Check out:
http://www.gastips.com/

I assume there is some kind of US equivalent.

Anyone know if using the radio uses any gas at all? I heard once that it does...

Using the old wayback machine on my memory but if I recall.
In Theory, Anything using electricity puts a slight drain on the engine -
How -
As electricity is required by the car the alternator goes from spinning freely to being put under load to produce electricity, That spinning is done by the engine, so it adds load to the engine which causes it to use more gas.

So that is the theory - the fact comes into how much electricity an item requires. Rear Window Deicer uses a large amount of energy - The Radio, not so much (That is unless you have to power a sub woofer etc.. then it might be more)

So the amount of power required by your Radio is so small that it probably is not requiring any significant load, so go ahead and crank up the tunes!!

I think BP uses a high ethanol blend as well. I try to use Marathon or Shell whenever possible.

I think the quality issue is sometimes car-specific. I know that one of my cars in the 90s used to run best with Mobil, while my mom's car currently runs best with Shell. But my old Explorer would run with anything, the cheaper the better, even Sam's Club gas.

Where I live now, Speedway is the dominant "discount" station. They have a rewards program (!) that's actually not bad. A point per dime, rounded up, plus bonus points for targetted c-store purchases. In July, they gave a bonus 2 cent/gallon discount for using the card. The big award is a free tank of gas (up to 25 gallons) after $1600 of spending, although I suspect that they'll be discontinuing that or raising the redemption rate soon. Most of the other awards fall into the $0.007 to $0.012 range - the gas awards' value depends on the size of your tank.

Speedway also has a 4% discount if you buy their gift cards. For a while, they were offering an 8% discount in June and December, but they have appeared to discontinue that (in favor of their Chase credit card that's not very good). I'd buy three $250 gift cards for $230 each (and 230 Starpoints) and use the gift cards to buy the gas.

The AAA Visa was a 5% rebate, but it is now a minimum of 2% rebate. But, depending on any other spending with the card (such as shopping, hotels, meals, etc...), the rebate goes from 2% up to 5% for gas purchases. If you spend more, you earn a higher gas rebate. However, there is no rebates (or any other rewards) for the other purchases.

And you can ONLY get this gas rebate IF you use the AAA Visa to PAY AT THE PUMP. If you need to go inside to pay (such as if the pump does not have a card reader or if you also wanted to buy a soda), you DO NOT qualify for the rebate for this purchase!

Thanks again pqflyer!! ^ !! I just signed up for the speedpass promotion @.... http://www.speedpass.com/promo/summer2005.jsp I did the math...

$2.50 base price per gallon (assumed)
- .05 speedpass discount
2.45
- .15 6.25% discount with Discover (see my scheme)
2.30 price you pay per gallon @ Exxon/Mobil based on $2.50 per gallon. Thats a HUGE Savings!.... 20 cents per gallon! Just think if you doubled the reward with Discover! The price you pay at the pump is of course more since the Discover Cash Back Reward must be accumulated to at least $20... but in the long run the math still works.

So as long as Exxon/Mobil is no more than 5 cents additional per gallon than the competition, it will always be a great deal. My neighbor is a retired manager for Chevron Gas (the corporate Offices), he said that Exxon/Mobil is of great quality (second to Chevron of course)

Uh oh.... You have to activate the Speedpass by Aug. 31. I would assume that means to use it, and to get one, you have to get it mailed to you which will probably take some time. I don't think you can get one at the actual gas station instantly.

Ride your bike to school or work. Saves a ton of gas.
And at least in my experience, 87 is as good as 93 for most cars, even luxury, though some sports cars will do better. My Q45 and my roommates es300 ran fine when we switched to 87. Not noticable difference. The 4runner of course doesn't care either. My 69 Chevelle, however, with just an un-modded small block ran significantly better on 93.
And I feel a little better about buying gas when I use my UA MP visa, which is effectively earning me 5 miles/gallon. still hurts though

Also, if you live near a Kroger, they have 3cents off per gallon w/ card, and once you spend $100 on groceries a month you get 10cents off per gallon (one time only.) pretty good deal

Er... not sure I understand what you mean by "moving up" if the diameter remains unchanged. You mean, get a larger rim but a tire with a smaller profile? Yes, you can do that, but depending on the rim and tire, it won't necessarily reduce your weight (and will likely increase it, actually).

