Do you want to save more gas? Who doesn’t these days? But you want to make sure those measures you’re taking are actually working. Here are three more pieces of gas-saving advice that don’t actually increase your fuel efficiency.
4. Use Premium Gas
Many people have given the advice that premium gas gives your car better gas mileage. If you just bought a vehicle from your local GMC truck dealer, you might even notice that the manual says that premium fuel is “recommended.” But that doesn’t mean it’s necessary. The only thing that happens when you use regular instead of premium is that the engine automatically adjusts the spark plug timing. You might lose a little bit of horsepower as a result, but you won’t notice it unless you’re drag racing.
5. Fill ‘er Up in the Morning
One longtime gas myth is that you get more fuel if you get gas in the morning. People say that since colder liquids have a thicker density, you get more gas molecules while the weather is colder. This isn’t true. The gasoline temperature doesn’t really change throughout the day. As a result, you’re not really getting any more than you would later in the day.
6. Changing the Air Filter
This tops most lists of ways to save gas. But modern cars have sensors that adjust the fuel-air mixture according to the cleanliness of the air filter. The engine does lose a bit of power if the air filter gets extremely clogged, but the difference is really unnoticeable.
There you have it. Now you can tell people that they’re wrong when they tell you that you should use one of these ways to save gas. Isn’t it great when you know something that they don’t?
