What are your options when there are so many different crackpot methods online? Just today we saw a television news station advising drivers to fill up their gas tanks in the morning when gas is cooler and more condensed, as a way of getting more for your money. Liquids do take up less volume when they are cold, but this advice is not going to make a massive difference to your gas bill.

This outdated advice may have been true once-we don’t know for sure-but we do know that today gas stations store fuel below ground in 30,000-gallon tanks. What this means is that the gas will remain at near a contsant temperature so that daily cycles will not cause it to expand or contract.

We’ve seen all sorts of other bad advice that’s outdated, ill-advised or just outright fraud. Claims that devises which bleed air into the carburetor can dramatically increase gas mileage turn out not to be true when put to the test under closely monitored conditions.

Face it-with a long-term gas crises looming ahead, there are plenty of governmental bodies and even private industries that have good reason to want to help you save on gas. So counting down, here are the top 10 tips that you can use to really help save money on gas and reduce consumption:

10. Keep your tires properly inflated according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Under inflated tires make the vehicle run less efficiently and waste gas. In fact, it can be estimated that for every 1lb of under inflation, you could be losing up to 5% of your gas mileage.

9. Don’t be an aggressive driver. Jackrabbit starts, tire screeching stops and speeding can lower your gas mileage by 5% on city streets and as much as 33% on highways. Try to look ahead and see where you may need to slow down or stop, this way you can take your foot off the pedal and allow the car to coast and slow naturally.

8. Avoid excessive idling. You waste a gallon of gas for every 15 minutes your car is left idling. If you can, time your journeys so that you avoid sitting forever at traffic lights and try and cut the time you need for your car to warm up. In warm weather, driving is actually the most efficient way to warm up a combustion engine. Idling is the worst thing you can do – you get zero miles to the gallon if your car is running but not moving!

7. Slow down. The faster you go, the less efficiently your vehicle uses gas. 55 is the most efficient mph on highways. Go above 60 and your fuel efficiency decreases rapidly.

6. Remove excess weight. If you’re used to driving around with your golf clubs and a chain saw in your trunk, you’re paying a heavy price for it. Removing an extra 100 pounds from your car will increase your fuel efficiency by as much as 2%.

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Gas Saving Tip #1: Convert your car to a Hydrogen Hybrid.
If you have done any research online within the past year on gas saving tips you have probably ran across websites offering Hydrogen Kits for cars and trucks. These are DIY kits that can be built for less then $100 using parts found at your local Home Depot. If you are not familiar with these kits I highly recommend checking them out. Many people claim to increase their gas mileage by 35 – 40%.

Gas Saving Tip #2: Keep your tires properly inflated.
Buy a quality tire gauge and check the pressure of your tires. Make sure they are inflated according to the manufactures recommendations. Under inflated tires require additional horsepower to rotate, thus consuming more gas. Most cars list the recommend tire pressure on a plate on the inside driver’s door. If you cannot locate it their it will be listed in the owner’s manual.

Gas Saving Tip #3: Lighten up your load by removing unnecessary weight.
Don’t go crazy and rip out your back seats or the insulation but get rid of anything in your trunk, glove box or in the back of your car that you absolutely don’t need. Shedding off weight allows your engine to not work as hard to accelerate the car forward thus using less fuel. This won’t be a huge savings unless you make it a habit of keeping your trunk full of crap – but every bit helps and will add up.

Gas Saving Tip #4: Slow down Mario Andretti
Accelerating aggressively forces your vehicle to use maximum gas to achieve your desired speed. Many test have proven that gradual acceleration has a significant impact on your gas consumption so slow down and see what kind of saving you achieve.

Gas Saving Tip #5: Turn on cruise control when you can.

You will get your best mileage when using your cruise control but only is you are traveling on a straight road without hills. If there is minimal traffic and you are on a long stretch of highway then turn it on and reap the rewards. Using cruise control in high traffic or roads with hill will have the opposite effect due to the car constantly accelerating/de-accelerating to maintain your set speed.

Gas Saving Tip #6: Fill up at the coolest time of day.
Fuel is denser when it’s cool so filling up in the morning or late evening will allow more fuel in your tank.

Gas Saving Tip #7: Remove bicycle or ski racks when not being used.
Not only will removing the extra weight help but more important you will be reducing the drag making your vehicle more aerodynamic. This could have a significant savings over a long trip.

