Posted on: Sunday, April 4, 2004
Soaring gas prices foster smart buying and driving
| • | What will it cost? |
By James R. Healey
USA Today
We'd have to pay an average $2.903 a gallon for unleaded regular gasoline to match the inflation-adjusted peak of $1.417 a gallon in March 1981.
But that's cold comfort when you fill up at Friday's national average of $1.755. (In Hawai'i, it was $2.126 for regular unleaded, according to the American Automobile Association.)
Big cuts in your bill require big steps, but smaller steps can help and give you some satisfaction.
• Shop around. But don't go nuts. You'll waste more fuel getting to a distant station than you'll recover paying a nickel less.
• Use lower octane. Octane isn't a measure of quality, but of how hard it is to ignite the gas. Higher-performance engines are tuned to get the most power from midgrade (89 octane) or premium (91 or 93 octane). But if your car is made to run on regular (about 87 octane), you're wasting money buying higher grades. Even if higher octane is recommended, your vehicle almost certainly will run without harm on lower-octane. The small loss in power won't be noticeable.
However, if your engine pings, knocks or rattles, it needs higher-octane fuel. And supercharged engines often won't abide lower octane. Turbo-charged engines often will, and even Porsche says its high-performance engines, often turbocharged, run OK on regular.
• Buy from busy stations. Fresh gas is less likely to be contaminated. But don't buy just after the underground tanks are filled; that stirs up muck from the bottom of the tank that can clog your fuel filter, making your engine run poorly.
• Don't buy gas containing ethanol. Using ethanol — alcohol made from grain — is considered a way to help farmers and can help cut pollution. For those reasons, some places require so-called gasohol. But ethanol contains only about two-thirds the energy of gasoline. Mixing it with gas forces you to use more to go the same distance.
• Tires. Check them using a quality, dial-type gauge, not unreliable pencil-style gauges or the ones mounted on the air hose.
Underinflated tires waste fuel and are unsafe, because the sidewalls flex more and generate heat. Overinflated tires are unsafe, too. They put less tread on the road, degrading steering, braking and cornering.
The right inflation pressure is listed in the owner's manual or on the driver's doorjamb. Don't use the figure printed on the sidewall of the tire — that's the maximum it will safely hold.
Check tires when they're cold. A few miles of driving builds heat and increases the pressure enough to give a false reading.
• Engine. Make sure you have changed spark plugs and filters according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
• Avoid short trips. An engine uses more fuel when cold than when warmed up, so combine errands when possible.
• Drive gently. Hard acceleration uses more gas.
• Drive something else. Scooters or mopeds give you 60 to 80 mpg, sometimes more. Regular motorcycles also use less fuel than cars and trucks. But don't consider a two-wheeler without taking a rider safety course.
Diesel-powered cars and trucks get 20 percent to 40 percent better fuel economy than gasoline models.
Volkswagen sells the only diesel cars in the United States, but Mercedes-Benz is introducing an E-class diesel this month that's good for about 30 mpg overall.
Diesels cost more than gas models, and diesel fuel is sold by fewer than half of service stations.
Gas-electric hybrids combine gas engines with electric motors to deliver 50 mpg or so. (A conventional Civic or Corolla can get 30-plus mpg around town, 40-plus on the highway.) Hybrids switch between power plants as needed and have a charging system to keep the electric motor always available.
Choices are limited, though: the Honda Insight two-seater, Honda Civic hybrid, Toyota Prius.
Later this year, expect hybrid versions of Ford Escape and Lexus RX SUVs and Honda Accord. Hybrids get a $1,500 federal tax deduction this year. That shrinks by $500 a year.
• Don't drive at all. Work at home. Walking, biking or mass transit also eliminate fuel bills.
• On the Web
Ignore devices or formulas that promise big gains in fuel economy. Most don't work; others are harmful. Often they void your warranty. By law, ordinary gasoline has additives that clean fuel injectors and minimize carbon deposits on the engine's valves.
