Every time gas jumps, the same tips make the rounds. Most don’t work. A few cost you money.
Here are eleven worth ignoring, what the testing found on each one, and where the real savings are hiding. For a lot of people in Columbus right now, that’s at the pump, not under the hood.
The number you actually feel
Most people don’t feel gas prices as a yearly number. They feel them at the pump. Columbus-area regular was about $4.30 a gallon on September 28, per AAA, and a year earlier it was about $2.90. The week before, GasBuddy had Columbus above $4.50.
On a 15-gallon fill, that’s roughly $64.50 instead of $43.50. About $21 more every single stop, for the same gas.
That’s exactly when the bad advice spreads. So let’s clear it out first.
Prices as of September 28, 2026. The dollar math on this page uses $4.30 a gallon. The percentages hold at any price.
Eleven gas-saving myths, checked
Grouped by how they get you. The first four cost real money. The next three were true once. The rest sound harmless and are still wrong.
“Premium gas makes any car run better and go farther.”
In AAA’s dynamometer testing, engines designed for regular, from four-cylinders up to V8s, showed no gain in horsepower, fuel economy or emissions on 93 octane compared with 87. Nationally, AAA put the waste at about $2.1 billion a year.
Most of Nissan’s lineup, including the Kicks, Sentra, Altima, Rogue, Pathfinder and Murano, is rated by the EPA on regular. The Z and the Armada are the exceptions, and on those, follow the manual. The word to look for is required. If your manual only says premium is recommended, regular is generally safe, with a small power tradeoff.
What it costs you: if you buy around 500 gallons a year, a grade spread of 60 cents to $1 adds up to $300 to $500. The most expensive myth on this page.
“A fuel additive or gas-saving gadget will pay for itself.”
According to the FTC, the EPA has evaluated or tested more than 100 of these products and hasn’t found one that significantly improves gas mileage. The FTC also warns that some can damage an engine or raise emissions.
The products change shape every few years. Some pour into the tank, some clamp onto a fuel line, the newer ones plug in under the dash. The promise stays about the same, and so does the reason the reviews sound convincing: the FTC notes that almost nobody has the equipment to measure a small change in mileage.
What it costs you: whatever the product costs, with a real chance of engine or emissions trouble on top.
“Nitrogen in your tires saves gas.”
Nitrogen does leak out a little more slowly. In Consumer Reports’ year-long test, tires filled with air lost 3.5 psi on average and nitrogen-filled tires lost 2.2. On fuel, CR cites NHTSA’s finding that nitrogen had little or no direct effect on rolling resistance.
So the real benefit is a slightly slower leak, and a monthly pressure check gets you all of it for free. CR’s conclusion is that you’d be better served, and save money, by using regular air and checking it monthly. We agree. Our tire service page explains what a real inspection checks.
What it costs you: typically $5 or more a tire, per CR, for something a free air check matches.
“Ethanol-free gas pays for itself in mileage.”
Half of this is true. According to the Department of Energy, cars typically get 3 to 4 percent fewer miles per gallon on E10, the normal pump blend, than on pure gasoline. Ethanol-free really does go farther.
The catch is the price. At $4.30 regular, that 3 to 4 percent is worth about 13 to 18 cents a gallon. Ethanol-free typically sells for anywhere from about 20 cents to $1 more, according to the convenience-store industry’s own trade magazine. Past about 18 cents, you’re paying more per mile, not less.
What it costs you: whatever you paid beyond that 13 to 18 cents, on every gallon.
“A new air filter will bring your mileage back.”
The Department of Energy put the answer right in a heading: replacing a clogged air filter on modern cars improves performance but not mpg. That covers fuel-injected, computer-controlled engines, which means any car you’re likely to be driving.
The tip dates to carbureted engines, where a choked filter pushed the air-fuel mixture rich and wasted gas. A modern engine measures the air coming in and meters fuel to match, so a clogged filter costs you power, not gas. Change it on schedule for the engine’s sake, just not for mileage.
What it costs you: nothing, as long as you’re buying it for the right reason.
“A tune-up gets you 4 percent back, and a new oxygen sensor up to 40.”
Both were federal guidance once, and both still get quoted with total confidence. The Department of Energy has since removed them. Its current maintenance page carries no tune-up percentage and no oxygen sensor percentage at all. What’s left is a heading telling you to address engine issues promptly.
The advice underneath still holds. A failing sensor or a misfire does cost fuel, and it often triggers the check engine light, so get the light read. Just be skeptical of anyone who puts a specific percentage on the repair, because the government stopped standing behind those numbers.
What it costs you: nothing, if you fix what’s actually broken and skip the percentage pitch.
“A manual transmission gets better mileage than an automatic.”
True for decades. It flipped around model year 2016, when automatics started averaging better fuel economy than manuals, per the Department of Energy’s analysis of EPA data. Automatics kept adding gears, and more ratios let the engine spend more time near its most efficient speed.
