I'm not sure how true  this is but it had a few new tips for me.  SC

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS...

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... But here in
California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. But my
line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some
tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon.

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we
deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.
One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and
premium grades.  We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of
16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the
ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the
more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying
in the after noon  or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a
gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the
temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other
petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the
service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a
fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)
stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low speed,
thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping.
All hoses at  the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the
fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those
vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so
you're getting less  worth for your money.

One of the most i mporta nt tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF
FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in
your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates
faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal
floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and
the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service
stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature
compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage
tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline
is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up
some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.  Hope this will
help you get the most value for your money.

I disagree about downshifting uses more fuel in my opinion. Before we moved down here to Savannah, I was getting 35-37 mpg in the Scirocco. That was almost all highway driving at 70mph and around 3200rpm then coasting down hills or up to red lights. I never downshifted since I did not want to bring the rpms back up. Down here I'm mostly city driving and getting 28-30 mpg. The Scirocco is rated from new to get 23 city/29 hwy. I have my tires inflated to 35 psi, except for the one wheel that has a slow leak which I add more about every three days to keep it even with the rest.

I have to agree that the biggest opportunity for most of us to simply change our driving habbits.  Go easy on the gas and drive like you don't have brakes . . . keep an eye out ahead and try to time the lights . . . sometimes speeding up a little will get you through the light before it turns, but if you know you're going to get caught, try to slow down soon enough that you don't come to a complete stop.  Getting a stationary vehicle moving takes a lot more energy than slowly accelerating a rolling vehicle.

My old Buick Reatta had a fuel use computer on it.  I could usually squeeze 28-30 mpg average out of it by monitoring the instant mpg.  If anyone else in the family drove it, it got 19-20 mpg.  If I had tuned it up and aired the tires up correctly, I probably could have gotten 32 or more out of it.

Most cars get their best mileage between 50 and 55 mph. Anything over that, and you're losing about 5% to 10% for every 5 mph. When I had the "instant mileage" computer in the Sebring every 5 mph over 55 was losing me a couple of miles per gallon over the same stretch of the "Soddybahn" where I'd compare day to day. Another interesting thing to note is that the decrease is geometric due to the increasing wind resistance. Get it over 70 and it really starts dropping off! I think about that when I see some 2.5 ton sport-ute zipping by me at about 80 and wonder if the driver bitches about their $100 fill-ups! :shock:

Am I not keeping up, or is the cost increase much more a function of increased demand rather than supply? I haven't heard a word about a "shortage" of oil, just the amount we are using!

Drive 55 on 5/5! Slow down and save.