Gas Mileage Expenses – How to Budget the Costs and Bust the Myths
Knowing your gas mileage expenses is critical if you want to save money on gas. This is especially critical if you're on a tight budget, like most of us!
There are a lot of gas mileage myths too, that might make you thinking you’re getting better mileage than you actually are. With gas prices fluctuating so much in recent years, a simple equation can start you on your way to better mileage estimates.
 The price of gas has soared more than 60% since December of 2008. With that in mind, more people are looking to maximize mileage out of the vehicles they’re driving. With further price fluctuations predicted for some time to come, it’s important to know how to estimate and extend your mileage. To save money on gas and cut down on mileage expenses, you will need to know how many miles your vehicle gets per gallon. Figuring it out isn't hard. You just need a few simple numbers to know your MPG! As gas prices fluctuate however, you will need to repeat the process every time prices change, unless they are minimal changes.
The cost of gas alone is only a part of your mileage expenses planning. You will also need to factor in lodging, meals, maps, and other vehicle costs, like oil or windshield washer fluid. You also need to bust the myths about gas mileage to save money! Mileage Myth - If your owner's manual says 'premium fuel recommended,' you must use premium gas! (Otherwise, you'll ruin your car by filling it up with regular.) Mileage Truth - Unless you're driving really, really fast everyday, using regular gas in a car that says premium fuel is merely a recommendation. You can use regular gas which can save you around 25¢ per gallon. Note: There is no legitimate need to ever put premium fuel in your vehicle. Using regular gas could cost you a few horsepower when you're driving at higher speeds but chances are, you won't even notice the difference, and it definitely won't hurt your car. Your engine's fuel-management system is perfectly prepared to handle lower-octane fuel. On the other hand, switching to regular gas in a car for which premium fuel is 'required' (as it often is for a few high-performance luxury rides that you and I don't drive), could cause noticeable knocking. Over time, that could lead to faster engine wear. Those cases aside, just how much could switching to regular gas save you on gas mileage expenses? The national average price per gallon recently was $2.68 for regular gas, versus $2.94 for premium gas. A long road trip could account for four fill-ups of about 20 gallons each, meaning you'd save around $21 by using regular gas over premium. Mileage Myth - In the summer, you should only buy gas at night or early in the morning when the gas is cold. Because cold gas is denser, you'll get more fuel for your money. Mileage Truth - Buying cold gas is a lot harder than it sounds, and the potential savings are scarcely worth it. Consumer Reports tested this theory using their own underground tank, similar to those used by gas stations. They found that it's surprisingly hard to accurately predict whether a given tankful of gas will be cold or warm. For starters, if gas was a given temperature when it was delivered from the tanker truck, it tended to stay that temperature, even after it had been delivered. Not only that, but the first gas to be pumped in a given day could be warm because a certain amount of gas collects in the above-ground pump. So even if you manage to be the first customer of the day, you might still be buying warm gas. After all that, even if you're successful in buying cold gas, the difference in density is so slight; perhaps a maximum of 1% per fill-up, that the savings are at best, marginal. Mileage Myth - Shopping around for cheaper gas is seldom worth the extra fuel you burn up trying to find it. Mileage Truth - It's easy to find where the cheapest gas stations are online, and crossing state lines when you can saves plenty of money on mileage expenses. The AAA's TripTik Travel Planner not only gives you point-to-point driving directions, but also allows you to highlight gas stations along your route, including frequently updated gas prices for each location. You'll have to zoom in to get a detailed view of your route, but using the tool allows you to plan where to stop for gas ahead of time instead of roaming around looking for good prices. You don't even have to be an AAA member to use the tool. Planning ahead, especially on an interstate road trip, can save you a significant amount of money because of different state taxes on gas. Some states with the lowest average cost per gallon are next door to some of the highest-cost states, such as New Jersey and New York. The recent New Jersey average price per gallon was $2.56 for regular versus $2.85 in New York. If you're already planning to cross the George Washington Bridge, then, you should plan to buy gas on the New Jersey side, where a full tank will cost almost $6 less, which will almost help pay the $8 toll for the bridge.
The simple truth is that easing up on ultra fast accelerations and not constantly weaving in and out of traffic, will save you more money than puttering along at 55. Mileage Myth - A car with a manual transmission (gears) will always get better mileage than an automatic, and save you money on mileage expenses. Mileage Truth - Newer automatic transmissions get the same highway mileage as manual transmission, or even slightly better in some instances. Following previous gas hikes, there was a rush on cars with manual transmissions because at that time, they got better mileage than automatics did. However, that's less true now, especially at today's top highway speeds. Older three-speed automatics had to work a lot harder at highway speeds than today's 4 or 5 speed automatics. Newer automatics produced in the last few years have an 'overdrive' top gear that reduces an engine's RPM's at higher speeds which saves money on mileage expenses. When driving in the city at slower speeds, manual transmissions tend to get better gas mileage, but on the highway and long driving trips, your automatic may get as good or even slightly better mileage than a manual. Mileage Myth - To save gas, open the car's windows and shut off the air conditioning. Mileage Truth - At higher speeds, leaving the windows open increases wind resistance so much that you'll probably wipe out any gain on mileage expenses from shutting off the air-conditioning. Air conditioning does burn up gas, which is why it's recommended that you at least turn down the AC as much as possible. Reducing AC usage when the temperature is above 80° can save up to 10% - 15% on mileage expenses. At speeds above 50 miles per hour, lowering your windows increases wind resistance so much that you're better off closing them and turning on the AC to a moderate temperature. It's also good to remember that once a car is cool inside, it takes a lot less energy to keep it cool. Some of the best AC-related mileage boosting you can do occurs when the car's not moving. When it's steamy outside, park in the shade when possible. Last year, AAA reported, 37.8 million Americans hit the road for a summer vacation, which is a 10.5% decline from the 42.3 million travelers who vacationed in 2007. The rapid decline in leisure travel is mainly due to ongoing uncertainty about the strength of the economy. This is due to the rapid rate of unemployment and declining personal income. The recent gas fluctuations in gasoline prices may also cause some travelers to limit holiday and/or vacation plans, although its impact on overall vacation costs remains minimal. Mileage expenses are hard to predict when gas fluctuations happen so quickly and seem to be on-going. Saving money when and where you can will help you get better gas mileage and help predict the amount of money you need for gas in the coming months.
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