I lost my virginity and wish to take revenge!
The other day I paid more than $4.00 a gallon for the first time in the USA (of course I have often paid more when traveling in Europe). Anyway I thought I better take my revenge on the oil companies by writing about how to save gas....
How to take revenge on OPEC
Save Money at the Pump
According to the government most "Gas-Saving" products don't work and just burn a hole in your pocket.However you can easily save ten to twenty percent of your total fuel cost by using the following techniques:
- Use the lowest grade gas your car will accept
The only difference between the different grades is the octane number. They are just as clean as each other and in fact most modern engines have total electronic control and the computer will alter the timing accordingly. For example my car prefers premium gasoline but works fine with regular it produces 220 horse power instead of its normal 240 with premium, and in reality the 220 is plenty too much for our roads.
If you have older car just experiment so you find a mixture which does not "ping." So you may get a mixture of two gallon middle with three of regular. So use the right gas and save, save, save, and tell OPEC and the oil companies where to go!
- Lose weight
No I don't mean your weight. You should know that I always tell my weight reduction clients to lose weight loss from their terminology and instead use weight management and weight reduction. The weight loss I'm talking about is the weight of the junk you may carry in your car. So many people use their cars (especially the boot - trunk) as a storage room. so empty your car and be nicely surprised to notice the improvement in your gas mileage.
Note: the increase of the weight of cars over the last twenty years is one of the main reasons the fuel economy has not improved even though the engines have become more efficient. In 1990 the Honda Civic GX weighed 2000 pounds and got about 50 M.P.G. Since then even economy cars have got heavier. Thus today the equivalent car the Honda Fit weighs in at 2400 pounds (the engine is also a little perkier - has an extra 15 horse power) and only does 35 M.P.G.
- Have your tires at the correct pressure.
If your tire pressure is too low your fuel efficiency goes down and if it too high your tires wear out faster. Your optimal recommended tire pressure is written next to the driver's door. Check your tire pressure at least once a month. - Drive slower in freeways.
Air pressure goes up to the power of three which means you use about twenty percent more gas by going at 80 rather than 65 and would gain even more if you went at 55. I personally have started going at less than 75 and save gas and get peace of mind as in greater Los Angeles typically you do not get a ticket by traveling at less than 75 or so. Recently did get a ticket and since then slowed down to 75 and my millage went up by 10 percent. - Accelerate less aggressively.
This is a biggie. Driving like a maniac is dangerous for your pocket book as well as your mind (very stressful when you put your foot down) and you body - much safer - should lower your insurance costs too. - Use highest possible gear for a given speed.
The lower the revs (R.P.M) the lower the gas usage. Best theoretical gas mileage comes by being in your top gear, constant speed, at the lowest speed that your engine allows - about 40 to 45 M.P.H. for most cars. In practice that may be a good speed in surface streets where the speed limit is 45.
A game I play is to limit my revs and change gear before 4,500 R.P.M. (my car revs to 9,000). That still keeps my car as one of the faster cars on the road but saves a lot of fuel and makes driving skillful and fun rather than relying on brute force and ignorance to drive fast. - Anticipate the traffic - by driving slower (at the posted speed limit) you will hit more green lights
- Turn your engine off if your are waiting longer than thirty seconds.Starting your engine does use some extra gas so thirty seconds is the break even point.
- Combine errands.
- Use cruise control in the freeways.
Cruise control will simply stop you from accelerating and breaking which wastes gas. - Tune your engine.
This can save you a lot. - Change your oil in time.
Saves your engine as well as increasing your M.P.G. - Check and replace air filters regularly
Same here. Your engine needs to breath. - Open windows vs. air conditioner
For most cars (depends on the aerodynamics of the individual car), if you drive bellow 55 M.P.H. you can save a little fuel by opening the window but above that speed use the air conditioner because as I mentioned resistance to air goes up to the power of three vs speed and the turbulence caused by the open window will lower your fuel efficiency much more than using you air conditioner. - If you have a convertible drive with top up. See note about turbulence in previous section.
Note:I have a convertible and drive with top down often (especially on surface roads) knowing that it gives me a lower fuel efficiency. I bought it to have fun. I live in sunny Southern California and boys (well men) want to have fun!
P.S. By the way when you look at the totality of life cycle pollution the Honda Fit is more "Green" than the hybrids which cause huge amount of pollution thanks to the use if so much lead in the batteries. That's going to be my next car.
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- doctorjay8 doctorjay8 Mar 4, 2009 @ 7:57 pm
- I got a speeding ticket recently. So for now I'm driving slower and accelerating less. My gas millage improved by 10%.
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