Fuel Economy Tips....

[Capt.Kirk]

First any dead weight in the trunk like golf clubs, tools you donot need to cary with you etc......take out of trunk.

Run your tire pressure at the Max recommended by the OEM as it will produce lower rolling resistance then under inflated tires. If you are schooled in how to read a tire for abnormal wear you can go up to but not exceeding the limit of the tire manufacture but do look for abnormal wear. No good wearing out tires to save some fuel. Plus ride does get harsher the more pressure in the tire.

Check your air filter and replace if needed!

When was the last time you changed your spark plug's? With todays insanely long life plugs we often go beyond the life of them because we forget about them.

Either professional injector cleaning or regular say ever 6 months run some concentrated injector cleaner like Redline Si-1. One 15 once bottle will clean all but the dirtiest of fuel systems and once clean one 15 once bottle is enough to treat 100gallon of fuel unless they have changed it recently.

Using the lowliest viscosity or motor oil, gear lube or atf that your OEM recommends. Generally the first 15-20 minutes of driving is where you save the most fuel when you go from a 15W40 to a 10W40 to a 5W40 to a 0W40.........Every time you lower the number in front of the W we tend to gain fuel economy improvements the first 15-20minutes or until the oil is up to operating temp. When we lower the number after the "W" we tend to see a smaller improvement total but still an improvement during all driving past the initial 15-20 minute mark. If you do the same thing with gear lube and other fluids it all add's up over the course of 1,5,10 years of ownership..........

I use synthetic fluids in every system on my vehicles other then brake fluid. I find that on rear wheel drive vehicles that use gear lube that going to all synthetic fluids seems to make a larger improvement then on fwd vehicles with automatics. Prob. because you can not get much thinner then ATF already is but you can select gear lubes that are much less viscous across a wider temp. spread when talking about gear lubes.

The main reason we have seen so many OEM go to 5W20 and also 0W20 is because of the huge impact on CAFE. Like wise ATF's keep getting thinner like Dex-VI it is massively thinner then all Dex products before it and again when talking about millions of vechiles it add's up fast for OEM and CAFE standards.

Also keep in mind that depending on your car some place between 25-35 MPH you are producing so much drag that you would get better fuel economy running the A/C instead of driving with the windows down!

I know the above is all obvious stuff but the higher fuel prices reminded me I should change my spark plugs and check my tire pressure so I thought I remind everyone else. I am not sure if they still teach this stuff in school. I had to show a college educated friend how to balance a check book the other day. They never taught them to record check in the register or to balance it against your records etc.....We learned this in elementary school math, middle school Home Ec. then again in Economics in H.S.! So I no longer assume they teach practical stuff any more like how to count cash back to people etc.....
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The only easy day was yesterday!

[Robert Rowe]

I have noticed some "hot-rod type" guys ... they run larger tires at the rear, and smaller up front ... giving the vehicles a pronounced slant -- lower in front / higher in the rear.

Apparently, this is a clever fuel-milage strategy. The vehicles are always going down hill.




~ r2 ~
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~ Love animals; ... don't eat them. ~

[LittleRusty]

The problem with the downhill slant method is that it exposes the underside which creates wind turbulence and higher mileage.

It is much better to have the car lowered so the air cannot flow beneath. Is create a larger mileage benefit.

[Dale Proctor]

I use straight 60wt dino oil in my old Harley. It gets 50 mpg and about 1000 miles to the quart...
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Brass Band of Huntsville
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[ConnArtist]

My bicycle gets about 30 miles per lunch
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"Stomvi" PhrankenPhlugel w/ Blessing copper bell
1971 Coprion Director cornet
c. 1955? Besson 10-10
c. 1960s? Steenhuysen Flugel
1986 Bach Strad 37 ML

[mrsemman]

One of the most important ways to save on fuel, is how you drive. Try driving the speed limits. Remember that the term limit, means that you are not supposed to drive over that mark. However, as a retired cop, my experience is that we go by what is "dangerous" or "hazardous" to the conditions of the road, traffic, etc. However, if you drive the limits, and do not "hit the gas" or "brakes" too quickly, you will find that your Prius will actually get about 40 mpg.

I average 18mpg in my 2010 Ford F150 with the big V8. I also used to get about 23-24 mpg in my Ford Ranger with the biggest V6.

