There are some good tips here for most of us.
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Full Version: 12 Gas saving tips.
Good advice Bart, every little bit helps.
You're welcome, Ray. Always nice to help my friends. 
i would like to add this something to this one
12. Check your tires. Your owner’s manual has important information on your tires, including the correct air pressure that should be in them. Underinflation of your tires can cost you as much as 1 mpg. Radial tires have 50 percent less road resistance, so they give you 3 to 19 percent better mpg....and bigger over sized tires also take more gas stock tires are much better on gas then big mud tires....i still need to get a 2nd set for my truck lol
12. Check your tires. Your owner’s manual has important information on your tires, including the correct air pressure that should be in them. Underinflation of your tires can cost you as much as 1 mpg. Radial tires have 50 percent less road resistance, so they give you 3 to 19 percent better mpg....and bigger over sized tires also take more gas stock tires are much better on gas then big mud tires....i still need to get a 2nd set for my truck lol
True that, Dan. The more your tires and wheels weigh, the harder it is to turn them. That costs in gas and acceleration also probably wear and tear on the front end steering geometry.
Darn Canadian metric crap.
The air is heavy up there because of all the wind being blown about by certain individuals
The air is heavy up there because of all the wind being blown about by certain individuals
Government types you mean? 
Or they must be "closet" Americans. Ha ha ha.
Or they must be "closet" Americans. Ha ha ha.
Great post man. Gonna help me in somethings about caring cars
You're most welcome, n_b.
Actually, I have issue with several of those points:
3. Fan belt tension too tight. BS. Too loose of a belt, and it slips - causing wasted energy (the engine peripherals won't work as well, causing other issue). Besides, the majority of the cars on the road today have belt self-tensioners and single serpentine belts - which prevents the possibility of the owner 'adjusting' the tension of the belt.
4. Spark plugs best left to a trained technician. BS. If you can change oil, you can change plugs... it's much less messy as well.
6. Your gas mileage will not improve 5% by lightening your car by 200 lbs (unless you weight 200lbs and you choose not to drive it).
7. A/C use... mixed bag. If you're driving at cruising speed more than stop-n-go, then using your A/C is actually better, because your windows will be rolled up. The car is built with certain aerodynamic properties - considered while the windows are rolled up... your car loses more MPG with the windows down (at cruising speed). Any loss of economy perceived from A/C usage is offset by better aerodynamics. For stop-n-go driving, windows down with the A/C off is better... for economy... but not always the driver and passengers.
8. Using cruise control is a mixed bag as well. With the cruise on, yes it will help maintain speed - on flat surfaces. But in hilly terrain, it will wait til the last possible moment, then grab the next gear to climb a hill... losing precious momentum while it decides what to do. As well, when coming down a hill, it will hold the car back, bleeding off precious momentum to maintain the speed. Better to drive without cruise in hilly terrain.
10. To 'warm-up' or not to warm-up. Let the car idle. There's this thing called an 'Idle Air Control Valve' on your car. It helps the ECU regulate the fuel mixture - which is usually richer after start-up til the engine's up to operating temperature. By idling while the engine 'warms-up,' you actually use less gas then simply firing it up and taking off, since the richer mixture translates into more gas burning at higher rpms.
11 & 12. Both of these believe you have an older car that is carbureted with bias-ply tires. I don't know of anybody around here driving vehicles with carbs and bias-belts except me (my Jeep) - most everybody's cars are newer with fuel-injection and radials. Revving the engine before shut-down is not a common thing - people with problematic carbs used to do it to 'prime' the bowl in the carb for the next start-up. And proper tire inflation is just a good idea anyway, but with bias-ply tires, underinflated tires usually wind up as a wild ride until the tires warm up and become plyable again.
3. Fan belt tension too tight. BS. Too loose of a belt, and it slips - causing wasted energy (the engine peripherals won't work as well, causing other issue). Besides, the majority of the cars on the road today have belt self-tensioners and single serpentine belts - which prevents the possibility of the owner 'adjusting' the tension of the belt.
4. Spark plugs best left to a trained technician. BS. If you can change oil, you can change plugs... it's much less messy as well.
6. Your gas mileage will not improve 5% by lightening your car by 200 lbs (unless you weight 200lbs and you choose not to drive it).
7. A/C use... mixed bag. If you're driving at cruising speed more than stop-n-go, then using your A/C is actually better, because your windows will be rolled up. The car is built with certain aerodynamic properties - considered while the windows are rolled up... your car loses more MPG with the windows down (at cruising speed). Any loss of economy perceived from A/C usage is offset by better aerodynamics. For stop-n-go driving, windows down with the A/C off is better... for economy... but not always the driver and passengers.
8. Using cruise control is a mixed bag as well. With the cruise on, yes it will help maintain speed - on flat surfaces. But in hilly terrain, it will wait til the last possible moment, then grab the next gear to climb a hill... losing precious momentum while it decides what to do. As well, when coming down a hill, it will hold the car back, bleeding off precious momentum to maintain the speed. Better to drive without cruise in hilly terrain.
10. To 'warm-up' or not to warm-up. Let the car idle. There's this thing called an 'Idle Air Control Valve' on your car. It helps the ECU regulate the fuel mixture - which is usually richer after start-up til the engine's up to operating temperature. By idling while the engine 'warms-up,' you actually use less gas then simply firing it up and taking off, since the richer mixture translates into more gas burning at higher rpms.
