1.

mbhunter
July 7th, 2008 at 10:09 pm

Running on full most of the time probably hurts gas mileage a bit since you’re pulling around more weight.

Running near empty, conversely, should help your gas mileage, but yeah, you could run out.

2.

Chris
July 8th, 2008 at 8:08 am

Gas prices haven’t affected us much, since both of our vehicles are paid off, and my wife and I commute to work almost every day.

3.

Maria - Frugal Homesteading
July 8th, 2008 at 8:19 am

The only reason I try to keep my vehicle on the full side is in case of shortages or rationing … not to save a few pennies.

4.

Mrs. Micah
July 8th, 2008 at 9:55 am

I thought for a few minutes last week about filling up more frequently (our gas station finally hit $4/gallon. But then I realized that it was kind of a dumb idea. The time waiting, the savings in pennies. Not worth it until gas is maybe jumping $0.50/gallon/day.

5.

Kyle
July 8th, 2008 at 10:19 am

Isn’t running on E all the time pretty bad for your car if you have a fuel injector?

6.

Jerry Dill
July 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am

You have a way of putting things so eloquently. I try to fill up my car after half a tank to a quarter of a tank. Just in case I have an emergency. Not because I’m trying to save money.

7.

David - Business Loans Expert
July 8th, 2008 at 11:20 am

our gas station finally hit $4/gallon.

Lucky you! we pay $5 in Los Angeles…

8.

engchik
July 8th, 2008 at 11:35 am

Ugh…my one friend bought a new car…and they are that odd sedan/SUV mix..and now she has a $300/ month car payment…and since she just moved AWAY from her place of work, her commute is over an hour. and in the ‘burbs of Philly, (Fill-y) gas is $4.05-$4.25. d-oh!

9.

Mortgage Brokers
July 8th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Wind the windows up and put the air con on, this is cheaper than having your windows down as you will have drag. Love the cartoons very funny

10.

Clever Dude
July 8th, 2008 at 2:43 pm

You forgot those morons who turn off their cars at red lights just to save gas for 30-90 seconds. Sheesh, what fools!

11.

Peter Stuifzand
July 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

In the Netherlands we pay about EUR 1.60 / L which is about the same as 10 USD/gallon. The prices are rising, but last year we we’re already paying about EUR 1.40 / L which is around 8 USD/gallon.

12.

designer handbag reviews
July 9th, 2008 at 9:07 am

I’m seriously considering taking the bus (I haven’t been on a bus in years)

13.

Cool Material
July 13th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

Stealing gas? Haha Go green if you can and ride that bike to work!

14.

Mortgage Prepayment Programs
July 15th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

lmao oh man i got a huuge kick out of this post. the sad thing is is that its all true… people are that ridiculous. ill have to show everyone at work since gas prices are always a hot-topic.
-Jake

15.

Cin @ Her Family Blog
July 15th, 2008 at 8:38 pm

I think you and I are kindred spirits! I went to replace my gas cap the other day, and next to the gas caps, was a rack (empty, of course) of pipes you can use to siphon gas… It prompted me to buy the gas cap that locks!

16.

Coupon Fetcher
July 17th, 2008 at 11:38 am

I want Gus to come and live in my garage. I have a nice doggy bed he can sleep on and then he will nice and rested to get me to work in the morning.

17.

george
July 25th, 2008 at 11:03 pm

no waste your money on locking fuel caps– cars made in the last 10 years have an anti-siphoning tube in the neck of the gas tank. tho i’ve heard some theives actually puncture the bottom of the tank to drain gas. best to garage your car at night or if you have to leave the car in the driveway- leave some outside lights on !!

18.

Rob in colorado
July 26th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

I recently started riding the bus, which takes an additional hour per day. Just decided it was time. Only have to walk 2 blocks each day total, too. Just have to figure out what to do while riding.

19.

JOHN SPENCER
July 28th, 2008 at 4:17 am

WHEN I WAS A KID ALL TOWNS IN TEXAS SET THEIR TRAFFIC LIGHTS SO YOU COULD GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND NOT HAVE TO STOP AND THAT WAS WELL BEFORE COMPUTERS. THIS ONE THING WOULD SAVE MILLIONS OF GALLONS EACH DAY

20.

Keith
July 28th, 2008 at 8:33 am

I live in Phenix City, AL. There are 14 traffic lights on my way to work. They are not timed, and long lines of cars wait at every one. We are wasting tons of fuel waiting for no one on the other side.

21.

Jim
July 28th, 2008 at 8:44 am

I’ve discovered a sure-fire way to save. I’ve been driving in kilometers rather than miles, since kilometers are shorter, and the savings have been dramatic.

22.

dave
July 28th, 2008 at 8:45 am

filling up at about 1/2 tank makes sense because you reduce the amount of empty space in the tank. This reduces the amount of evaporation,gas evaporates very quickly when exposed to air. The large storage tanks have a floating top that goes down as the level goes down to minimze the amount of open space above the fuel. just my 2 cents

23.

mike
July 28th, 2008 at 10:18 am

Actually keeping the tank full should yield you better gas mileage or at least it does for me. I’m not talking about pumping a gallon a day but when my car gets is 3/4 -1/2 full I refill and it I get a better MPG average usually by 2-3 MPG. Over time it adds up, plus a my gas station is very conveniently located on my way home, not out of the way at all.

24.

Renie
July 28th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

IT really doesnt mater if to drive in Kiolmeters or MILES. YOU STILL BURN THE SAME AMOUNT OF FUEL!!!

25.

fer
July 28th, 2008 at 12:21 pm

you get more milles when you tank is full ask to a car factory not just to any mecanic

26.

cu2
July 28th, 2008 at 12:42 pm

Please learn English before posting comments. You are embarrassing yourself and no one knows what in the he*l you’re saying!

