BLOG COMMENTS RE: Driving to Save Gas - Myths & Reality
BLOG COMMENTS RE: Driving to Save Gas - Myths & Reality
As gas passes $4 per gallon throughout the United States and nears $5 in good ole California, most everyone is trying to improve their fuel economy. So, here are some small steps that can help you get the most out of your car and some 'myths' that don't really help.
Things that actually work:
1. Slow Down! No really, Consumer Reports found that a car that got 40 mile per gallon (mpg) at 55 miles per hour (mph), got less than 30 mpg at 75 mph – that's a 25% drop in fuel economy.
2. Drive smoothly. Accelerating aggressively, however much it may impress your fellow drivers, can reduce your mileage significantly.
3. Keep your tires inflated to the recommended pressure. Not only does this improve the safety and handling of you car, truck, or SUV (say it ain't so GreenMoms!), it really helps improve your gas mileage (ever try to ride a bike with low tires?).
4. Don't idle for more than 30 seconds. This saves gas and reduces emissions.
5. Unload all that junk in the trunk (I'm referring to the car's trunk). Nearly all the energy released by burning gasoline is used to move your car's massive weight. Help out by only carrying the things you need.
Things that don't really work:
1. Believing the mechanic/speedy oil changer/auto parts guy when they tell you your dirty air filter is causing you to get worse gas mileage. This may have been true in older cars but not today. Dirty filters do, however, reduce your car's acceleration.
2. Air conditioning causes you to get better/worse mileage than rolling down your windows. They both have a negligible effect on gas mileage so be comfortable.
3. Premium gas will improve your gas mileage. Unless our owner's manual says you “must” use premium fuel, save your money. High octane won't improve your gas mileage enough to justify the additional $.20 per gallon.
4. Driving with your lights out. Believe it or not, in some developing nations where gasoline is significantly more than $4.50 a gallon and yearly per capita incomes are lower than the cost of your car, people drive without using their headlights, even at night, believing that they will save fuel. Being able to see and be seen is vastly more important than the amount of additional fuel, if any, needed to create the electricity to run the headlights.
These tips were taken from an article in Consumer Reports (June 2008), Discover Magazine (June 2008) and the life experience of a GreenDad.
