Auto Q & A
Auto Q & A
By: Dr. Wheels
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 633 times
0 responses 0 comments Dear Q & A: I saw a presentation on NBC the other day called “30 Ways to Save on Gas.” Some of them seemed kind of dumb, like “ride the bus.” Are you aware of this list, and if so, which if any of these ways would it make sense to follow?
— J. V.
Dear JV: Another swell one would have been “sell your car.” But there were a few sound suggestions in their list. Here are several that seemed to make the most sense, some of which you’ve seen here in past columns.
• Keep your engine in tune. Bad plugs wires and timing waste fuel.
• Inflate tires to one or two PSI above recommended pressures.
• Don’t drive with a dirty air filter. They’re cheap to replace. Most are do-it-yourself jobs.
• A car and trunk full of unnecessary stuff adds to the load your engine must haul and it costs gas.
• Don’t keep topping off your gas tank. Gasoline is heavy and a full tank adds the weight of an extra passenger or two, which takes extra fuel to haul around.
• Accelerate slowly and take your foot off the gas pedal as soon as you know you’re going to have to stop at that light ahead just turning from green to yellow. Coast to the stop. In normal driving, if you need to brake hard, you haven’t been looking (and thinking) ahead. Most folks keep pressing the gas pedal much longer than they need to.
• Never accelerate going uphill. When you see a hill up ahead, speed up (slowly) to let increased momentum take you part way up, then lose speed slightly till you crest the hill.
• If you think you’ll be stuck at a train crossing for more than a minute, shut off the engine. Re-starting in today’s cars doesn’t take a lot of fuel. Same applies to waiting at the curb to pick up a slow passenger or whatever.
• Don’t sit and warm up a cold engine in the morning. Start it and go. Normal, slow driving for a few minutes will be warm-up enough to get the oil flowing to the engine’s moving parts.
• Do buy the cheapest gas available. It all comes from a very few refineries. Pennies add up to dollars in a year’s time. And buy the lowest-octane (usually 87) that your car is built to use. That extra dime or two a gallon for six more octane points buys you nothing.
• When the hose at the pump clicks off, don’t add that extra half-gallon. Some of it may spill out when you drive away, which not only costs you but pollutes your environment.
• Ignore those ads for “gas saving” devices and fuel additives. They’re all bunk, every one, as tested repeatedly by independent labs.
• Here’s an old trick: Pretend there’s a fresh egg between your right foot and the gas pedal. If you press too hard or too suddenly the “egg” will break. Think of the mess.
• Slow down, for stops and turns, by coasting rather than by braking. It’s easier on the car, you’ll save gas and life will seem more relaxed.
• Always let the guy in the next lane beat you across the intersection when the light turns green. Let him support the Arab oil sheiks.
• Keep a little notebook in your glove box to record your gallons and odometer readings each time you refuel. It helps focus your mind on the driving techniques that affect fuel economy.
Observing all these hints could boost your mileage 10 to 15 percent. At $33.30 for a 10-gallon fill-up, that’s $3.33 to $4.99. Every time.
| Send to a Friend | Report a Violation |
