With the price of crude at $118.00 a barrel and gas prices here in the US hitting a national average of $3.50 many people are struggling to pay fuel costs. But there are some things you can do to reduce the amount you pay at the pump.

First though, why are the prices rising so much? There are several reasons for the rise in fuel cost. One is that there is a greater demand now than there has been in years previous. But that's a relatively small piece of the puzzle. Perhaps the biggest reason is that there have been disruptions in the supply of crude. Recently an oil tanker and a pipeline were attacked by terrorists. That caused a sudden increase in crude oil prices. Reasons for increases in the past that continue to affect the market are things such as, the war in Iraq reducing Iraqi output of crude, increasing governmental control of the oil industry in Russia, nationalization of Venezuela's oil companies, and increasing friction between the West and Iran over nuclear weapons development. All of those things are driving the cost of crude up due to decreases in output of crude at the various sources, combined with increases in our demand for oil.

That's not the whole picture though. In the US, the refining of crude oil has been hampered in recent years due to things like hurricane Katrina and damage to refineries. Also in the US domestic oil is becoming more costly, just as imported oil has. But for different reasons. Domestic oil has become more expensive due to land sources of oil being depleted, and an increase in dependency of off-shore oil drilling which is more expensive. In addition to all of that, the Congressional mandates requiring cleaner burning gasoline caused refining to become more costly. So from a domestic standpoint, economy behind oil, has caused the supply end to tighten even has demand has increased, driving prices higher. When you combine domestic troubles on supplying oil, with foreign supply issues--you start to understand the price increases. To illustrate how dramatic the increases have been--and probably will continue to be, consider: Fifty-two weeks ago a barrel of crude cost roughly 86 dollars. Now a barrel of crude oil costs between 118 and 119 dollars. The one year projection of crude oil prices, puts a barrel of crude at roughly 153 dollars a barrel. So clearly, prices aren't going to come down much--if at all, for quite some time.

But there are ways of paying less for fuel at the pump!

One thing you can do, is be sure you're car is tuned up. Have clean fuel filters, oil, and engine. If the engine is taken care of, then efficiency will be higher than that of a neglected engine. That in turn leads to greater gas mileage.

Be sure your tires are properly inflated. Proper inflation of the tire means that the friction dynamics are optimal. The less friction you have between the tire and the road, the greater the gas mileage. Obviously you don't want friction to be reduced too much. But the tire is designed to be operated at a specific pressure. Keeping the tire inflated to that pressure ensures maximum performance and safety, but also can increase your gas mileage.

Some hints, tips and guidelines on tire inflation:

Tires can naturally lose up to 1 psi every 30 days, and they will lose pressure more quickly in cold weather. Because cooler air is more dense, pressure drops by about 1 psi for every 10 degrees. A tire inflated to 30 psi at 70 degrees, for example, could drop as low as 26 psi at the freezing point.

The recommended tire pressure is displayed in your vehicle, typically on a sticker inside the glove box door or on one of the doorposts. It's also in your owner's manual. Many vehicles are available with a choice of tire sizes, and each size may have its own recommended inflation pressure. Also, fuel economy varies greatly by type of tire! Those all-terrain or off-road tires with their knobby tread look rough and ready and are designed to get you through rocks and mud. They are not designed to promote high gas mileage. All-season tires produce less friction and therefore roll more freely to the benefit of fuel economy. They're generally lighter than all-terrain or off-road tires, and less weight means better fuel economy. They also ride more quietly, handle better, and wear longer.

Reducing your vehicles weight can increase fuel economy as well. If you have luggage racks, junk, books, etc. in your car that are unneeded; remove all of it. Decreasing the vehicle's weight by removing unnecessary items and junk can have a big impact. For every 100 pounds of weight removed, you can gain as much as 4% in fuel economy! Keep in mind that removing luggage racks etc. not only reduces the weight, but reduces drag as well, which also can increase fuel economy. Drag and aerodynamics can also affect weight, in the sense that a bolt-on rear spoiler--while you may think it looks cool--causes the back end to press down more on the road. That increases tire friction and has the same effect as added weight would: Fuel economy reduction. Interesting information for those that drive pickup trucks: Keep the tailgate up! Aerodynamic studies show that leaving the tailgate down does NOT reduce drag and can actually hurt fuel economy.

Also, pay attention to how you drive. Accelerate and decelerate slowly. This prevents you from using more fuel than absolutely necessary, and this is perhaps one of the easier suggestions to follow and can also make a big different in fuel economy.

But the final thing I can think of to mention that can help relieve your fuel cost, is to buy competitively. Shop around for the best prices. There are websites available that can help you do this. I will post one at the end of this article. Buying the cheapest gas you can is pretty much a no brainer, but the unseen effect is that it forces filling stations to price their gas competitively. Competitive pricing is always good for the consumers!

I realize that some of the suggestions mentioned may only save you cents not dollars, but those savings add up over time. However when you consider that doing these things can add 4% here and 10% there etc. on fuel economy, it can actually make a big difference over what you may be currently paying. It depends on your car and how you drive.

The website I use for finding local gas prices so I know where to buy my fuel is: [link] . And it would also help other users of the site if you were to participate in price tracking. The site depends on users of the site to report in the fuel price at different stations. In other words, if I--on my way to school--see that the BP station is charging $3.84 a gallon, and I pass by at noon, that may be different from the last person to report the price at the same station earlier that day. So the more data people provide, the more accurate the site is. I have found the site to be extremely reliable however, but I encourage you to use the site and participate.

I hope some of you find the information above useful, and that all of you are doing well!


Sources used for this article are:

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