December 4, 2007
Thoughts on Fuel Economy: How to Stretch a Gallon of Gasoline
I borrowed this from the Toyota Open Road Blog. Although it is written for Toyota enthusiasts there is a lot of good information here. Maybe it is presented in a way thats is understandable. Enjoy.
Toyota’s engineers go out of their way to make our cars and trucks as fuel-efficient as we can possibly make them. But the one thing over which we have no control is how efficiently our vehicles are driven. This is critical, because the way you drive can have a huge impact on the fuel economy your vehicle obtains. Just ask any hypermiler.
You may have heard the term hypermile. It’s used to define a driving strategy for getting the greatest distance out of every gallon of fuel in a vehicle’s fuel tank - and maybe even exceed the vehicle’s EPA fuel-economy estimates.
Hypermilers have been known to take drastic measures to stretch the fuel economy of their vehicles. For starters, they lighten their vehicles as much as possible, tossing out tools, spare tires, even passenger seats. They might inflate tires to pressures considerably beyond the manufacturer’s recommended limits. They’ll drive with their vehicle’s windows closed to optimize aerodynamic efficiency, and they’ll turn the air conditioning off. They’ll shut their vehicles’ engines off when stopped in traffic, rather than let them idle. And they’ll keep speeds down – way down.
Speed, in fact, is a good place in which to start your search for better economy. Aerodynamic drag, a by-product of speed, costs fuel to overcome. The amount of drag your vehicle generates is not linear – it does not increase at the same rate as your vehicle’s speed does. Instead, drag is more or less proportional to the square of speed. It increases exponentially. So when you drive a little faster, you burn considerably more fuel.
The first rule of the day, then, if you’d like to spend a little less on gasoline, is to slow down. Whatever your favorite cruising speed is, back it down a bit.
Second rule of the day: Once you’re out on the highway at cruising speed and traffic permits, use your vehicle’s cruise control. You’ll burn less fuel if you do.
Third rule of the day: Check the inflation of your vehicle’s tires. Now, this one’s a little tricky. Under-inflation can greatly increase a tire’s rolling resistance, and that will cost you gas. Over-inflation generally tends to reduce a tire’s rolling resistance, but it also tends to concentrate the load on the tire on its center, which can lead to premature wear. Your best shot is to increase inflation to the maximum recommended by your vehicle’s manufacturer, then adjust pressures as needed to obtain even wear across the width of the tire. If you save gas at the expense of tire wear, what have you really gained?
Fourth rule of the day: Slow down for hills. Maintaining your speed up a hill means opening your vehicle’s throttle. A larger throttle opening means burning more gas. So you might want to think about backing down by a few miles per hour – maybe even five or 10 – for climbs.
Don’t increase your speed until you get to the very top of any hill you climb this way. In fact, if there’s a downgrade at the top of the hill, use that downgrade to help you increase your speed – let gravity help you to better fuel economy.
Fifth rule of the day: Connect your vehicle’s gas pedal to your brain. Every time you accelerate, think, “Hm, that just cost me some gas.” Do that, and you’ll soon rethink this business of acceleration. You’ll start accelerating only when you have to, and only as much as you need to.
Sixth rule of the day: When it’s time to slow down or stop, get off of the gas as soon as you can. If you have to climb onto the brakes, that could mean that you’ve stayed on the gas longer than you needed to. Use your brakes when you need to, but allow aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance and all the other forces working on your vehicle help you slow down.
While you’re trying these steps, do keep your vehicle’s windows rolled up – lowering the windows greatly increases the aerodynamic turbulence around your car, and thus increases the drag. To stay comfortable, use your vehicle’s air conditioning. It’s the lesser of the two evils. And resist the urge to tow or to use a roof rack or a rooftop container for extra gear. These have extremely negative effects on your vehicle’s fuel efficiency.
And there you have the basics. If you choose to give hypermiling a try, even if you don’t go to the extreme measures some hypermilers use, keep close track of your vehicle’s fuel economy. No matter what it is, Tundra or Corolla or anything else, you’ll almost certainly find that as you become adept at these strategies, you’ll begin to extract your vehicle’s full fuel-economy potential.
Last words from here is that the message is slow down and save fuel. And use FFT Fuel-Saver -sorry I couldn’t resist.
Filed under Fuel Economy by Admin
Comments on Thoughts on Fuel Economy: How to Stretch a Gallon of Gasoline »
Arlene Beck @ 2:25 pm
I LOVE FFT Fuel-Saver!!!
I had no idea anything could give me more miles/gallon of the very expensive fuel I have to buy. I used 1 1/2 ounces of FFT in 15 gallons of fuel and went from 20 miles/gallon to 25 miles/gallon.
That is like getting 5 miles FREE on each gallon of fuel. And my engine runs smoother and sounds better. What is not to like?? This stuff is a miracle. Where have you been?
Magazines and newspapers should be telling the story of FFT to everyone.
Arlene Beck