What is everyone doing to save on fuel. Has anybodies driving habits changed? Have you done anything that has saved you fuel that you would like to share? Please discuss.
The smart thing for me to do would be to trade in my Ranger and Trans Am on a Prius. :
Habits
Ride bicycle for small commutes
Avoid passengers unless they are paying the gas bill
Avoid the break pedal as much as possible
Don’t go W.o.T. unless it’s necessary (try to accelerate at half throttle)
Drive at a conservative speed when possible
Drive in highest gear possible. Dont cruise down Central Ave in 3rd gear cause you like the way it sounds
Maintenance
Check your tire pressure weekly. Low tire pressure is more resistance
Do the regular tune up on your car. Plugs, wires, ect.
Check your air filter and replace if neccessary. Also replace fuel filter.
Get rid of all the dead weight/junk in the car
Check brake systems for binding and draging. A stuck park brake cable or siezed caliper piston can destroy gas mileage
Check Bearings, Trans, Differentials for proper lubrication or fluid level
Keep your car clean. Dirt on your car is extra weight and may cause extra wind resistance
Filling Up
fill up in the morning bc the gas is more condensed bc of the cold. If you get gas in the afternoon, the heat makes your gallon of gas less of a gallon
fill up slowly. this way less air gets mixed in with the gas, and you get more for your money.
don’t ever get gas when the big fill-up truck is there bc the sludge and dirt get mixed up with the gas and get pumped into your car.
Keep 1/2 tank in your car. The fuel pump may boil/evaporate the fuel making it unusable by the engine and wasted
Very nice Vlad… I keep my Ranger at 55 or below when possible. A few MPH is not worth a few MPG these days. Also if you have working AC. Your AC compressor creates less parasitic drag at highway speeds than having your windows open. Its a fact.
I was getting about 28 all highway. My GTP was great. I could squeez out 32 highway with AC on. 2.73 final drive FTW :giggedy
Has anyone tried lighter oil viscosity to get better mileage?.. this could be risky. I want to run 5w20 in the Ranger but I doubt it would help and the motor does have 151k
ive stopped racing as much as i usually would, trying to keep the rpms as low as possible, for example when im driving down central instead of cruising at 40 where im at the top of third i do around 46-47 because its at the bottom of fourth, where i can cruise at 1000rpms lol
my truck is a 06 with 8,7xx miles on it. i was usually getting 14-16mpg in the city with it and i drive like a grandma, but i went to help a friend move fro brockport over the weekend and i was heavy on the pedal on the way home. i did a few WOT runs and got on it alot on the way home to over-take slower traffic which i NEVER do. so i filled up once i got back into rotterdam and just filled up and got almost 19mpg ALL city driving. i think maybe the truck needed to be ran hard to clear it out. hopefully it stays good
yea ive learned to just fill up because next time you go its gonna cost more :nono
i get 25-27 around town in the jetta so its not too bad and that WOT every other day
and the cobra, yea lets just say it has gotten pretty used to its car cover. that costs me $10 to even take it out. Its to the point now where its not even worth it
i just drive slower, thats helped a ton, for highway trips I use cruise control also, I’ve gotten a little better mpg’s, 30mpg is great but I still pay 4.50 a gallon so its not that great :sad oh well its worth it
i changed the tune in my car, changed the way i drive it most of the time, typical stuff like tire pressure etc… but also id like to add that i only put a couple of gallons in at a time. less fuel means less weight to lug around that means less fuel to get where i need to go…so a quater of a tank is all i ever have unless im going on a long trip.
I got this email a while back w/a few tips. I’ll have to go dig it up, but a couple I remember were
fill up in the morning bc the gas is more condensed bc of the cold. If you get gas in the afternoon, the heat makes your gallon of gas less of a gallon
fill up slowly. this way less air gets mixed in with the gas, and you get more for your money.
don’t ever get gas when the big fill-up truck is there bc the sludge and dirt get mixed up with the gas and get pumped into your car.
fill up when you’re half-full. I forget the reasoning behind this one.
I don’t know if these are true or not. Some of them seem to make sense, others idk bc I’m not physics major.
just like air has more oxygen when cold, fuel is more dense and carries more energy when cold. So if you fill up in the morning then you get more for your money but Im not sure how much of a difference this makes.
“Keep your tank 1/2 full”… Im guessing the reasoning behind this is that your fuel pump creates heat, it is cooled by fuel. When your tank is low the fuel pump starts to boil and evaporate the gas. Your evaporated gas cannot be pumped to your engine and is burned thru the charcoal canister or EVAP system and not used as fuel. It is simply burnt so it doent release hydro carbons into the atmosphere. You know how you hear that loud hiss when you pop your fuel cap when the tank is empty? Its not cause air is pumped into your tank to push the fuel out.(I was actually told this once :idiots) Its the pressure built up from evaporating gas and resulting pressure.
Keep your car clean inside and out… A dirty car weighs more and has more wind resistance… Also, If this applies, take off that silly Pep Boys APC ricer spoiler. It will not make down force, its just an air brake. Keep air dams under vehicle in working condition as well, they are there for a reason. Alot of times they help push air to the radiator or brakes as well
I updated my original post with everyones ideas so far ^ Tell me if I missed anything or if you have something to add
