area, you just can't beat Costco for gas. They always seem to be 4-5 cents lower than anyone else.

5. Oh yeah. The turnpikes are the worst. They have a captive audience and they know it. We try to fill up before the turnpike (not JUST before the turnpike -- they have high prices too -- buy 20 miles or so in advance) and then again after we've exited.

Comments

[John M]

Hope the 24 hours of Free Money Finance is a big success. Most of the ideas seem like commone sense, but I never thought about buying gas on a tuesday or wednesday morning. I doubt that if you are going to spend money on oversized tires and spinning rims you are going to be concerned about gas mileage.

[jhawsey]

What I don't understand is how gas stations that aren't too far apart can vary in price so drastically. I live in the Tampa Bay area. I live in Tampa but drive to St Petersburg across the bay for work. Prices in St Petersburg are up to 25 cents CHEAPER than in Tampa. How does this happen. I can't imagine that the taxes could vary that much.

Oh yeah...my whole point here is to plan accordingly if this is the case for you too. I will fill up when I am on that side of the bay even if I could go a while longer on the current tank of gas.

[Blaine Moore (First Time Homeowner)]

Actually, a roof rack really can impact your mileage by up to 3%. It may not be that high, but I have seen studies done where an empty roof rack did increase the drag quite a bit. Add something onto the roof rack and you are looking at even more.

[Kim]

ITA. The aerodynamics of having the roof rack (even without anything on it) will decrease your mileage by much more than you think.