Save Money On Gas This Memorial Day Weekend

If you've never discovered the website DailyFuel EconomyTip.com, you're likely spending more money on gas than you need to. But we'll get around to those tips in a moment.

The FTC has a great interactive tool to help you save money at the pump. The following are some of their ideas...interjected with some of my own.

To Save at the Pump, You Should:
Keep your tires inflated and balanced properly.
This can increase fuel efficiency by up to 3%.

Also consider filling your tires with pure nitrogen. Research I've found shows that doing so can increase fuel efficiency between 2% and 15%, but more on that later!

Change your oil every 3,000 miles.
If oil is changed properly and regularly, friction in your engine's moving parts is drastically reduced, resulting in better gas mileage and hence, money saved.

Avoid idling your vehicle, whenever possible.
When your vehicle is idling, you get 0 MPG! Yeah, b/c you're still using gas, but not going anywhere. Try parking to go in the fast-food restaurant rather than idling in the drive-through.

Remove unnecessary items from the trunk.
Removing an unneeded 100 lbs from the trunk can improve fuel efficiency by up to 2%.

Use the correct octane fuel.
"Your owner's manual recommends the most effective octane level for your car. For most cars, the recommended gasoline is regular octane. In most cases, using a higher octane gas than the manufacturer recommends offers no benefit. Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money."

For more tips on how to save money at the pump this Memorial Day weekend, check out these 36 tips at WikiHow and read further at FTC.gov.

Now, back to the above mentioned site called DailyFuelEconomyTip.com. In preparation for the long Memorial Day weekend, this site posted an article titled, "Top 4 Ways You're Wasting Gas When You Think You're Saving It".

To Save at the Pump, You Should NOT:
Burn yourself up by driving with the windows down, instead of using the A/C.

Why not? "While using it will reduce your gas mileage, there are many instances where using your AC instead of rolling down the windows will actually be better for your car's gas mileage. One of the biggest drains on your car's gas mileage is aerodynamic drag--something that is exacerbated by rolling down the windows. If you're going to drive on the highway, go ahead and turn on your AC and keep the windows up!"

Driving with your tailgate down (if you have a truck, that is).

Why not? "When a truck's tailgate is up, a "protective air bubble" will form in the bed area which actually makes the truck a little more aerodynamic; when the tailgate is down, this bubble disappears and gas mileage gets worse."

Accelerate extremely slowly.

Why not? "Many people think that the slower they accelerate, the better gas mileage they're going to get. Unfortunately, extremely slow acceleration can bog down your engine and make it run less efficiently--thus wasting fuel. So, instead of slamming the accelerator to the floor or barely even touching it, try and find a nice happy medium so you can achieve a moderate acceleration."

So there you have it, an in-depth look at some quick and basic tips to save some green...in both senses of the word. These, however, are but a fraction of gas and money saving tips, what are some of your favorite ways to save at the pump?