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168 Comments
- zatrix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30stopping your car when your waiting at the lights? somehow that doesnt sound like a good idea
- yorxs, on 10/12/2007, -1/+28Turning your car off everytime you stop will cause lots of extra wear and tear, I think that is a bad idea.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28I don't feel guilty about turning on the A/C anymore.
- Cbeck527, on 10/12/2007, -9/+32Did anyone else think that MPG meant mpeg......
Nonetheless, excellent article. I will use some of those techniques. - beelz, on 10/12/2007, -8/+31Recommendation: Stop driving like a maniac.
- schwit61, on 10/12/2007, -5/+25How about carpooling or riding a bicycle?
- joelhardi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Exactly. Everything in the "aggressive driving" category like accelerating toward a red light and then braking at the last moment wastes gas, besides causing unnecessary wear and tear on your engine/transmission/brakes and making your passengers carsick, afraid for their lives etc.
Whereas cruising on the highway at 65 instead of 75 ... OK, I might save a few cents on gas, but what about my time? And the fact that the speed of traffic is 75-85 where I live? - drizek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I hate it when people do that. Once this guy was behind me as i was driving smoothly towards a red light. He goes to the left lane and floors it, then brakes at the light. a couple seconds later i pull up next to him...
- YossarianDent, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15So...since this is a tech site...did anyone else get unrealistically excited by the headline because they thought they were about to learn how to improve their mpeg encoding efficiency by 37%?
Edit: Hmm, just saw Cbeck's comment. Good to know I'm not alone. - tsunamisteve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12The whole A/C thing is as insignificant as they think. Mythbusters examined this issue twice, and if you're going faster than 60 I think, it does become an issue.
- Wolfboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11yeah, it surprised me, too, that running the A/C didn't do much to their gas mileage.
I had heard that at speeds over 45 mph, the a/c hurts you less than the wind resistance of opening the windows. But they didn't get much of a hit with the windows, either, until they opened the sunroof. Makes me wonder how much driving a convertible with the top down hurts your gas mileage. - unluckier, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Two words: Wind Resistance
- awfulshot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10"brake easy" .. sorry but braking fast/slow does not increase/decrease mileage. but braking EARLY so that by the time you get to the red light it has turned green and you save a lot of kinetic energy.
- rspeed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@signal15
While that might be the most efficient RPM for the engine, don't forget that air friction is exponential. If driving twice to hit the peak torque of the engine makes it 1/4 more efficient, the amount of drag has doubled. - *blu*, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Darn! And my excuse for not fixing my AC has always been "AC kills gas milage anyway!"
- ninjapirate350, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9That will make starter changes as common as oil changes.
- sedd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I think he has a valid point, actually. The gear ratios for trucks and SUVs are tuned for power, not effeciency. I used to drive a 91 Land Cruiser (which has that old, legendary straight-6 engine) which had tons of torque but ***** horsepower on the freeway. If the two factors determining MPG are 1) how far down you push the gas pedal and 2) your current speed, then driving in 3rd between 50 and 60 mph (ie, going uphill) saved me alot of gas, because I needed much less throttle to maintain the same speed in 3rd than in 4th. YMMV (literally)
- MuglyWumple, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Incandescents use the same amount of energy to turn on as they do to keep lit. Fluorescents are another matter and require substantially more energy to start up - that's what ballasts are for being basically big capacitors. When you see a fluorescent flickering it is consuming huge amounts of energy as it is basically restarting at every flicker.
- Sofa_King_Jank, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11No kidding, I agree. I don't want to hear anyone bitching about the fuel consumption of their car when people drive and accelerate like they are in a race car. What is the point of "flooring it" when the light turns green?
- 3rdMEgo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@ pauldonnelly
Are you kidding? The AC is the only part of the AC/fan mechanism that could have a significant effect on your gas mileage. You see, while the fans are simple electic motors, the AC is actually connected, via a belt, to you engine. Thus, running the AC sucks power away from your engine that would have otherwise been going to the wheels, significantly reducing gas mileage. The only thing the blowers do is suck charge from your battery (which, i suppose, would require power from the engine (through the alternator) to charge... but it's a SIGNIFICANTLY less amount of power). - dhughes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7 Use synthetic engine oil ("regular" modern multi-grade oil is partly synthetic) with a low viscosity such as 5W30 (instead of 10W30), and change it and the filter often. Replace all other oils and grease with synthetic types too.
Replace the air filter often and use one that flows better such as a K&N type, but just changing it is OK too without getting crazy.
Clean the throttle body valve of gunk when the engine idle gets rough.
Change the PCV valve once per year.
Change the radiator thermostat when you change your rad fluid, since you may as well do it then. If your engine temp is off that can rob engine power and efficiency.
I notice a lot of inexperienced drivers, or it's a bad habit, use their brakes instead of thinking of the situation. If you are approaching a stop light why drive to it and then slam on your brakes? Wait for it to turn green if there is no other traffic behind you that you'll slow down.
I also see people put their brakes on going down hills or around a turn (a very dangerous habit especially when the road is wet or ice covered!)
Rotate your tires to promote even wear. - crobcary, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I don't think that a sunroof's effects is like that of a convertible -- a sunroof is essentially an air-catching hole in what would be a flat surface (and that surface isn't really designed to compensate for that hole), whereas a convertible is designed to move air up and away from the cabin.
- Oline61, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I think I like the Flintstone's solution better.
- nazadus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Agreed, it's not the act of slowing down that screws you -- it's the speeding back up.
What I'm thinking is that most people slow down *too* much, and thusly have to catch up back up. When, had they not over-braked, they wouldn't have had to accelerate so much. - KenwoodCash, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I think that carpooling, riding a bicycle, and other major fuel saving options are a great idea too.
