3 Possible Gas Saving Scams

MA-Caver

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With gas prices rising and threatening to bust the $5.00 a gallon mark any time now there are many ways to help us improve our gas milage.
These three are typical ways of NOT to do it.
Read the full article but here is some snippets...
Save Gas Without Losing Your Shirt: 3 Gas Saving Devices with High Scam Potential
Author picture Written by Nick Chambers
Published on May 29th, 2008
Posted in Fuel economy, Hydrogen, Offbeat
Since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, oil prices have jumped from $28 per barrel to over $130, with most of that rise occurring in the last year. This fact is made even more stark considering that for all of the last century prior to the current meteoric rise, crude oil prices have averaged about $20 per barrel (adjusted for inflation).

Economists and pundits continue to tussle over who or what is to blame for this, and I could hypothesize about how we’re all being taken to the cleaners by corporate greed, but that’d be a waste of energy, no? The important issue is that fuel costs have gone past the “arm-and-a-leg” stage and are now approaching “firstborn son.”

So, while I’d love to say that hydrocarbon fuel prices don’t matter because we’ve entered the hybrid-biofuel- electric-fuel-cell-hydrogen society, the reality is that I need a fix for my old jalopy quick… and what better place to start than a perusal of some of the spectacular deals to be had on the internet?
Full article here. http://gas2.org/2008/05/29/save-gas...-gas-saving-devices-with-high-scam-potential/
Presently the only things I'm doing to help save/improve my fuel economy is 1. driving highway speeds at least 55 mph and in town to just a couple miles per hour under the posted speed limit of whatever street I'm on, 2. putting in Lucas' Fuel Injector Cleaner with every fill up (which is RARE now-a-days) because I drive a 91 Jeep with the original engine and it's well over 250K in miles so helping to keep the valves, rings, pistons and fuel intake cleaner goes a good way to keeping my engine lasting longer and it does help fuel economy... not much but every little bit/drop counts. 3. Not driving that much unless I have to and adding up all my errands in one run. 4. Car-pooling whenever possible.

Nice little habits to pick up and I reckon some of us who can remember the "energy crisis" of the 70's might be grateful that we've learned these little tricks to save gas.
 

terryl965

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Me I just try not to drive and we use the wife car it is small but at 30 mpg it is better than the van.
 

Kacey

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A few other tips:

Check your tire pressure; tires that are too low can reduce your mileage several percent

Use your air conditioning only when you have to, unless you're driving at freeway speeds; you get better mileage with the windows open than the AC on up to about 40 mph.

These,and some other reasonable tips can be found here.

I found this tip particularly interesting, as I habitually back into parking spaces when possible, especially at work - for exactly the reason they give; it's really hard to see getting out, the parking lot is tight - and, in addition, people picking their kids up at school are often in a hurry that makes them dangerous.
64) Parking tactics: reverse in

If you have no pull-through spots to choose from, reverse in when arriving, instead of driving in when warm and backing out/turning around when the vehicle is cold and fuel economy is at its worst.

Also note that reversing into a flow of traffic is riskier (and therefore much slower and less efficient) because you may not have a clear view until your vehicle's back end is well out of the space.
 

Brian R. VanCise

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I am trying to consolidate my trips. Particularly to and from the Training Hall, stores, etc. I am also now riding my bike to the Training Hall or riding a moped. It costs exactly around $5.50 to fill up my moped and get way over fifty miles on that fill up. So that is what I am trying to do.
 

mrhnau

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2. putting in Lucas' Fuel Injector Cleaner with every fill up (which is RARE now-a-days) because I drive a 91 Jeep with the original engine and it's well over 250K in miles so helping to keep the valves, rings, pistons and fuel intake cleaner goes a good way to keeping my engine lasting longer and it does help fuel economy... not much but every little bit/drop counts.
Out of curiosity, do you think the price of the cleaner offsets the price of the fuel saved? I wonder at what point it makes a difference? I know it will probably extend the engine life, I'm just curious what the short term savings are... I've got a truck with 130k+ miles on it, so I might consider something like that...
 
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MA-Caver

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Out of curiosity, do you think the price of the cleaner offsets the price of the fuel saved? I wonder at what point it makes a difference? I know it will probably extend the engine life, I'm just curious what the short term savings are... I've got a truck with 130k+ miles on it, so I might consider something like that...

Well consider the savings you'll have by just extending the engine life. The cleaner I get at Wallyworld for around two bucks a 16 oz bottle but I do notice a difference in engine performance when I don't have it in. Lucas is suppose to be a very good brand and I put in a quart of their Oil Stabilizer at my last oil change, the mechanic looked at the bottle I gave him and nodded in quiet agreement with me for doing so.
So I figure as long as I don't have to shell out for repairs on the engine (which I canna afford anyway) better to take care of it.
 

Tez3

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Well consider the savings you'll have by just extending the engine life. The cleaner I get at Wallyworld for around two bucks a 16 oz bottle but I do notice a difference in engine performance when I don't have it in. Lucas is suppose to be a very good brand and I put in a quart of their Oil Stabilizer at my last oil change, the mechanic looked at the bottle I gave him and nodded in quiet agreement with me for doing so.
So I figure as long as I don't have to shell out for repairs on the engine (which I canna afford anyway) better to take care of it.


Sorry I know nothing about cars but was struck by this. There really is a Wallyworld?
 

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1 word for you...

MOTORCYCLE.

Im getting close to 50mpgs and I fill up at current gas prices with midgrade for about 15 bucks a tank.

Hate the rain tho. :)
 
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MA-Caver

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Here is some good gas saving tips... from ABC News dot com...

'Hypermiling' to Save Big on Gas
Change the Way You Drive, Save Money on Gas
By BILL WEIR June 11, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/PainAtThePump/story?id=5049115&page=1
Take a spin with John Flory on a glorious summer day and you'll notice a certain focus from the Yale lab supervisor. He ignores the Connecticut countryside and sprawling homes, eyes fixed on the road and his miles per gallon gauge. "Going downhill is kinda like road candy," he smiles. "Here's some free miles per gallon for you."
 

punisher73

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Your car is not set to run at "optimal" performance when it leaves the factory. One method is to buy an aftermarket chip and have it programed so your engine will run with the highest MPG's it can get. Usually people program it the other way and have it run the highest HP they can get.

Tire pressure, clean engine, high flow air filter are some easy ways to get a little bit more out of your gas mileage as well.

I think MANY people that live close to work are either going to start biking in or buying a moped/scooter. There are some models of them that get around 100 MPG!!!
 

Kacey

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Here is some good gas saving tips... from ABC News dot com...

I tried some of the tips on the link I posted earlier in this thread, and I've improved my mileage noticeably - not nearly as much as the article Caver quoted suggests is possible - but 2.5 mpg is a good start.
 

zDom

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Extend engine life? I'm wondering if vehicles on the road now will end up outliving oil reserves with the way China, India and Russia are increasing their consumption ...

:(
 
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MA-Caver

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Extend engine life? I'm wondering if vehicles on the road now will end up outliving oil reserves with the way China, India and Russia are increasing their consumption ...

:(
Probably will... which is why we need to quit farting around and get on the ball with developing alternative fuels and engine modifications to accommodate said fuels. But greed (the love of money) still reigns in a capitalistic country.
 

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