Yesterday was the first day in my entire life that I paid more than $50 to fill my fuel tank on my 240sx. I paid almost $4 a gallon. (I took a 15 minute pause right here in the article to punch a few inanimate objects and yell at the fact that gasoline is so so expensive… Feel free to do the same.)
So I figured, I would recommend a few ways that you can save and hang on to that precious liquid gold in your tank a little longer.
First, keep your hands, arms, heads, and puppy dogs in the vehicle at all times. As much as my dogs like the windows down the gas mileage of you car can suffer greatly by just having the window down. With the windows open air flows into the vehicle and not around it, decreasing how aerodynamic it is. This is more critical the faster you are driving. So at freeway speeds it is a must.
Note: This is not my dog, I own a much much cooler dog than this.
Second, Don’t use your air conditioning. It robs the power from the engine and can affect the gas mileage of your car. Unfortunately I can’t even follow this advise. It is 100 degrees out here in the summer and I particularly do not want to be drenched with sweat when I get home from work. On the other hand it is a great way to lose weight.
Third, Anticipate the flow of traffic and lights. I’ve noticed that most people where I live fail to do this regularly. Besides it is a good driving habit, the smoother and less inputs on the accelerator pedal the better. When you sharply stab that pedal the computer in your car reacts and almost immediately dumps as much fuel into the engine that it can get. If you’re smooth on the throttle the computer can anticipate your needs and only give the engine the required amount of fuel.
Forth, coast your car to the light. Most fuel is used to get your vehicle up to speed but very little is used to maintain your speed. If your car is still rolling when the light changes you require very little fuel to get back to cruising speed.
Fifth, drive the speed limit. Most cars are engineered to be the most fuel efficient at 65 mph. Let’s take my 87 Corolla for example. The Corolla was designed in the 1980s and the highest speed limit was 55 mph at the time. That is where that car is the most fuel efficient. I noticed that my car gets 2 to 3 miles per gallon better if i do not drive faster than 67 mph. If I cruise anything over that the fuel economy drastically suffers (28 mpg to 25 mpg).
Still don’t believe me? Take a look at the Bugatti Veyron, at 257 mph it will go through a take of gas in less than 10 minutes but cruise it at 60 mph you can drive it at least 300 miles. Granted at 257 mph you covered over 40 miles in that 10 minutes, I could get from my house to work in under 4 minutes. Oh, that would be fun but sticking to to the Oil Companies.
Back to my last point, if you are cruising for some time try to cruise behind a Big Rig, (eighteen wheeler). Even at a safe following distance behind one of those rigs will increase your gas mileage due to the amount of air that a vehicle that size displaces.
This is my little way of fighting back and sticking it to the (Insert four letter adjectives here) Oil Companies… Greedy little (adjective)… Oh they make me so mad those (several more adjectives)… I’m going to go hit a few more inanimate objects right now…
I was glancing around the other night, in hopes of finding a concept car that would meet my profile. You know the rear wheel drive, lightweight, enthusiast’s car I love so much, and guess what happened to appear. Something to spring life back into my hopes. Something that I could drive sideways and all I have to do is suppress my urge to… Continue reading →
I’ve talked to a few people who own hybrid cars purchased right from the factory. Their main reason for the purchase is gas mileage. That is one reason to buy hybrid, but it may not be the best reason.The biggest and best reason to buy a Hybrid is emissions. Hybrids don’t run while stopped or even under hard accelerations in the city, this fact alone reduces emissions tremendously. If you own a Hybrid it should make you feel good to know that you are polluting this planet far less than 90% of the vehicles on the road today.
It is interesting to think that the Science Fiction movies that I loved as a child might soon be a reality in the automotive world, at least for Mercedes.
I remember Watching “The Flight of the Navigator” where a young man is taken ten years into the future by a spaceship. He ends up befriending the spaceship who happens to talk like PeeWee Herman… Anyway, rent the movie if I’ve interested you, but the ship in the movie is what interests me. I remember it changing shape at high speeds to something a little more aerodynamic and more like a giant silver football when stationary or at slow speeds. Well, apparently the luxury car maker Mercedes plans to do the same thing with a car.
This is a pretty sweet setup in this 2006 Subaru WRX STI. It has a compound system with a turbocharger, and a supercharger created by Forced Air Technologies
Allen: It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut and let Austin ask the questions (I hate being the camera man). I love the fact that the supercharger kicks off when the turbo is under boost to eliminate any parasitic drain from the engine. It is a good feat of engineering and testiment to modern technology. I go into all sorts of techno-bable on this suject but Austin would just delete them from the post. Keep up the good work F.A.T.!
Allen: I figured I would write a post about the suspension set-up in my 240sx. Suspension modification is one of those things that if done incorrectly can make your car handle worse. I spent several month researching on what I wanted to do. I chose the Continue reading →
LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK – Chevrolet fuel cell electric vehicles will be seen on the streets and driveways of Los Angeles, New York City and Washington D.C., beginning today, in the largest market test ever of its kind.
Customers in suburban Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. will begin driving more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicles as part of a comprehensive deployment plan dubbed “Project Driveway.” It constitutes the first large-scale market test of fuel cell electric vehicles anywhere.
A variety of drivers – from regular families to celebrities – will have free use of an Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle and the hydrogen fuel it needs to make electricity onboard. The average family will get one of the vehicles for three months and be required to report their experience to Chevrolet.
These will be interesting cars in the way that they are using hydrogen to generate the electricity needed to power the vehicle. GM did a similar test where they leased the Saturn EV1, with the actual largest market test of this kind, in the late 90’s. GM is playing this one a little bit different in that they are only allowing families to have the cars for 90 days, so don’t expect to see “Who Killed the Electric Car…Twice” any time soon.
Audi is launching its TDI initiative on the North American market. As early as next year, Audi will be putting the cleanest diesel engine in the world into production in the USA virtually in parallel to its launch in Europe: the 3.0 TDI with ultra-low emission system will initially be available for the Audi Q7, and later for the new Audi A4 too. Audi has been expanding steadily in the USA for many years now, and sees the market as holding high potential for its cutting-edge TDI engines. The low-sulphur fuel required for the engines’ operation was introduced throughout the country a year ago, paving the way for the initiative to begin.