Gas Saving Tip #8: How about carpooling?
This is not always the preferred method due to inconvenient sometimes, but it’s the single most efficient way to reduce your monthly fuel cost.

Gas Saving Tip #9: Cash in by getting a credit card with 5% rebates on gas,
Here is an easy way to knock off 5% off your fuel cost by using it for all your fill ups.

Gas Saving Tip #10: Give your car a tune up.

This is only beneficial if your vehicle is due for a tune-up so don’t go out and spend money on a tune up if you just had one several thousand miles ago.

Gas pricing got you worried…not me. I discovered a way to lower my fuel cost and increase my mileage by 40%. Discover how and watch informative videos here

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If you have a perfectly good vehicle, then spending $25k on a new hybrid car just so you can save $10 when you fill up at the pump might not be such a good deal.

Also, if you’re not the type that wants to install any of those “gas saving” devices in your car, then this list is for you.

Whether or not you have any mechanical skills, you can use these no brainier methods to start saving money on gas right now – even if you don’t know how to change a tire.

1 – Get A Gas Card

Want a tip that will save you money every single time you fill up at the pump no matter what vehicle you drive? It’s a gas card. Just about every major gas station offers their own brand of gas credit card that will allow you to save 3-5% on all your gas purchases at their gas stations. Forget about the branded gas cards and get one that will save you 5% on gas no matter where you fill up, like the Discover Open Road Card. Just remember, pay it off every month or it won’t save you any money.

Saving 5% off every gallon of gas means that $3/gallon gas now costs only $2.85 and $4/gallon becomes $3.80. If you have a 25 gallon tank, you’d save $3.75 every time you filled up ($3/gallon gas).

A lot of people use a credit card when filling up at the pump anyway since it’s easy and convenient. You may as well get a gas card so it’s easy, convenient, and saving you money.

2 – Avoid Aggressive Driving

Hitting the gas hard when the light turns green and braking hard will make your car drink gas faster than a drunk at an open bar at a wedding. If you were to drive away from a stop at a more moderate pace, accelerate in traffic more slowly, and anticipate when you’re going to need to brake ahead of time so you can do so slowly, you’re going to save a lot of gas – up to 37% – about the same buying a hybrid car but this tip won’t cost you anything. (oh yeah, it’s safer too)

3 – Use Your Cruise Control

Personally, I won’t buy a car if it doesn’t have cruise control, since it means I don’t have to worry so much about keeping my speed constant. However, cruise control also had the added benefit of saving you gas too. On average, you’ll save about 7% more gas than if you don’t use cruise control.

4 – Slow Down

Sure, going fast can be fun. It can also get you a nice collection of speeding tickets, but more importantly, the faster you drive the more gas you use. I’m not saying that you need to drive like your grandmother, but slowing down from 75 to 65 can you 12% on you gas bill, and unless you’re driving across the country, the time difference in getting where you’re going will be minimal.

5 – Stop Idling

Having the car running when it’s not moving wastes gas.

I remember being taught when I was first learning to drive that you should let your car warm up for a few minutes before driving it anywhere when it’s cold outside. While that may be true for older cars, modern cars don’t need warm up time before being ready to drive. Don’t drive like a maniac (see #2) before you car is completely warmed up and you’ll be fine.

If you going to be sitting and waiting some place without moving for more than about a minute, turn off the engine. It probably goes without saying that if you can avoid rush hour traffic, you should.

Also, one great place to sit and waste gas is your local fast food drive-thru. Get off your lazy butt, get out of your car and go inside to get your food.

6 – Plan Ahead

Instead of driving to the gym, going home, driving to work, driving home, driving to the store, and then home again, start combining trips whenever possible. This is really easy to do if you just think ahead. Avoid just spontaneously hopping in the car and driving to the store to pick up some milk and eggs. Think about what else you can do if you’re going to be out running errands anyway so that you can avoid another trip later.

5 You got legs – use’em

Really want to save money on gas? Then use your legs. A lot of trips aren’t really that far, and while it takes a little longer to walk somewhere than to drive there, it’s a good chance to get outside, get some fresh air and get some exercise in the process. It’s really not necessary to drive absolutely everywhere unless you happen to live in the middle of nowhere. So get yourself a comfortable pair of tennis shoes and start walking instead of driving when you can.

Also, a bicycle is a nice compromise between the two, and can actually be faster to get some places than a car. I remember when I was in college and moved off campus – although we lived almost 2 miles from campus, it was a lot faster for me to take my bicycle to go to class than to take my car.

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