We are lucky to have a certified auto mechanic on staff so with the high prices of gasoline effecting both contractors and everyone else we decided to take a look at some of the things that can reduce your fuel costs. There are many companies out there trying to sell you products that just don’t work so what can be done to really save some money.
Driving Habits
The most important thing you can do is ease up on your peddle when driving. Although you will see reductions in gas use if you lower your speed from 65mph to 55mph another factor is how fast you get up to speed.
Try this simple test if your car has an RPM Gauge check your RPMs at the speed limit of the road you are driving on once you get to speed. For smaller cars averaging 55mph your RPMs will be in the 2000 to 2500 range. Now that you know how fast your engine needs to run to let you travel at 55mph try not to exceed that rpm range when accelerating away from a red light or stop sign.
This will be difficult at first because we are all use to speeding away as soon as the light turns green but for this test try to stay as close as you can to the final RPM that you need to reach and don’t exceed it.
This will give you an optimal driving pattern but probably will feel too slow for most of us. The idea is that you can reduce your acceleration and still achieve the same speed. Try to adapt this to your driving habits by easing off a bit when you pull away.
Reducing your Vehicle Weight
Another known fact is that when you load up your vehicle it will need to use more energy to travel the same distance. In standard to small sized vehicles you can see an improvement for every 100 gallons of weight that you remove from your vehicle.
People that own Passenger Vans or SUVs can remove extra seats during the week when they are not needed. Contractors should remove tools from their vehicles that won’t be needed that day.
You should also rethink the purchase of over sized sound systems. Many amps, speakers and enclosures can weigh a hundred pounds or more. Also the required amperage to run high voltage sound systems will cause a 5 to 10 horsepower drain on your engine when an over sized alternator is in use.
Addition of Body parts such as Rear Spoilers or side body moldings will not help your car and will increase wind drag and weight. Spoilers and ground effects for the most part are not functional until you get over 80mph and even at that speed their tuning needs to be performed professionally or you may cause more problems then advantage.
Purchasing Fuel and Vehicle Weight
We have talked about removing weight by removing items that you don’t need but it is also important to not fill your car up with gas in the morning and then drive around all the time with it. Gasoline is heavy just ask anyone that filled up a 5 gallon gas can for cutting grass. If you can purchase gas when you need it then you don’t need to take it with you on long trips. Keep your tank at half full or less when you can and that won’t be hard considering the cost of fuel. Buy gas to get to work in the morning then make a stop near your business and buy more to get home. There is almost never a need to fill your tank to the top unless you are headed on a long trip of a few hundred miles.
Maintenance
Keeping your car in good care is always important when trying to get the best mileage or horsepower but there are some easy to do things that you may overlook.
Tire Selection and Pressure
One of the last things we check on our car is our tires. If the pressure in your tires is only 5psi low you can lose 5 miles per gallon and although your tires may look normally inflated hitting pot holes and even regular driving will cause some air loss even when your tires are in good condition without punctures or valve leaks.
Proper tire selection is also important. Low Friction rated tires will allow your car to roll easier so when purchasing new tires you should ask about the tire friction rating. When you modify the tire selection on your vehicle to High Performance Low Profile, Mudders for Trucks or wider and taller tire and wheel selections then you will be adding weight and friction which will cost you mileage. Low Profile tires may look good on your car but just like the mudders on your truck they won’t see the usage that they are rated for very often. You need to decide if looking cool is worth a few miles per gallon or if being able to drive your car more often is more important.
Always change your oil and filtersat the scheduled time interval. Most new cars should have their oil changed every 2 to 3,000 miles and this is important because dirty oil and filters will cause your engine to run harder to produce the same power. Never change your oil without also changing your filter. Some Synthetic grades of oil can reduce friction another option is changing the rating of your oil viscosity to a better flowing type .. instead of using 10w30 you may be able to change to 5w50 which is an oil that reduces loss of horsepower due to the pressure needed to pump it through your engine. You should only change your viscosity rating if you have talked with a mechanic however Honda for one manufacturer does rate different viscosities based on location and outside temperature range. 5w50 would work well in California Florida or in the summer but not in Minnesota in the winter.
You can think of not changing your air filterin the same way that it might feel running a 5 mile race with a respirator or dust mask on. Proper air and fuel mixtures mean the fuel is burning at its best and not gasping for air. This is seen when a turbo charger is added to your engine. By compressing air and fuel in the same engine with a turbo charger you can produce hundreds of more horsepower.
Changing Spark Plugs goes along with other maintenance. Although changing and regaping plugs is required once every 50,000 miles you should think about reducing this to about half. This means on average once a year you should change your spark plugs or sooner if you drive more.
Cleaning your injector or carburetoris standard maintenance that should be performed at least twice a year. Adding fuel system cleaner to your gas tank is an easy step and important after winter to remove any water buildup in your gas tank. Although it is difficult to clean your injectors after they get dirty removing buildup will reduce your maintenance costs.
Keeping your car clean
Although it is nice to have a good looking car by keeping your car clean and polished you will reduce friction as you drive down the road. Think of how slippery the hood of your car is after you give it a good wash and wax. You place a towel or bottle of wax on your hood while you are working and it often ends up on the ground because it slipped off. It is the same thing when you are driving down the road. If your car slips through the air better then you will get better gas mileage and it will look good too.
It is also important to clean out your car and don’t drive around with things you don’t need or use. As we talked about before removing rear seats in SUVs or Vans is important but keeping extras in the car that just take up weight will cost you money.
Final Note
Keeping your car in the best condition is always important. The purchase of a car is often your second or third largest expense after your home or educaton. The better you care for your car and keep it within manufacturers specs the better it will perform and the longer it will last.
Making changes in your driving habits and to your vehicle such as checking tire pressure, removing seats or cleaning and waxing it won’t cost you much so it is worth doing these things now.
Changing big items like your cars Tires and Wheels should be done if you have a backup set in your garage or when you need to make that decision due to replacement needs.
Every little bit will add up in the end.