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Gas Tip Tuesday!

GasBuddy Blog -- How many of you travel with extra "stuff" in your car all the time? Perhaps some luggage, folders, files, paperwork, clothing, or other items have been in your car for months. To make your dollar go as far as possible, make sure to remove all items that aren't necessary in your car- clean the trunk, keep only necessary items.

All that "dead" weight can reduce your fuel economy 2-5% for each hundred pounds. Maybe there's a stroller or car seat that hasn't been used in months. It'd be a better idea only to haul it when necessary as well because if something were to happen to you, any loose objects may become projectiles and injury you or passengers.

In addition to that, make sure that when you do haul extra items ...

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Submitted Nov 17, 2009 By: PD

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REPLIES (newest first)

me2Ky09 Rookie Author Kentucky Posts:62 Points:8,035 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2009 6:31:05 PM Ignore me2Ky09 Report Abuse Guess I better get those weights out of the car (Christmas Present). That's going to kill my back.
coolpaul12 Rookie Author Florida Posts:21 Points:62,570 Joined:Nov 2009	Message Posted: Nov 23, 2009 5:27:51 PM Ignore coolpaul12 Report Abuse cant have too much junk in your trunk!
mackconsult Veteran Author Portland Posts:478 Points:126,260 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Nov 21, 2009 11:13:38 PM Ignore mackconsult Report Abuse This is so true. I always keep my autos as empty as possible.
Martinman Champion Author Mississippi Posts:6,856 Points:1,002,075 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 18, 2009 10:44:28 AM Ignore Martinman Report Abuse PLEASE ! Where are you getting this "information"? 2-5% is absurd. Can you provide a source for this "estimate"? The number most commonly cited is approximately 0.1 mpg for every 100 extra pounds carried as extra weight in a vehicle. My 1981 Ford Bronco has a 32 gallon tank. At roughly 8 pounds per gallon, a full tank would increase the Bronco's weight by more than 250 pounds. That would yield a 5-to-12.5% reduction in fuel economy with a full tank, based on your figures, which I can attest it did not. To further emphasize how absurd those numbers are - do you realize how many construction vehicles (namely Ford F-150s and Chrysler/GM 1500s) carry thousands of pounds in tools and equipment as part of their work? 2000 pounds (one ton) would result in up to a 40% to 100% reduction in fuel economy based upon your numbers, which I think agree is absurd even at 40%. Next, how much does your mileage drop when there's four people in the car? That's easily 500 to 600 pounds in added weight, which would result in a 10% to 30% reduction in fuel economy (500 pounds at 2% and 600 pounds at 5%, respectfully). Does YOUR mileage drop that much? I don't think so. My brother has a racing trailor he tows with a F-150, that I know weighs-in at well over 2000 pounds with tools, equipment, and bikes (motocross). His mileage drops from ~15mpg to ~12mpg when towing - and I think most will agree the most significant loss is due to wind resistance, not the added rolling weight. And a car seat a "projectile"? By law, they're required to be strapped-in when in use, and I would venture to guess that most people do not "unstrap" them when they're not being used, only to have to "re-strap" them every time they have their children in the car. Sorry, but nothing written above passes any sort of common sense test.
Night Owl Champion Author Toronto Posts:1,865 Points:663,890 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Nov 18, 2009 10:16:35 AM Ignore Night Owl Report Abuse Common sense. Gee, that trunk in the photo is really full!
OHMS Champion Author Orange County Posts:6,746 Points:740,360 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Nov 17, 2009 11:40:40 PM Ignore OHMS Report Abuse my trunks belong on an elephant. I've got a lot to learn; I'm already not driving as smart as I know how.
playtimeCLE Champion Author Cleveland Posts:2,340 Points:424,800 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Nov 17, 2009 10:18:09 PM Ignore playtimeCLE Report Abuse My trunk is fairly clean.
CarrottopNe All-Star Author Lincoln Posts:943 Points:347,200 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Nov 17, 2009 5:41:26 PM Ignore CarrottopNe Report Abuse You would be surprised what people have in their trunks.
fordmexico Champion Author Michigan Posts:1,568 Points:138,930 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Nov 17, 2009 4:44:14 PM Ignore fordmexico Report Abuse I do not think many people have a hundred pounds of dead weight junk they are carrying around. They may need to cleanout their vehicles but the posts have better ways to increase mileage than this article does.
derKraut All-Star Author Ontario Posts:549 Points:279,180 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Nov 17, 2009 4:25:56 PM Ignore derKraut Report Abuse Even worse are luggage racks - sometimes they cannot be helped but when use is over - that them (cross bars) off - even if they are partly integrated.
call911ok All-Star Author Vancouver Posts:539 Points:72,965 Joined:Mar 2009	Message Posted: Nov 17, 2009 3:47:23 PM Ignore call911ok Report Abuse Thanks for info! But also, aggressive acceleration and deceleration would also play a big part in 'wasting' gas. i was driving a 4 cylinder Malibu as my rental car and i put petal to the metal any chance i get without being danger to my environmental obviously... my gas consumption is more than my actual car that is 10 years older, 6 cylinder AWD A4...