Driving safely also has the cause and effect on the fatality rates. 40-50,000 deaths per year is quite abit.

Gary
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Flip Oakes Wild Thing
Kanstul G Bugle
Jin Boa Bass Trumpet

[ConnArtist]

No why would you go and ruin a perfectly good TH post by introducing *facts* into the thread!?

It's true though. I generally drive as if I have no breaks, and modulate my speed to try an hit green traffic lights as much as possible, and barely touch them when I reach the stop signs. People waste more gas accelerating full tilt up to stop signs and lights than about anything else...
_________________
"Stomvi" PhrankenPhlugel w/ Blessing copper bell
1971 Coprion Director cornet
c. 1955? Besson 10-10
c. 1960s? Steenhuysen Flugel
1986 Bach Strad 37 ML

[trumpet_bob_silver]

I've been letting my gas tank get down to nearly empty. I've noticed the car feels lighter without that 10+ gallons in it which makes sense. However much that weighs I'm not hauling that around for a while so I imagine the gas mileage is slightly better.

I've heard they only fill up airplanes with enough gas for their trip so they're not wasting energy hauling around unused fuel. Same idea kind of here.

I used to fill up when it was half empty/full.

[the_lip]

Gasoline only weighs 6lb/gal, give or take a few ounces, so the difference between a full tank and and empty one is only a small fraction of the total weight of the vehicle and doesn't really have that much impact on fuel economy.

I get 60+ mpg in my Prius (San Diego area, with all it's hills and dales) with just a few simple tricks:

[LittleRusty]

At sixty miles per gallon you could afford to only keep two or three gallons of gas and perhaps get even better milelage.

My wife's car is driven about 1275 miles per month and last month we spent $32.65 on fuel. That works out to about 2.5 cents per mile.

Local gas is currently costing 3.71 per gallon. So that works out to 8.8 gallons of gas or 145 miles per gallon.

[Capt.Kirk]

On the Ohio turnpike which is regulated to 50MPH I got 48MPG in my 4cylinder Camry......Going through large chunks of Ohio on my way to Florida via I-75S I got 42MPG again much of it was road work signs posted speed was 50MPH and it was dark out so no real trafic.....Once I got back to the land of 75-80MPH fuel economy dropped to about 32-35 depending on how much hill climbing I had to do. I was loaded down two because I was going to be gone for 6 months living with some friends doing some work in Florida.

Normally my composite is a mix 50% trips under 12 miles 50% trips over 12 miles but less then 25 miles and I drive aggressively. I average 29-32MPG. IF I did not drive my car like I just stole it I am sure I would get better.

My Camry is a I4 and has a 5 speed manual. When I went to Florida that year I was running Redline MTL (Manual Transmission Lube), redline 5W30 synthetic motor oil, and my power steering was filled with Redline D4 ATTF a heavy duty synthetic ATF.
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The only easy day was yesterday!

[razeontherock]

[razeontherock]

[Craig Swartz]

I guess as to CK's first sentence I'll have to leave the old lady at home... BTW- my 05 Park Ave whale w/108K still gets me around 30 mpg on the highway at "interstate" speeds. Driving back from Steamboat, CO after skiing in the winter through WY and NE, going downhill all the way and with the ever present W wind it is not unusual to get around 33 going 80. Amazing vehicles- 1950s pushrod technology and all.

[razeontherock]

You took a Park Ave skiing?

Anyway, I read a bunch of gas saving tips recently that I thought I might fact-check here, as some of them seemed unlikely:

fill up in the morning. since gas is stored under ground, it'll be cooler, and you'll get more for the same $ (Seems reasonable to me in theory, but how much does the temp of the liquid actually change?)

The vapor recovery systems used now mean that if you lock the nozzle on high speed delivery, you're paying for vapor that gets recovered into their tank, not your's; therefore, the slowest speed is the best.

Fill up at 1/2 tank, because tanks leak. (This seems the most far-fetched, but what say the geniuses here?)

[swthiel]

Darn it, I was about to go to be when I foolished decided to peek in here ...

[LittleRusty]

Well if the hole in your gas tank is above the half full mark this makes sense. But if the hole is blow that line then I'm guessing it won't help much.

[swthiel]

[swthiel]

This somehow seems relevant ...
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Steve Thiel
Matthew 25:31-46

[LittleRusty]

I misread the point. I thought the advice was to only fill up to halfway. Doh!