11 & 12. Both of these believe you have an older car that is carbureted with bias-ply tires. I don't know of anybody around here driving vehicles with carbs and bias-belts except me (my Jeep) - most everybody's cars are newer with fuel-injection and radials. Revving the engine before shut-down is not a common thing - people with problematic carbs used to do it to 'prime' the bowl in the carb for the next start-up. And proper tire inflation is just a good idea anyway, but with bias-ply tires, underinflated tires usually wind up as a wild ride until the tires warm up and become plyable again.
I agree with your sentiments on those also. The rule of thumb I read somewhere and I can't recall where was that (all other things remaining equal) that approximately 100 less pounds of total vehicle weight translated into an approximate fuel savings of 1%, give or take a little. So therefore a 200 lb weight reduction should save only approximately 2%. (Caveat: this would apply to an "average" vehicle I'm thinking. The smaller the vehicle's mass, to my mind, the potential greater the fuel savings. The larger the vehicle's mass (and engine/torque) the less potential savings.) As a loose general rule the less crap you haul around the better potential mileage.
Another procedure that may help save gas is trying to preserve momentum. Anticipating lights, so you glide into them in neutral and try to sustain momentum by not coming to a dead stop (unless of course the light is still red or it is a stop sign.)
Reducing CD on a vehicle, especially trucks by not having all sorts of crap in the bed and sticking up into the wind. Tarp it if possible and make sure the front/leading edge of the tarp is very well secured.
Someone told me that the way the new trucks are designed aerodynamically, it is better NOT to have one of those pass thru screen tailgates. I don't know whether this is true or not. Or leaving the tailgate down (with nothing in the bed or if there is something in the bed that it is properly and safely secured) while travelling on the highway. Eric would know more about this than I.
Another procedure that may help save gas is trying to preserve momentum. Anticipating lights, so you glide into them in neutral and try to sustain momentum by not coming to a dead stop (unless of course the light is still red or it is a stop sign.)
Reducing CD on a vehicle, especially trucks by not having all sorts of crap in the bed and sticking up into the wind. Tarp it if possible and make sure the front/leading edge of the tarp is very well secured.
Someone told me that the way the new trucks are designed aerodynamically, it is better NOT to have one of those pass thru screen tailgates. I don't know whether this is true or not. Or leaving the tailgate down (with nothing in the bed or if there is something in the bed that it is properly and safely secured) while travelling on the highway. Eric would know more about this than I.
QUOTE (the_burner @ Nov 16 2008, 08:43 AM) 
I agree with your sentiments on those also. The rule of thumb I read somewhere and I can't recall where was that (all other things remaining equal) that approximately 100 less pounds of total vehicle weight translated into an approximate fuel savings of 1%, give or take a little. So therefore a 200 lb weight reduction should save only approximately 2%. (Caveat: this would apply to an "average" vehicle I'm thinking. The smaller the vehicle's mass, to my mind, the potential greater the fuel savings. The larger the vehicle's mass (and engine/torque) the less potential savings.) As a loose general rule the less crap you haul around the better potential mileage.
Results vary from car to car. On something like my Honda, a couple hundred pounds is huge. Whereas with the Ram - it could care less... wind is more of an enemy than weight.
QUOTE (the_burner @ Nov 16 2008, 08:43 AM)
Another procedure that may help save gas is trying to preserve momentum. Anticipating lights, so you glide into them in neutral and try to sustain momentum by not coming to a dead stop (unless of course the light is still red or it is a stop sign.)
That's one of the 'hyper-miler creedos.' And kind of a dangerous practice as well - IMHO. People get wrapped around the axle (no pun intended) trying to maintain momentum by more coasting, less braking, anticipation, et al, and they forget how to drive the car... so the dude that blew the stop sign on that side-street is a complete surprise, and because you're in neutral, you can't speed up to avoid, or use the engine to help slow you down even quicker.
Get stuck behind a hyper-miler sometime and observe how many different ways your temper will flare.
QUOTE (the_burner @ Nov 16 2008, 08:43 AM)
Reducing CD on a vehicle, especially trucks by not having all sorts of crap in the bed and sticking up into the wind. Tarp it if possible and make sure the front/leading edge of the tarp is very well secured.
Someone told me that the way the new trucks are designed aerodynamically, it is better NOT to have one of those pass thru screen tailgates. I don't know whether this is true or not. Or leaving the tailgate down (with nothing in the bed or if there is something in the bed that it is properly and safely secured) while travelling on the highway. Eric would know more about this than I.
Someone told me that the way the new trucks are designed aerodynamically, it is better NOT to have one of those pass thru screen tailgates. I don't know whether this is true or not. Or leaving the tailgate down (with nothing in the bed or if there is something in the bed that it is properly and safely secured) while travelling on the highway. Eric would know more about this than I.
Dropping the tailgate is a bad idea aside from the aerodynamic challenges it presents. On older truck, no tailgate or an Pro-Net tailgate can help... but only while at cruising speed. I had 'em on both of the Nissans, mostly for aesthetics (I'd change them around when I wanted to change the look of the truck). I have a vinyl tonneau on the Ram - and don't have any of the weird dip in the cover like the Nissan had when I ran its vinyl tonneau. Which means that the aero package on the Ram doesn't care if the tailgate is up or not - the air passes over the top of it under normal conditions.
As for dropping the tailgate, every time the truck hits a bump and bounces the tailgate up and down, it's like dropping a 200 lb weight on the 'gate - with the hinges and limiting straps taking the brunt. And if those are old and worn, the chances of losing your tailgate go up - which means someone's going to be surprised if they're too close behind you. (Actually seen that happen since I've been here in Texas - not pretty for the car following the truck... who was oblivious that he'd even lost his tailgate)
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