Using regular octane gas is suffice in some vehicles, and provides the best performance. In my former 3.8L ‘92 Taurus, the added fuel economy I reached using 92 octane OUTWEIGHED it’s higher cost, and actually saved me money. My current 4.0L ‘98 Explorer get’s a fairly consistent 0.3 MPG extra burning 92 octane.. definitely NOT worth paying the extra dollar for. The “sweet spot” (velocity that gives you the best fuel economy) varies from car to car. Using 100% gasoline works in my Explorer. In my co-workers 4.3L (not sure of year) Blazzer, 90 gasoline – 10 ethanol works better. If you have a Prius, I’m sure that you don’t have to wait 2 minutes for it to be worth turning off. That’s just to mention a few faults with some different people have ideas.

I think the best advice in this article is number 21. You can experiment all you like with your vehicle, but if you don’t log it, how will you know what gives you the best fuel economy. Run Shell Bronze for a couple weeks.. then try Silver for a few more.. then try V-Power (that’s what they’re called in Canada, but I think you Americans might have different names, like “regular,” “added performance,” and “superior performance.) See which gets you best fuel economy, and then calculate your savings to see if it’s worth it. Then try Co-op fuel.. then Mohawk. Try 100% gas. Then try 90gas-10ethanol. Go 55MPH one week… 65 another… and 75 another. Etc, etc. Whatever you do, track it. See what get’s you the best fuel economy for your vehicle.

Peace,
Ryan

1–The most efficient speed depends on the vehicle. The gear ratio, size of engine, and configuration of engine all affect fuel economy and speeds. Engine efficiency depends on engine loads. A smaller engine that has to work harder than a larger engine in the same application can use more fuel. Smaller engines do not gurantee better fuel efficiency if they must work harder than a larger engine. Also an engine’s efficiency depends on how it is broke in. An engine that ran around town for the first 50K miles of its life probably won’t return the same efficiency as an engine that ran at 80 mph for it’s entire life on the highway.

2–Give the engine a few seconds to run before taking off. 15 seconds is fine for most situations. This lets the oil pump into all the journals and lubricate the whole engine before loading the bearings. Also this helps in an automatic transmission to lubricate that. In extreme cold, plug your vehicle in!

3–True but don’t lug your engine. Make sure it is running as slow as possible without overworking it.

4–If you are coasting and your engine is running over it’s idle speed, a modern engine is not injecting fuel into itself. If you put the transmission in neutral when coasting the engine is burning more fuel than if it were in gear. This is not true for an engine with a carburettor, only fuel injection.

5–The rule of thumb is 2 minutes. A startup uses as much fuel as idling for 2 minutes with no load.

6–All higher octane gasoline indicates is harder to detonate (spontaneously combust). If your engine has a higher compression ratio, use a little higher gasoline grade. Experiment with different grades of gas though, as some engines have anti-knock systems and a cheaper grade of gas will cause the engine to retard timing giving a loss of efficiency. Use the lowest grade of gas that will return the best fuel economy. Premium gasoline has just as many BTU’s in it as Regular gas.

7–Leave room for expansion. However your vehicle will use all the fuel in the tank. A modern engine uses a system to capture fuel vapors and burn them through the engine so you will not lose the fuel. Do be sure to make sure the fuel cap is sealed though. If not, you can get that pesky check engine light to come on.

8–True about the gas cap. Fuel does not change volume as it is stored in underground tanks and the temperature change in those tanks is minute—less than a degree in a day–which will not affect volume. Fuel stored in above ground tanks could change volume but not noticeably.

9– A car has a fuel pump mounted in a sump in the fuel tank. This is kept cool by the gasoline surrounding it, so it does help to prolong fuel pump life by keeping your vehicle above half tank, but fuel level does not affect fuel economy.

10 & 11. The rule of thumb for a/c is if it is above 45 mph, use the a/c. Below 45 mph, roll down the windows. A modern a/c unit uses much less power than the older models from yesteryears.

12–Good info.

13–Ditto

14–True. A defroster in a car uses the air conditioner compressor to dry the air, so it is the same as running the a/c in the summer. However, use the defroster and burn the fuel if you need as this only makes you a safer driver if you can see. The safety is worth the extra few dollars of fuel consumed per year.

15–Although the advice is good, the reasoning is wrong. Sunlight is always hard on a car. It works the a/c harder to cool the vehicle as well, however you do not use/lose more fuel due to evaporation. See #7.

16–Good info.

17–Good info. However be sure that the tires you put on your vehicle will be safe for all situations you plan to drive in. They tend to be a less aggressive tread desigh, giving poorer traction on less than ideal road conditions.

18–Can not stress enough. Keep your car maintained!

19–True enough, but every 3K for an air filter seems excessive. Check it there, but 10-15K is probably more realistic. This is shorter if you drive in extremely dirty conditions.

20–Good info. I might also suggest synthetics. I have had excellent luck with Amsoil. Also, synthetics have longer change intervals. 25K & up for some! Synthetics come in thinner viscosities as well. Fewer oil changes means less waste oil to handle. Easier on evironment!

21–Good information

22–Excellent advice if you can do it!