The more you can stretch your gas mileage, the more money you save and the less you contribute to global warming and climate change. You don’t have to drive a hybrid to get better mileage. Paying attention to these rules will increase your mileage and stretch your driving dollars. How much? Perhaps as much as 30% overall.
Here’s how you do it:
Keep up with vehicle maintenance. Keep the engine tuned, be sure the air filter is clean, and have the fuel filter checked. If your oxygen sensor is faulty, a new one can give you a 15% mileage boost.
If you drive mostly on the highway at highway speeds (not stuck in traffic during rush hour), change your oil and filter every 5,000 – 10,000 miles. If you drive a lot in city traffic, idle your engine for minutes at a time, or tow a trailer, don’t let it go beyond 5,000 miles. Highway driving is not stressful for your engine. It’s running at a constant speed and cooling well, as is your transmission. When the handbook mentions heavy service, they’re talking about stop-and-go town driving, the kind most folks do all the time.
In dusty conditions, on dirt roads, construction sites, etc., change the oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, and the oil filter and air filter every 10,000 miles. Fresh oil helps your engine run at an even temperature and cuts friction, both of which increase mileage. If your air filter is dirty, your engine can’t breathe. With gas at $4.00 a gallon, you’ll pay for the filter in a very short time.
Keep your tires inflated to the car manufacturer’s maximum recommended pressure for an increase of up to 6%. Having wheels aligned properly can be worth a 10% boost in economy, according to the EPA. Check your tire pressures every two weeks with a good gauge from an auto parts store. In addition to saving gas, you’ll insure that you get maximum mileage and safety from the tires themselves.
Remove extra weight. Keep the trunk or truck bed free of unnecessary junk, to save the gas used hauling it around. Every extra 200 lbs. is worth about 1 m.p.g.
Change your driving style
Here is the area where you can make the biggest difference, by far. You can be the most efficient fuel-saving device in your automobile, if you drive sensibly. Accelerate gradually, drive smoothly, and with care you could see as much as a 20 percent gain in fuel economy, compared with what you’d get with an aggressive driving style, according to the EPA.
Skip jackrabbit starts and sudden pedal-to-the-metal maneuvers if you want to save gas. Anticipate stops so you avoid sudden braking, and take a long view of the road ahead, coasting safely to an intersection in front of you where you see traffic stopped.
Keep your speed down. Most vehicles get their best mileage between 40 and 50 m.p.h., or at a speed just above the point where the torque converter locks up. At 65 m.p.h. you will get about 15% worse fuel economy than at 55, and the faster you go above that the bigger the difference. Stay in the slower-moving lanes. Plan your trip to allow for lower speeds. Sure, people will pass you. Deal with it. You’re the grownup.
Make sure you have all the needed maps or navigation devices to keep from getting lost. Aimless driving wastes time and gas. Remember that GPS is only as good as its database. If you don’t see things you ought to be seeing, backtrack to the last known good location and consult a dead tree map or ask the system to give you an alternate route.
Use the “Drive Without Brakes” technique (DWB)
Drive as though you have no brakes. Allow plenty of distance between you and the vehicles ahead, so that you can take your foot off the gas and coast. This means you will have to watch traffic several cars ahead in town, and as much as a mile ahead on the highway. Never use the brakes unless you have to. You’re converting gas to brake dust and heat every time you touch the pedal. Yes, people will cut in ahead of you. Deal with that, too. You are an adult, aren’t you?
Plan your approach to slowdowns, traffic lights, stop signs and so forth to minimize speed loss if possible. Remember, if your foot is off the gas, you’re practically driving for free.
If you see that you’ll have to stop ahead, brake early and then coast. By arriving later, you might be able to get there after the other cars are already moving, thus avoiding a complete stop. Starting from a stop uses a lot more gas than accelerating from even a few mph.
In the case of stop signs, slow ahead of time so that you don’t have to wait behind other cars, coasting up as they pull away from the sign. Start-and-stop driving wastes the most gas.
Drive Smart
Don’t idle too long. Don’t waste fuel by sitting in the drive-thru lane at McDonald’s or Taco Bell. Park and go inside instead. Don’t let your vehicle idle as you wait outside the school to pick up your children. Idling uses more fuel than turning the engine off, waiting for your youngsters and then restarting the engine.
Turning off the air conditioner and driving with the windows open may save a bit of gas in city traffic, but not at highway speeds. The additional drag from the open windows will far exceed the advantage of running without the air, and sunroofs really create drag! Overall it doesn’t seem to make much difference if you run the a/c, even in city driving, so be comfortable. That way you’ll stay in the mood to apply the other tips.
Plan Ahead
Combine your errands into one trip, rather than taking multiple trips from home. Organize your stops so they’re near each other and so you don’t retrace your path. You may even be able to park in one central spot and walk between some of your stops, rather than driving and parking at each one. For large gatherings, organize a carpool. If a distance to a gathering is far enough, you might save fuel by renting a 15-passenger van instead of going in several cars. Hey, it could be fun!
Plan your trips so you go out during less-congested times of day. When there’s less traffic, you’re more apt to be able to drive smoothly.
Buy Smart
When you shop for a new vehicle, compare fuel economy. Bear in mind how bigger vehicles, bigger engines, four-wheel drive and lots of optional equipment can add to a vehicle’s weight and, as a result, reduce its fuel efficiency. Even larger tires can have an effect. A tire with a larger “footprint” on the road has more rolling resistance than a comparable smaller tire, and this can lower fuel economy.
Even if you don’t decide on a new-technology vehicle, such as a hybrid, you should carefully consider whether you really need a V6 or a V8 in your next car or truck. The National Automobile Dealers Association advises consumers to test drive models with various engines in a range of driving conditions to determine what fits them best, and to assess the trade offs. Remember, too, that small cars have been getting safer and safer, while many Federal safety regulations do not apply to trucks and SUVs (which are manufactured to truck standards). The idea that trucks and SUVs are safer than smaller vehicles is largely a myth, especially with the newer technologies like smart steering and side airbags.
Remember that for the next couple of years dealers are going to be offering huge savings on full-size vehicles, trucks, and other gas guzzlers. Not only do they have existing inventories, it is going to take some time for them to downsize their production lines, and they have to do business in the meantime. Don’t let yourself be hornswoggled into buying a big gas guzzler just because you can get one cheaply. The price that you and the rest of the world will pay in fuel consumption, carbon emissions and consumption of irreplaceable petroleum will be far higher than any savings on the lot.
Remember that successful car salesmen, sales managers, finance managers and the like are all professional liars. Their job is to sell you stuff you don’t need at the highest price they can con you into paying — or the highest finance rate. THEY ARE NOT ON YOUR SIDE, they’re just very, very good at making you think so.
Make it a game
Keep receipts and calculate your mileage. Keep a notebook in the glove compartment and record your mileage from tank to tank. Try to better your figures with each tankful. If your car doesn’t have a fuel computer, consider an add-on like the ScanGaugeII to help you keep track and increase the fun.
The writer is a former professional chauffeur who previously taught tactical and remedial driving classes for police officers at a South Florida police academy.
