3 Gas Saving Myths

Not all your time is spent in your truck, you also have a car/truck for around home that you use.  Saving money at home is important too. 

Sure you want to save gas, but there’s a lot of bad advice on how to do it. Some of it makes no difference, and some of it can wind up costing you.

Myth #1. Fill your tank in the morning

You may have heard that it’s best to fill your tanks in the early morning while the fuel is cold. The theory is that fluids are more dense at lower temperatures, so a gallon of cold gas actually has more gas molecules than a gallon of warmer gas.

However, the temperature of the gasoline as it comes out of the nozzle varies little during the course of the day, according to Consumer Reports, so there’s little, if any, benefit, to getting up early to pump gas.  Sleep later, the gas will be there when you get there.  No need to rush!

#2. Change your air filter

Maintaining your car is important, but a clean air filter isn’t going to save you any gas. Modern engines have computer sensors that automatically adjust the fuel-air mixture as an increasingly clogged air filter chokes off the engine’s air supply.

While engine power will decrease slightly as the air filter becomes clogged, a lack of performance or an increase in fuel consumption will be negligible, Consumer Reports says.

#3. Use premium fuel

With prices already over $4.00 a gallon, premium gasoline is a hard sell these days. But a lot of drivers think because their owners’ manual recommends premium, they’ll get better fuel economy with it. Really, they may be paying more money for nothing.

Newer cars for which premium is “recommended” – but not “required” – won’t suffer with regular fuel. Modern engine technology comes to the rescue again. When sensors detect regular instead of premium fuel, the system automatically adjusts spark plug timing. The result is a slight reduction in peak horsepower – really, you’ll never notice – but little or no reduction in fuel economy.

Always check your owner’s manual before putting anything into your car. And if your car runs badly on regular, by all means, go back to the pricey stuff. 

So if there really was an additive that made gas burn up more slowly, it wouldn’t be sold over the Internet one bottle at a time.

Likewise, car companies are already spending big bucks to increase fuel mileage. If General Motors could make its cars go significantly farther on a gallon simply by putting a device into the fuel line, don’t think for a second it wouldn’t be doing that. GM’s car sales would go through the roof.

There are a number of these gas-saving devices that are generally useless.  But drivers who try them will swear they work. In reality, it’s probably an automotive placebo effect. Buy one of these devices or additives, and you’re like to pay extreme attention to your fuel economy and how you drive.

Of course it can’t hurt to keep a close eye on your driving habits — and what kind of car you drive. In the end, that can make the most difference in saving gas.