Gasoline Saving Tips

[CZinSC]

Found these on another forum:

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One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

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Carrying around the extra weight of at least half a tank of gas is much more painful than the non-existent loss of gas vaporizing in your tank. Modern vehicles have sealed evaporative emission systems - none of that vapor vents to the atmosphere when the system is working properly.

FWIW - if I drive my turbo Subaru how I like to (and how it should be), I get ~20mpg on winter gas (high corn-farse-ethanol BS), and about 24mpg in the summer. If old man Gundry drives it when we trade, he can get about 3-4mpg more by babying it. If I try my hardest, I only manage about 2mpg more than usual. The stress of driving like a Prius is not worth it IMO I tend to drive so that I am in the way of no one (above all else - it's my golden rule of traffic). Smoother is faster

My company car is a Prius, just got it last week after driving a Ford Fusion. I'll be the first to say that I was not thrilled with the new car. However, I drove down to Florida this past weekend with the girlfriend, I got about 46mpg. That was with driving 80-85mph most of the way. On the way back, I averaged 70mph, 46.1mpg. That was with three stops, so you can imagine if I didn't stop three times the avg mph would have been higher. I am thoroughly impressed. Also, it has a lot of pickup, which is really the most suprising thing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everyone should go buy one, I'm pretty darn sure that if it wasn't my company car, I wouldn't own one (mostly because I'm 6'4" tall and my right knee is in the console). I'm just saying it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. With that said, I'd still love to own/drive a nice Hemi powered car...gas prices be damned!

[GISMap]

They are always telling us to save fuel at work, but 3 gallons to the mile is the best I can get, although thats not too bad considering I am pulling 36 million pounds of coal.

[fastmtnbiker33w]

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

But ground temperature below a few feet is constant, so the air temp has nothing to do with the temp of the gasoline.

Matt is right. At about 6 feet, the temperature is the average temperature for the whole year for that region.

If you want to save gasoline, stop driving aggressively. My car is only rated for 20 mpg avg, but I get 25mpg all the way to 29mpg (average for a whole tank) just by changing driving behavior. No gimmicks, no special anything. Just changing behavior.

You are right about the underground temp staying constant. But where the Vigilante and I live, the above ground temps would make a HUGE difference. By the time the fuel made it through the pump and hose during an afternoon fill up, it would be several degrees warmer.

[GISMap]

Fuel pumps are accurate at any volume, pressure, and temperature. You're not getting robbed as long as they are calibrated. MT requires annual tests of all revenue meters (gas pumps, scales, etc.)

[Dan Hefta]

All I can say is... HEMI POWER!!! It's hard not to punch it once in a while!

[CHA-LEE]

There is a common misconception about putting the car into neutral and letting the engine idle as the car coasts will save gas. Most modern cars switch into a fuel deactivation mode when you enter an extended off throttle coasting condition. This means that there is ZERO fuel being burned when you are coasting while off the throttle and still in gear. When you put the gear into neutral the engine has to keep turning by burning fuel. You cam maximize this fuel deactivation process by keeping it in gear longer or downshifting as you slow down.

Another misconception is that using cruise control is more fuel efficient than manually maintaining a speed. Most cruise control systems only use the target set speed as its determining factor on manipulating the fueling of the engine. It can not predict the road conditions it may run into down the road and can only react to what it is exposed to. For example when you are driving and manipulating the throttle manually you can see what is coming up. If there is only a small hill to traverse you can gradually accelerate above your target speed before you get to the hill and then maintain a lower hold of the throttle so it does not down shift as you climb and pass over the hill. When you have the cruise control on the throttle is held in the same place until after you start climbing the hill and the speed starts to drop, then it overreacts and is forced to mash the throttle and down shift to maintain the target vehicle speed. If you are diligent in proactively managing the throttle and vehicle speed to eliminate downshifting events as well as maximizing off throttle events you can get far more MPG by not using cruise control.

As others have already said, the number one thing that can maximize your MPG are good driving habits. Your driving habits have a far greater affect on your vehicles MPG performance verses anything else.