You can actually move up even in overall diameter and still realize savings, yes, but the weight distribution is the important point here, and you're likely to save more by going lighter on the same size than lighter on a larger size. Basically, you want to both (a) reduce the overall weight of the wheel, and (b) keep as much of the weight as close to the axle as possible. In principle, you could even find a heavier overall wheel that still saves gas because the weight is concentrated near the axle, thereby reducing the moment of intertia (and thus the torque required to turn it). So yes, if you found a larger rim/tire combo whose weight distribution was more beneficial, you'd still save... but as I mentioned, it's easier to stay in the same size and go with ligher (alloy) rims and lighter tires. That way you don't have to do any calculations to figure out whether your proposed new wheel will work or not.

As for decreasing the size, you can still make the tire weigh more than the rim... as I mentioned, it's the overall weight distribution (size AND weight placement) that matters. I'll refrain from posting all the equations here but suffice it to say that none of these options is really cost-effective since new rims/tires will cost more than your gas savings. If you're buying new rims/tires *anyway*, then it's worth considering these factors. I would recommend simply staying with stock sizes but going lighter on the weight, it's the easiest solution if you're already buying new rims/tires. If not, don't bother.

You're quite welcome, that's what FT is all about. I don't know what the CSRs may have told you, but most of them seem unfamiliar with the terms of the specialty cards anyway. When I called them a couple of months ago, I had to point them to the T&Cs so they could figure out how the reverse tiers worked! (I had an issue where my tiers didn't reset on the anniversary date... they only reset 2 months later. No idea why and no idea if it will bite me again next year; I never got a call back from the CashBack department despite at least 4 attempts.)

From personal experience, I can tell you that the specialty cards still work just fine under the Get More promos. I definitely received the usual cashback plus the Get More bonus under the Home Improvement promo a couple of months ago using my Home Improvement card, and got the Get More bonus on bookstore purchases about 5 months ago using my Restaurant card. So both specialty cards have shown that they can take advantage of the Get More... unless something has changed since then. Hopefully it all still works as usual.

True, they don't always... but *usually* they do, and the cheaper stations may be harder to find and/or out of the way. If you're going to Costco anyway for your shopping, you may as well gas up there since driving out of your way to save an extra 1-3 cents per gallon is generally not worth it unless the cheaper station is also on your way. (If it's out of your way, you not only lose time, but you use gas to get there, hence decreasing or negative the savings.)

As for quality of gas, as others have said, it's mostly the additives... however, "purity" can be an issue. In principle, gasoline is supposed to be purely octane, hexane, and mandated additives (ethanol, oxygenation, MTBE [in the past], etc.) Even though all stations will meet the minimum requirements for gas in terms of octane rating and mandated additives, the no-name brands may have a higher water content in the gas, or may have other deposits and impurities, all while still meeting the minimum requirements. The gas will still work just fine, but over the long term may cause increased deposit buildup and/or engine wear (higher moisture in the gas can lead to increased sludge and corrosion in the cylinders). The name brands that add detergents (like Chevron, Shell, etc.) will also likely take care to "purify" the gas beyond the minimum requirements, to reduce water content and other impurities that won't affect the octane rating but can still cause certain problems over extended periods.

(Of course, adding your own detergents such as Slick 50, STP, etc. every few thousand miles can also reduce sludge and deposits, although it won't help fix corrosion if you've got it.)

That being said, I've been fairly happy with Costco's gas quality, whereas I've noticed engine knocks and pinging if I use certain discount brands such as ARCO... so I don't use them. Since I'm at Costco every other week, gassing up there is convenient and cost-effective, since in my area (Berkeley) they consistently have the lowest prices except for 1 or 2 stations that are either out of my way (and thus not worth driving to) or whose gas causes my engine to complain. If I'm in need of a fill and not near Costco, I'll put in some name-brand (usually Chevron) to tide me over until the next Costco trip.

