Several Myths of Saving Gas Revealed

May 31, 2008

As the economy continues to struggle with inflation and a cautious job market, the prices of commodities and consumables continue to rise. Of all the resources that people rely on the most, perhaps nothing other than gas is at the top of everybody’s minds. As such, more and more people are turning to whatever they can do to save gas, which includes heeding some incorrect advice. Working towards correcting that end, experts have debunked the myths and present the honest facts regarding them.

One of the prevailing myths of saving gas involves filling your tank in the early morning. The belief regarding this is that the cold temperature of the fuel in the morning means that it is more dense, and as such, it contains more gas molecules. However, this is incorrect, since the fluid coming out of the nozzle varies very little during the course of a day. Consumer Reports has reported on this myth and subsequently debunked it

Another myth is that changing the air filter of a vehicle will improve gas mileage. While this might have been true at one point, all modern engines now contain advanced sensors that automatically recalibrate the fuel-air mixture in relation to an increasingly clogged air filter, therefore eliminating the gas-savings benefit of maintaining a clean filter.

Premium fuel has been heralded as being the superior choice for maintaining optimum miles-per-gallon, but this is another aspect of your vehicle that has changed thanks to modern technology. With new engines equipped with digital sensors, the engines can adjust the timing of the spark plugs to match even regular fuel so that the number of miles a person gets per gallon is basically the same regardless of what kind of fuel is being used.

One more myth is that the air conditioner is a culprit of stealing not only horsepower from the engine, but also efficiency in terms of how much work the engine does to maintain speed. With new vehicles, the use of an A/C will make an insignificant impact on the fuel efficiency of the engine, due to an optimized design of every component. Using your A/C will consume negligible amounts of gas, says Consumer Reports.

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