A CVT, which Nissan has used across much of its lineup for years, takes that idea to its end point: no fixed gears at all, just a continuously changing ratio. The EPA rates the Sentra at 38 mpg on the highway. If you want a manual, get one for the fun of it. It isn’t a fuel strategy.
What it costs you: nothing. It’s just not a savings plan.
“Fill up in the morning, when the gas is cool and dense.”
The gas you’re buying sits underground, where the temperature barely moves. When Consumer Reports checked, station tanks held at 62 degrees while the air above shifted 12 degrees through the day. Gasoline’s volume changes by only about 1 percent over a 15 degree swing, and weights-and-measures officials who studied it for four years concluded no correction was needed.
What it costs you: an earlier alarm, for nothing.
“Only fill the tank halfway, to save weight.”
Half of a 15-gallon tank weighs roughly 45 pounds. The Department of Energy’s rule of thumb is about 1 percent per 100 pounds, so the best case is under half a percent, and since the tank drains either way, the real average is closer to a quarter of a percent.
Then it can turn negative. Half tanks mean twice as many stops. Over a year, the lighter tank saves roughly a gallon, so if each extra stop costs you even a mile of driving, you’ve burned more than you saved.
What it costs you: twice the stops, and more fuel spent getting to them.
“Squeeze in a little more after the pump clicks off.”
The EPA’s advice is direct: when the pump shuts off automatically, the tank is full. Anything past that can end up in the vapor recovery system instead, and in the EPA’s words, “those extra drops of gasoline may not end up in your tank, even though you pay for them.”
What it costs you: a few cents each time, for gas that may never reach the tank.
“Coasting in neutral saves gas.”
It sounds logical. But when you lift off the gas and coast in gear, a modern fuel-injected engine can cut fuel to the injectors entirely, because the wheels are keeping the engine turning. Engineers call it deceleration fuel cut-off.
Shift into neutral and the engine has to keep itself running at idle, which takes fuel. So coasting in gear typically uses less than coasting in neutral, and you keep engine braking and full control, which matters on an icy downhill. No federal agency has published a number for this one, so we’re giving you the mechanism instead of a statistic.
What it costs you: a little fuel, and control you’d want back on a slick road.
Where the real money is: the pump, not the car
Most gas-saving advice is about burning fewer gallons. In Columbus right now, some of the easiest savings come from paying less for each one, and none of it involves your car.
Shop the station, not just the brand
On September 28, GasBuddy’s price data for Columbus showed regular ranging from $3.82 to $4.69, an 87 cent spread across the same metro on the same day. On a 15-gallon fill, that’s about $13. A price app and a minute of checking before you leave the house is the easiest money on this page.
Just don’t drive ten miles out of your way for it. The detour burns part of what you saved, so the useful version is the cheapest station on a route you were already driving.
Know that Ohio gas prices move in a cycle
Columbus is one of the Midwest markets where gas prices cycle. Stations undercut each other for days, prices drift down, and then they jump all at once, sometimes by as much as 50 cents a gallon, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Research from the 2000s by economist Matthew Lewis, then at Ohio State, found that one retail chain in each city typically leads the jump, and competitors follow within about a day.
GasBuddy’s 2026 analysis found Ohio’s cheapest day to buy is typically Monday and the most expensive is Thursday, and that the best window is usually five to seven days after a spike. The practical version: if prices just jumped and you can wait a few days, wait. If they’ve been drifting down for a week, fill up before the next jump.
Use the grocery points before they expire
Kroger’s program gives 1 point per dollar on most groceries, and every 100 points takes 10 cents off a gallon, up to $1 a gallon on as many as 35 gallons. Points expire at the end of the month after you earn them, which is how a lot of people lose them. When you redeem, do it on a full tank, so the discount covers as many gallons as possible.
Don’t assume cheap gas is worse gas
The detergent standard that matters is Top Tier. AAA found non-Top Tier gasoline left 19 times more intake valve deposits after 4,000 miles of testing, for an average price difference of about 3 cents a gallon. Top Tier brands include Costco, Marathon, Shell, BP and Sunoco, so discount and quality aren’t opposites. The current list is at toptiergas.com.
Station prices from GasBuddy’s Columbus data, September 28, 2026. Kroger terms from Kroger’s fuel points FAQ and subject to change. Top Tier membership changes; check the list before relying on it.
What lowers the gallons
With the myths gone, the list of things that reduce how much you burn is short. Here’s all of it, with what each one is worth.
Do all of it and a typical Central Ohio driver can expect to burn 10 to 20 percent less. At 13,500 miles a year and 25 mpg, the 15 percent midpoint is about 81 gallons, roughly $350 a year at $4.30. The percentages don’t simply add up, because several overlap and some only help if you’re doing something wrong now. A promise much above 20 percent usually means someone summed tips that can’t be summed.
The cheapest gallon is the one you don’t buy
Everything above gets more out of each gallon or pays less for it. The only way to take gas prices out of the picture almost entirely is to stop buying most of the gas, and that’s where Nissan’s story is right now.
