What are you doing to save fuel $$

upnover

upnover

Grumpy, decrepit Old Man
Moderator
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Morganton NC
Fuel costs are on everyones mind. While we can't do a lot about what it costs a gallon, we do have some control on how we use it.
Things I have thought about to save:

Car pooling for work, old concept, but one that does save.

Buying extra at the store. For example, when grocery shopping, buy two weeks worth instead of one weeks worth. Things like bread, milk and so on can be bought "on your way home" to save an extra trip.

Pay on line if not already doing so. Most places you can even phone in your payment using a credit card, or check card.

Sign up for direct deposit if you don't already have it, and if your employer offers it.

Running with out the AC when you can.

Of course the old tune up, to make your ride get better MPG's

Tires inflated to right amount for less Resistance.

Clean cars have less drag than a dirty one.

Plan trips out and about, to get them more in line and not back track.

When buying parts off of NC4X4 use the forum for hauling. I recently bought a T case. 89wrangler was headed that way and picked it up for me. Even brought it to my door. I saved a bunch in fuel costs. I threw him an extra $20, save me, saved him, both winners.


OK let's hear your Ideas!
 
I drive my beat up old honda instead of my 2500 chevy to work everyday. 150 in fuel vs 40 in fuel.
 
WVO/diesel 50-50 mix. saving me about $60 a week.

Not sure what I am going to do this winter. Maybe a small gas beater
 
The Excursion is parked and the Taco is getting some miles.
 
Savign $ Tips

Keep driving my old POS Saturn w/315K miles....still rollin' & no car payments...only liability insurance

Find the cheapest gas and fill up...especially if you can get over the state line in VA...last weekend I saw $3.69/gal unleaded in VA vs $3.85 at Walmart in GBO here...

Also, some places have cheaper prices for using their gas card...flying J etc or paying in cash.

Brown bag it to lunch...saves a ton!! Closer to home vacations...if any. Buy the Cheaper :beer: ....

Nickel & Dime everybody on here selling me parts...Thanks y'all...!!!
 
started SUVpooling to work with drkelly

parked my diesel ram (15mpg), starting driving the XJ regularly (20mpg), figured at current prices, that is saving at least $60 in fuel.
 
Since I get decent MPGs on my DD, hasn't been too painful (yet).
However, after the drive to MD, I got to thinking bout this.

I'm going to change the 5th gear in my Mazda to a lower ratio, dropping highway RPMs by about 500 rpms. Word on the street is, saves ~mpg (on this car).

Slowing down on highway is the big one... but hardest to do!

I read something saying UPS routes are now heavily biased to favor right-hand vs left-hand turns at lights. Less time waiting to turn = less idle = less fuel.
Negligible for you and me, but on 100k vehicles, it adds up!
 
I throw the manual tranny TJ into neutral when I see a red light as far away from the red light as possible.

We have been talking for quite a while about getting my wife a new-to-us vehicle. Now I'm trying to talk her into a Subaru instead of a Grand Cherokee.
 
Bought a Trans Am as a DD.. gets 21-25 vs the 12 with the new truck, and 15 (diesel) of the old truck.. :D

When you're coming from the teens, anything in the 20's is a huge improvement! (and I don't have to spend almost 10% of my waking day sitting in something I hate like some of the econoboxes I looked at..)

Wife and I also carpool 1 day a week.

BTW, putting it into neutral might not save you any gas... when you're at 0% throttle (like decelerating), most EFI systems cut the fuel completely off.
 
- Park my Dodge CTD (Only driven when necessary now)
- Carpooling to work with RenegadeT
- Shopping at Sam's Club in bulk (Previously making multiple trips to the high priced grocery store 5 miles down the road)
- Bought one of those vaccum food saver things so you can buy large quantities of meat and then freeze it
- Packing my lunch (Been doing this since before gas prices increased)
- Checked air pressure in tires
- Attempt to combine trips to stores etc
 
I drive this:

awww.impaks.com_images_ken_vw_100_2525.jpg


it is a '73 that gets decent gas mileage..
I have no real numbers since odometer does not work.. but I can go for over a week with out filling up.. and and when I do fill up I can only get 7 gallons in the tank :)

Plus it is just FUN to drive :)
 
Sold the Excursion and bought the wife a Scion (12mpg vs 29mpg) saves $250 month.