27.

billy
July 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

IF your car has a fuel injector system the fuel pump is in the gas tank and it is keep cool by the gas in the tank. When you run below 1/4 tank you lose that cooling and the pump will start to get hot and go bad. Soon you will be putting in a new fule pump at a few hundred $$ just to save a couple cents per gallon. This is not for me, I always fill up before the 1/4 tank level and never let the empty light come on.

28.

Frank
July 28th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

That sounds a bit like someone I knew back in the 70’s during the “gas shortage”. He thought that if he put 20″ tires on the front and 16″ tires on the front he would save gas by running downhill all the time

29.

Jamie
July 28th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

1. Why do some people insist on continuing to put PREMIUM gas into their vehicles in this time of crisis? Why do these same people complain about the cost of gas?!

2. I have talked with many people who are getting ready to buy houses ridiculously far away from their workplaces despite the fact that there are many nice and affordable homes to pick from within a two mile radius of their workplaces. These just happen to be the same people that complain about the traffic and the gas prices.

30.

Berty Wooster
July 28th, 2008 at 5:31 pm

Re post # 5 - If you used to drive mostly full or half full or even qtr full going below can cause your filter/injectors etc to get filled with all the junk that accumulated in your gas tank.
if you used to go low on regualr time that this should be just fine.
my 2c - full/empty/evefry day/every week doesn’t matter what you do the cost will turn to be about the same any way you slice it.
as for replacing car with another simple do the math as there are example for both ways. I for one would calcualte the cost over the next let say 5 years and see if it make sense or not base on this.
A friend replaced her Huge Car with small used compact in a trade and now is saving roughtly 2K a year, if all go well in 8-10 years from now she will save enough to get a new compact. compact are just fine for 2 adult + 2 kids, no reason to get a sedan or anything else.

31.

Ralph
July 28th, 2008 at 6:34 pm

I live in area where the roads have a slight grade, I normally average 33-35 mpg, but just recently I started coasting always down the downgrades ( I have a 5-speed tranny ) by doing this Ive increased my mileage to 41-44 mpg and lost very little travel time.

32.

MortgageAware
July 28th, 2008 at 7:32 pm

To answer the question: Why do some people insist on continuing to put PREMIUM gas into their vehicles in this time of crisis? Why do these same people complain about the cost of gas?!

I have heard this argument a lot. Putting premium is not about “better gas” as many think. Most of “sportier” type cars that are very common these days have what is called a “high compression” engine. What that means is that the gas vapor has to be compressed higher than it does in regular cars (the ratio is 11:1 vs. 9:1) so that when the gas vapor explodes, it will give a higher power out to make these sport cars go fast and with higher horse power. A premium gas has an octane of 91 and what that number means is that the gas can be compressed much higher than the regular gas before it explodes by the compression heat (and not by the injection sparks). If you put a regular gas in such engines, the engines will misfire before the proper compression has been reached and you will hear engine “pinging” which means it is running below its range of efficiency. Some car computers will adjust for the regular gas after a while, but then the whole point of buying a sportish car is completely moot if you cannot run it to its capacity.

33.

MortgageAware
July 28th, 2008 at 7:39 pm

Also, as for running close to empty, it is a big No No. When you have a car that has been running for a while, the gas tank has deposits of gas impurities and just dirt and filth at the bottom of the gas tank. When your fuel level drops very low, the gas pump will not only suck the gas to the engine, but it will also suck these filth into it as well so that the engine pipes can get clogged or the gas will burn with this stuff in it and you will get less efficiency. After a while of doing this, you will have done significant damage to the engine and will need engine re-cleaning or parts replacements which will be a killer expense and undo whatever gains’ you ‘think’ you got from running low on gas.

34.

Jerry
August 14th, 2008 at 11:15 pm

Ninety percent of drivers would steal gas? That seems high to me, but maybe I have my rose colored glasses on. Whatever gas is selling for, I can’t imagine stealing it… although it seems to happen at a lot of stations close to the freeway, so I guess not everyone is Citizen of the Year. Driving is really expensive now… fuel, car insurance, automobiles themselves. I think I’m leaning toward biking as much as possible, and brewing my own biofuels for when I do have to drive.
Jerry

35.

Joshua Watson
August 15th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

Anyone with an brains in their head can see the end of gas coming soon. There are so many other options out there…they seem far fetched but they are closer than not. I converted a $500 pick-up I bought last year to run on bio-diesel. It was just a hobby but, I get free gas simply by getting junk grease from Burger King 2x a week. I pay $0 per gallon. Hello people!

36.

Hidden Object
October 16th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

I`m liked that post. Author of this Blog also is good.
GUS is our future when we spend all fuel on planet Earth

37.

Bobby
November 16th, 2008 at 3:07 am

When gas prices are rising, you should gas up only when you really need to. When the gas prices are falling, you should refuel more frequently so you follow the downward trend more closely. If you drive a lot, then it doesn’t matter. If you don’t drive too much and only fill up twice a month, this practice can save you a couple dollars a month.

38.

Online Cash Advance
April 15th, 2009 at 1:05 pm

I love that you brought up buying a new car. Any hybrid is more expensive. So I think if you always planned to buy a hybrid, that sholuld be the only time you should buy one.

39.

Billy Cook
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm

I actually sold my car and take public transportation. Of course the price of gas wasn’t the only reason - I am lucky that the train is a 5 minute walk on both sides of my commute.

40.

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June 24th, 2009 at 8:41 am

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41.

syphon pumps
June 30th, 2009 at 11:32 am

I sold my car and I did the same as billy !