Here’s where Nissan stands. There’s no conventional hybrid in Nissan’s lineup this year. What it has is the two ends of the range: the all-electric LEAF, now rated at up to 303 miles in its new generation, and a Rogue that plugs in.
13,500 miles ÷ 27 mpg = 500 gallons
500 × $4.30 = $2,150 a year in gas
A 2026 LEAF S+ at 27.8 kWh per 100 miles
13,500 miles × 0.278 = 3,753 kWh
3,753 × 16 to 19 cents = $600 to $713 a year in electricity About $1,440 to $1,550 a year. Zero gallons.
Ohio’s $200 annual EV registration fee brings that to roughly $1,240 to $1,350. The electricity range starts from Ohio’s 2024 residential average of about 16 cents a kilowatt-hour, per the EIA, and goes to 19 cents because Ohio rates have climbed since. The EPA’s efficiency rating already counts the energy lost while charging.
The Rogue Plug-in Hybrid is the middle path. Nissan estimates 38 miles on electricity before the gas engine takes over, with 420 miles of total range. Downtown Columbus is about 13 miles from Hilliard, so a round trip fits inside that on a mild day, with less margin in January, and the gas engine is there for the days you leave town. It isn’t listed on the EPA’s fueleconomy.gov yet, so treat those as Nissan’s figures, not the government’s. Our charging and range guide covers what home charging takes.
Where this doesn’t work
All of this assumes you can charge where you park at night. Public fast charging usually costs more per kilowatt-hour than home charging, so if that’s your only option, run the math at those rates first. Cold weather cuts electric range noticeably in an Ohio January. And a plug-in hybrid you never plug in is just a heavier gas car.
EPA ratings for the 2016 Rogue AWD (27 mpg combined) and the 2026 LEAF S+ with 18-inch steel wheels (303 miles, 121 MPGe, 27.8 kWh per 100 miles). Electricity cost assumes home charging. Actual mileage and range vary with driving conditions, habits, maintenance and weather. Federal clean vehicle tax credits are not available for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.
A few more we hear at the service desk
Does putting extra air in my tires save gas?
Not in any amount you’d notice, and it costs grip. NHTSA says to use the pressure on the label in the driver’s door jamb. The number on the tire’s sidewall is its maximum, not a target. Overinflated tires put less rubber on the road, stop worse in the wet and wear unevenly down the middle.
Is Costco gas lower quality than name-brand gas?
No. Costco’s Kirkland Signature gasoline is on the Top Tier list, the detergent standard AAA’s testing found matters for engine deposits. Price and quality aren’t the same thing at the pump. If you want to check a particular station’s brand, the current list is at toptiergas.com.
Is E15 safe for my car, and is it worth it?
The EPA has approved E15 for cars, light trucks and SUVs from model year 2001 and newer, but your owner’s manual has the final word, so check it first. You’ll usually see it labeled Unleaded 88.
Whether it’s worth it depends on the sign. By our arithmetic on the Department of Energy’s figures, E15 gets about 1 to 2 percent fewer miles per gallon than regular E10, so at $4.30 it needs to be roughly 4 to 9 cents cheaper to come out ahead.
Will an EV save me money if I can’t charge at home?
Maybe, but run the numbers first. The savings in our LEAF example come from home electricity rates. Public fast charging usually costs more per kilowatt-hour, and relying on it can shrink the gap with gas considerably. If you can’t plug in where you park, a fuel-efficient gas car may be the better call.
Do I have to drive a Nissan for you to service it?
No. The Hilliard service department takes Nissan and every other make, bought here or not. Every myth on this page applies to a Chevy as much as to a Rogue.
Pick your lever
Here’s where we can help, no matter what you drive or where you bought it.
Stop paying for the myths
The tire pressure check is free and quick. A check engine light deserves a diagnosis, not a percentage from a sales pitch. And if a shop has been selling you add-ons for better mileage, bring the list and we’ll tell you which ones you need.
Stop buying most of the gas
If the LEAF or Rogue Plug-in math got your attention, start with what your current vehicle is worth. Then the question is simply whether you can plug in where you park.
For reference, where Nissan’s lineup lands
LEAF, Sentra and Rogue figures are EPA-estimated 2026 model year ratings. LEAF range varies by wheels: 303 miles with 18-inch steel wheels, 288 with 18-inch alloys and 259 with 19-inch wheels. Sentra figures are for S and SV trims. Rogue AWD is rated 31 mpg combined. Rogue Plug-in Hybrid figures are Nissan estimates and are not yet listed by the EPA. Ohio charges annual registration surcharges of $200 for EVs, $150 for plug-in hybrids and $100 for conventional hybrids. Buckeye Nissan, 3820 Parkway Ln, Hilliard, OH 43026. Service (614) 771-2398, Monday through Friday 7:00am to 6:00pm, Saturday 7:00am to 4:00pm.