Driving 2.5L YJ to work vs the truck. saves $120 month.

Installing a HHO or Brown's gas setup on the YJ this weekend. Hope to pick up an extra 6-7mpg (IF) this works will save another $40 month.

Trying to schedule weekend running to combine neccessary trips.

Looking to buy a 30MPG beater to drive to work.
 
i don't do anything.

i still drive her hard and put her up wet.

gas prices suck but i'll be damned if i'm going to change my lifestytle because of it....
 
i drive a 86 gt mustang,i've been learing to go light on the skinny pedal,also took the big ole 17" cobra wheels off and went back to the stk 16" wheels,smaller and lighter,but on driving with the a/c off,i read somewhere that by rolling the windows down it cause more drag so that probably evens out in the long run
 
I pretty well drive the limit instead of 5 to 7 over. My F250SD/5.4 has a very noticeable MPG diff from 60 to 70mph.

Last week I cleaned out my truck and took out about 500lbs of stuff that I usually have with me....tools, chains, etc, etc.
 
tusk762 said:
took the big ole 17" cobra wheels off and went back to the stk 16" wheels,smaller and lighter
Click to expand...

are you saying you took off the cobra wheels for gas mileage? or were their other reasons behind the swap?

:driver:

-Erik <---- seems to recall a funny story, hehe
 
not much. I only get 15-17 MPG, and I always have to drive out to the girlfriends house anyways...

And when we (me and the girlfriend) go anywhere, we cant really switch out cars for gas mileage because both of ours get the same (that dodge intrepid is NOT a gas saver..)
 
Not all of this is fuel $ related, but it is all $ savings related:

-Ride my bike to work at least 4 days a week.

-Bike to grocery store, friends houses, etc. I've managed to reduce my driving to less than 100 miles/week over the past 5 months. (Average. Two trips to Vancouver were not factored in as others in the car contributed to fuel costs.)

-Definitely keeping a closer eye on tire pressure, and keeping excess weight from gathering in the trunk.

-Limiting my food budget. Not my eating habits so much as the food choices. Shopping at Trader Joes, the co-ops, and the discount grocer has all helped lower my food costs.

-Making a schedule of which bars/resturants have specials and on what night. If I wanted to, I could eat out every night of the week, at a different place for under $6/night...including beer.

-Cutting back on the :beer:. Helps both the wallet and the fitness.

- Obviously the weather/location are large factors, but for Ive managed to only turn the heat on about a half dozen times since the beginning of March.

-Dishwasher is only run once a week or so. Washer/dryer, maybe twice a week. Also Ive cut back drastically on the number of showers I take a week at the house. Lately, its been about 3/week at home. My gym has fantastic facilities and Im there working out anyways, so Ive rearranged my schedule so that my workouts are at the end day. Jump in the shower when finished and Im good to go for the next morning. This also saves a bit of time (better spent sleeping) in the mornings.

ehh....ya get the idea
 
Erik said:
are you saying you took off the cobra wheels for gas mileage? or were their other reasons behind the swap?
:driver:
-Erik <---- seems to recall a funny story, hehe
Click to expand...

no i took off all the cobra wheels this weekend,not just the one that ate the curbing for supper:flipoff2:
 
My Duramax powered '03 Silverado is my DD. Already had the tonneau. Added a winter grill cover to block air, raise heat for higher combustion efficiency, filled tires to 80 psi, ease up on the speed....I go the Speed limit or under. I got 18.9 all around on my last 8 tanks doing this.

I just started with Diesel Kleen additive and cleaned my MAF sensor. I am shooting for 20 mpg all arround with what amounts to pretty simple changes. I don't know yet what if any improvements will occur with the last two items. I'll be happy if I can get 20 out of a 6,000lb truck.
 
94yj4.0 said:
my YJ is my DD...so i guess all i can do is just slow down. never run the a/c unless absolutely necessary, but usually i have the windows out. if you take all the windows out does it cuts down on drag? :lol:
Click to expand...

It might increase drag, unless you also take out the rear side windows AND the rear window. Air flows in and can't get out.

On that note, I've noticed my 4Runner gets the best MPGs w/ the top ON, side windows closed, verses top off or top off w/ bikini.
 
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