At the same time, people will definitely keep driving solo, so I'm glad that someone is looking into making it more fuel efficient.
Digg. - drewjoh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The A/C is typically run by the engine, not the battery. The RPMs go up because clicking the A/C on makes the engine have to turn the air compressor for the AC as well as do everything it was doing before.
- stou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The guy from Top Gear took an Audi A8 (Diesel) something like 500 miles on one gas tank. He gave a bunch of tips for driving more efficently (like speeding up before hills and then letting go of the gas). But the thing that was strange is that when coming up to a stop-sign or light with a manual transmission it is better to downshift and let go of the gas than shift into neutral or press the clutch. The reason being that the engine uses some gas to keep itself going when in neutral... but if its just "rolling" without any gas applied it uses virtualy no fuel.
- pkulak, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I've seen MythBusters. ;)
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6It doesn't matter what it is meant for. The disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
- kyote, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I love seeing those people with their large SUVs idleing away at the starbucks drive through. I go, park my vehicle, go inside, get my coffee, come back out and their still waiting. I wonder how much all that idleing adds to the cost of the grande latte? Just another sign of how lazy and stupid people can be.
- zblackeagle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Yeah, everyone's a closet genius after watching MythBusters
- Angostura, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I seem to recall (ah, those weasel words) a study done in the UK a long time ago which suggested that it was worth switching off if you were going to be stationary for more that 90 seconds.
- SpacePirate, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6That's why they said only to cut the engine if you'll be stopped for longer than a minute. If there is a three-lane accident right in front of you, you don't want to spend the next twenty minutes idling. If you look at it that way, it's pretty obvious. This won't help you at all in stop-and-go interstate traffic, but it's at least worth considering at particularly long red lights.
- kyote, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I agree. I have to wonder, why are you accelerating towards the red light? you have to stop sooner or later? what's the point? are you trying to prove something to me? if so, I really don't care. I just think your an idiot.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Not in a conventional car of course, but that's one of the big benefits of a hybrid. Idle stop is a big winner, and I seem to remember VW working on non-hybrid auto stop mechanisms using a heavy duty alternator or something along those lines.
- gotamd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4A/C *DOES* affect gas mileage! They're comparing the decrease in mileage between using A/C and rolling down your windows. They concluded that they have about the same effect. However, doing either one of them will decrease your mileage.
- Soldan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4How?
Ride a fricken bike.
or take the transit in metro areas...simple. - JudgeDredd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Can't wait to test that one out. I am sure everyone behind me will be pleased with my new gas saving method. For F's sake, people freak out when I do not see the light change and delay their progress by a fraction of a second. Oh, and then are those occasions with the same scenerio where I then freak out that I missed the light and pop the clutch too fast. Sounds like a sound plan if you want people to attack you.
The other thing I take issue with is aggressive v. passive driving. Where I live, if you do not drive somewhat aggressivelly, you will get nowhere. Of course, in theory not driving aggressively should result in better milage. In reality, you get cut off by everyone and their aunts, causing you to miss lights, etc. No, I am not one of those assclowns that needs to speed up when they see a red light to get a better starting position. When I see the light go yellow, I put in the clutch and coast. If someone wants to jump in front of me, that is fine with me.
Do not get me started on driving in Asian countries. Yes, it is a stereotype, but my God, it is true. Absolute nightmare. In my personal experience, the Germans are the safest drivers. - screensnot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5You must be assuming that cars are the only contributing factor to global warming.
I'm not even sure that they are the #1 factor. - merugo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I don't buy the bit about not idling. I've heard that every time you start your car up, it uses about forty-five seconds with of gas that would otherwise be used for driving.
- enderu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"and accepted by many in the scientific community"
And yet no names...cute. - weiran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@signal15: my car's max torque is at 6000 rpm, and some other high revving engines have max torques in excess of 7000rpm, which is a lot. Don't forget that accelerating to that kinda speed will completely negate any advantage of the efficiency (which isn't that much).
Also, why not just drop it down a gear if you want to keep your engine at your max torque rpm? - gotamd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The A/C one is comparing the effect of using the A/C unit versus the effect of driving with your windows down. Both of these things lower your gas mileage (lowering your windows increases drag). If you don't mind sweating like a pig, you could save a few bucks by always keeping your windows up and not using your A/C. Of course, I doubt anyone's really interested in doing that ;)
- CrashKC, on 08/25/2008, -0/+4With an automatic transmission there is nothing to gain by idling in gear vs. idling in neutral. Check out how a torque converter works and you'll see why.
With a manual trans, you had better be idling in neutral or you're going to have to drop a wad of cash on a new throwout bearing in the near future. - MuglyWumple, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Wind Resistance increases exponentially as velocity increases linearly. Just try to ride a bicycle at 25 mph and you'll see how quickly wind resistance will consume your energy.
- rewritable, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9Well my 2000 Ford Explorer gets 12 MPG with the AC on and 17 with it off so go figure.
- interiot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Engines have a specific RPM that they're most efficient at. It's not necessarily a low RPM or a high RPM, it's probably somewhere in between.
- Rickler, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5AC affecting your gas mileage depends if the compressor is connected to the fan belt or is run separately by an electric motor.
- screensnot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@ Griffin
That particular model (and probably many other modern vehicles) recognize when "engine braking" is happening, and it cuts fuel off completely. Therefore you are not using any fuel as you coast down while coming up to a stoplight. Whereas putting the car in neutral means the engine needs fuel to keep from stalling. - Eliminator, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If you match engine RPMs to ground speed when you downshift it's not hard on much of anything. I would think that most modern computer controlled fuel injected vehicles shut off gas completely when coasting in gear, but I could be wrong. This would definitely not be true with a carburetted engine where you suck fuel anytime there is air flow.
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