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Free Things You Can Do for Better Gas Mileage
capitalistconservative.blogspo… — Among my friends I am known as the "car guy." With gas prices skyrocketing, people keep asking me what they can do to get better gas mileage. Here are the things you can look for and change to squeeze those couple MPGs out of your car.
arlok789- 213 diggs
- digg it
- richardhammond, on 05/12/2008, -1/+4Right on mate. Good write up.
- JClarksondd, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2ha ha, Top Gear is awesome great name there. And good article as well.
- ltomson, on 05/12/2008, -2/+6Cool!
- geofftan, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3im thinkin of converting my car into LPG...
- KatoHamatsu, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3Natural gas?
- brnagi, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2I think he meant to say was, Liquid Petroleum Gasoline or LPG.
- KatoHamatsu, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3Natural gas?
- Joshuarr, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Most of my friends call ME 'The Folding Expert'. Pleased to meet you!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ7Lawiw84g - had to scour the digg annals for this...) - Qong, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Lots of things that I didn't know there. Thanks for the information.
- SpeakMediaBlog, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Nice tips. I had my mom in my car with me for Mom Day and she hipped me to the whole - don't accelerate thing. At first, I argued, how can I drive if I don't accelerate? But, I did catch on eventually. :-)
- TheKingInYellow, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3this list seems like common sense to me. i guess lately more and more drivers take their vehicles for granted and drive them into the ground without thinking twice about what they're doing.
- isuisorisuaint, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2common sense; use it.
- orxor, on 05/12/2008, -11/+7digg me down
- khail250, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3why are you so cool and popular with all your friends?
- xxvtcxx, on 05/12/2008, -2/+13have you ever sucked d*ck for unleaded?
- arlok789, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2no, only crack, i'll do that when gas hits 5 a gallon
- protodon, on 05/12/2008, -7/+1oh god, a self-proclaimed "car guy"
- UltramegaOK, on 05/12/2008, -8/+3Free Things You Can Do for Better Gas Mileage -
Shying away from my normal programming of heartless political commentary, I thought I would post this because I believe it's genuinely helpful.
Among my friends I am known as the "car guy." With gas prices skyrocketing, people keep asking me what they can do to get better gas mileage.
Here are the things you can look for and change to squeeze those couple MPGs out of your car.
* Tire Pressure
o Check your pressure and see if it is low. You can find the recommended pressure in the manual or inside the frame of one of the doors. You are going to have the best ride and handling combination at this setting.
o If you are willing to have a bumpier ride in exchange for better mileage, you can fill your tires to the max pressure written on the side of the tire. Too much can make your tires less grippy in wet weather.
* Junk in your trunk
o Any extra weight hurts fuel economy. Take anything out that you don't need.
* Air Filter
o A clogged up airfilter can kill fuel economy and power. Check it to make sure it is clean. A little dirt is ok, but if it is black, get a new one.
o K&N filters are proven to let more dirt in your engine without actually helping performance. Don't even bother.
* Air Conditioning
o Using the AC destroys fuel economy.
o Putting the windows down hurts economy, but not as much as the AC.
o Watch the defroster, on some cars it automatically turns on the AC compressor and hurts economy. You can tell if the engine rpm dips when you turn it on.
* Slow Down
o Accelerate slowly. Flooring it sucks down gas.
o Anything faster than 65 mph hurts economy.
* Be smooth
o Don't stop short. You want to maintain as much of your speed as possible.
o This helps you accelerate less, and you save more gas.
o Soft on the brakes, soft on the gas.
Keep your car in good shape. Give it oil changes and check the tires regularly.
I promise I will say evil things in the next post. Really, I will. - Birdoftruth, on 05/12/2008, -1/+11this is wrong about AC and opening windows Consumer Reports says this:
"Air conditioning vs. opening windows. Some people advise you not to run the air conditioner because it puts more of a load on the engine, which can decrease fuel economy. But others say that opening the windows at highway speeds can affect gas mileage even more by disrupting the vehicle's aerodynamics. Our tests show that neither makes enough of a difference to worry about. Using air conditioning while driving at 65 mph reduced the Camry's gas mileage by about 1 mpg. The effect of opening the windows at 65 mph was not even measurable."
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/tires-auto ...- scy1192, on 05/12/2008, -0/+5Yes, it was even tested on Mythbusters. Episode 22
- digitallysick, on 05/12/2008, -0/+5So , making the car lighter improves mileage, humm i wonder how much lighter i would have to make my car to see a difference and if the cost would be worth it.
what about super unleaded gas? it cost more, but do you get more miles out of it?- carpespasm, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1That's pretty hit or miss depending on the car. Some cars do better on it cost-wise, most don't.
- Infidelcastr0, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Premium is meant for more highly tuned engines, it provides more resistance to detonation (an unsafe violent explosion inside your engine) which allows the engine to be tuned for a bit more power, which is why it is often required for sportier cars, If your car calls for regular you should just use it and save a few bucks.
- bincoder, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2I increased my mpg in the city by 50 percent by ignoring everything on this list except for driving style. Treat both the gas and the brake pedal as something that causes excruciating pain in your foot when you touch them. Time the lights and traffic to maintain some speed, not super fast, not super slow. A manual tranny is a godsend, lets you coast with zero engine load for however long you can. A front air dam can boost it too by up to 20 percent, not free, but whats $15 and some home tinkering. I haven't done that yet.
- bhod, on 05/12/2008, -2/+2vote for obama. in the long run, once he's in office, i bet he'll do whatever it takes to lower gas prices. it's a win/win situation. gobama!
- borez, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Won't don't you get about peak oil and that fact that gas prices are gonna keep going up till it basically runs out. No politician can or will ever change this.
- mojo8472, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2K&N filters are awesome! Get a panel filter and you'll be laughing over folks with the standard ones!
Also, veggie oil is your friend! - cheappop, on 05/12/2008, -1/+6How about walking or riding a bike every once in a while?
- romistrub, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1I go to a university where bus passes are included in the tuition... for like 20% of the regular price. It's great!
- diizy, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2This is such ***** spam, pure digg garbage.
- borez, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Get rid of your car
- ileftfark, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3From Consumer Reports: "Air conditioning vs. opening windows. Some people advise you not to run the air conditioner because it puts more of a load on the engine, which can decrease fuel economy. But others say that opening the windows at highway speeds can affect gas mileage even more by disrupting the vehicle's aerodynamics. Our tests show that neither makes enough of a difference to worry about. Using air conditioning while driving at 65 mph reduced the Camry's gas mileage by about 1 mpg. The effect of opening the windows at 65 mph was not even measurable."
I hate when people insist that the A/C kills your mpg. But then again, this article was written by a self-proclaimed "car guy". And he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Source: http://url.ie/do6 (links to Consumer Reports) - Fanrir, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Also if you're in the market for a car, a manual is like cheating. You can really squeeze out extra MPGs if you drive it right.
http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Gas-when-Driving-a-Car ...
This wikihow provides some decent tips. - diamondbigdog, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1How many times is this going to be shared?
- pdiddy827, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1good write up man
- Gadgeteer10, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Nice Article, I will definitely will use them, My only question remains how high will gas price go? It's getting really crazy :o(
- afclark1, on 06/18/2008, -0/+0Oil Companies figure way to stop price increase of oil per barrel
How are they going to hold prices in place since they had no clue up until this point? Simple, the oil companies are taking a queue from many manufactures’ of grocery How will this help the price of gas for your car? http://www.therealaustin.net/?p=91
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