Granted, I do need 91-octane or higher in my car (Subie WRX ), so it's more sensitive to deviations in the gas.

Bike-riding definitely saves gas, and is good for the waistline, too! Boulder, CO is one of the leanest and fittest cities in the US, and nearly everyone there rides bikes. However, with today's sprawl, it's not always (or often) possible to bike to work or school. Put pressure on your city planners to reduce sprawl, increase public transportation (in an intelligent manner, for once!), and make non-car commuting more convenient!

As for octane rating, it won't make a difference for regular cars, quite right, and if the manufacturer says to use 87 as a minimum, then using a higher rating will almost always be just a waste. (My dad's old 1990 Buick Estate Wagon is an exception, it was supposed to run on 87 but would knock like crazy unless he used 89. That was some annoying design flaw.) If your manufacturer specifies 91 or higher for your sports car, though, you should probably follow it since the tuned engine will likely knock or ping with the lower octane. Cars with turbos should definitely follow the manufacturer ratings, since they're most sensitive to knocking. I should also point out that using a lower-rated gas than specified by the manufacturer may void your warranty if you have engine problems, as the dealer may use the fact that you didn't follow the manufacturer requirements to claim that you were negligent (whether or not that is true). If you're out of warranty, no worries there.

Yes it is true that it is normally detergents and branding which makes the difference, but then agiain, where does all the gas come from? The same major refineries that the branded gas comes from. To maximize profits, the refineries run constantly and they push the excess to a secondary distribution channel. The el cheapo gas stations simply purchase gas on the spot market and sell as a no name brand gas. However, if your auto has specialized needs, you might wish to purchse the branded gas because there are variations between refiners in detergents and chemical levels.

Oddly enough, I used to be a public tax accountant and one of my clients was a mom and pop gas station. I was floored by how little the gas profits >10% were compared to revenue compared to the concessions sold.

Quite right... the same way that store branded products come from the same places as the name brands. For example, here in NorCal, Albertson's-brand milk is from the Berkeley Farms dairy. However, there are variations in this... Berkeley Farms processes the milk somewhat differently (or perhaps uses somewhat different-quality milk) for their name brand than they do for the store brand. They do taste somewhat different, although Albertson's milk is just fine by me.

The same is likely true of gas. The "overflow" refinement may not be exactly the same as the branded refinement, not considering the additives, etc... they may not have the same filtration processes to remove water and other impurities beyond the minimum requirements, etc. So, just because it comes from the same refinery doesn't mean it's been refined in exactly the same way. Small differences but over time they can be noticed, as I mentioned.

(Note that this doesn't mean I am endorsing name-brand over no-name. I buy store brand products all the time. I'm simply commenting that it's not necessarily the same manufacturing/refining procedure even if it is from the same place. Whether the difference is significant and/or noticeable and/or you care about it is a totally different issue. )

Carpooling is a good way to save up on gas. I'm attending college right now as a commuter student and if I can get a bunch of blokes together and fork a few bucks a week, that's savings for everyone.

When I studied at for my theology degree, I used to live in an apartment, where there is a bus stop a block away. There are trade offs-- time, and creepy people. (Weird is OK, but creepy is not! ) Now I live in another area, riding the bus is out of the question as it's two miles away on foot.

I use Discover regularly, and somehow, I got a lower interest rate, and from June til August I get 5% bonus. Remember kids, pay off the credit card regularly so you can make it work!

I know that around here alot of the different brands fill their tanker trucks at the same holding tanks. I had a job one summer (for one day, actually) to sit and watch and report any fires at one such place. All kinds of trucks pulled up and loaded with the same exact gas. I'm not sure at what point distiguishing additives would be put in, but these trucks went straight from the huge tanks to the stations.

To be honest I somehow doubt that they would modify the manufacturing process for off brand gasoline. Right now the priority from what I understand is for the refiniries to refine as much as they can, 24/7. All I'd figure the difference to be is that the detergents are not added in equal amounts, but the water content and impurities would remain constant.