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Best To Keep The
Car Home Starting Tomorrow
Gas-Saving Myths
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Gas-Saving Myths
Sure you want to save
gas, given the high
price of gasoline and
more increases on the
way, but there's a lot of
bad advice on how to do
it. Some of it makes no
difference and some can
wind up costing you.
Here are some few
misconceptions:
1. Fill your tank in
the morning
You may have heard that
it's best to fill your
gas tank in the early
morning while the fuel
is cold. The theory goes
that fluids are more
dense at lower
temperatures, so a
gallon of cold gas
actually has more gas
molecules than a gallon
of warmer gas.
But the temperature of
the gasoline as it comes
out of the nozzle varies
little during the course
of the day, according to
Consumer Reports, so
there's little, if any,
benefit, to getting up
early to pump gas.
2. Change your air
filter
Maintaining your car
is important, but a
clean air filter isn't
going to save you any
gas. Modern engines have
computer sensors that
automatically adjust the
fuel-air mixture as an
increasingly clogged air
filter chokes off the
engine's air supply.
While engine power will
decrease slightly as the
air filter becomes
clogged, a lack of
performance or an
increase in fuel
consumption will be
negligible, Consumer
Reports says.
3. Use premium fuel
With prices already
over $4.00 a gallon,
premium gasoline is a
hard sell these days.
But a lot of drivers
think because their
owners' manual
recommends premium,
they'll get better fuel
economy with it. Really,
they may be paying more
money for nothing.
Newer cars for which
premium is "recommended"
- but not "required" -
won't suffer with
regular fuel. Modern
engine technology comes
to the rescue again.
When sensors detect
regular instead of
premium fuel, the system
automatically adjusts
spark plug timing. The
result is a slight
reduction in peak
horsepower - really,
you'll never notice -
but little or no
reduction in fuel
economy.
Always check your
owner's manual before
putting anything into
your car. And if your
car runs badly on
regular, by all means,
go back to the pricey
stuff. (See editor's
note at bottom)
4. Pump up your tires
Proper tire
inflation is important
for a number of reasons.
Under-inflated tires are
bad for handling and can
even cause a crash.
Improper tire inflation
also causes tires to
wear out faster and to
heat up more, which
could trigger a
dangerous high-speed
blow-out.
According to on-the-road
driving tests by both
Consumer Reports and
auto information site
Edmunds.com,
underinflated tires
reduce fuel economy, so
proper inflation is key.
But you should never
over-inflate your tires.
They'll get you slightly
better fuel economy
because there will be
less tread touching the
road, reducing friction.
But that means less grip
for braking and turning.
The added risk of a
crash isn't worth the
extra mile a gallon you
might gain.
5. To A/C or not A/C
There's no question
air-conditioning makes
extra work for the
engine, increasing fuel
use. But car air
conditioners are much
more efficient today
than they used to be. In
around-town driving,
using the A/C will drop
fuel economy by about a
mile a gallon.
Meanwhile, driving at
higher speeds with the
windows down greatly
increases aerodynamic
drag. As speed
increases, drag becomes
more of an issue, making
A/C use the more
efficient choice at high
speeds.
At most speeds and in
most vehicles, A/C use
drains slightly more
fuel than driving with
the windows down,
contends David Champion,
head of auto testing for
Consumer Reports. "My
final take on is that
it's very close," says
Phil Reed, consumer
advice editor for
Edmunds.com. "It's hard
to measure the
difference and every
vehicle is different."
The best choice - if
temperature and humidity
allow - is to keep the
windows rolled up and to
turn the A/C compressor
off. You can keep the
fans running to blow in
air from the outside,
but your car will be as
aerodynamic as possible
while still letting you
breathe. You will save
gas, but the fuel
economy improvement will
be slight.
6. Bolt-ons and
pour-ins
Before you buy a
device that's supposed
to make your car more
fuel-efficient or pour
in an allegedly
gas-saving additive, ask
yourself this: Don't you
think oil and car
companies aren't doing
everything they can to
beat their competitors?
If one gas company could
add something to its
gasoline that made cars
go farther on a gallon,
cars would be lining up
at the pumps. Sure,
people would burn their
fuel-saving gas more
slowly, but then they'd
drive right past rivals'
gas stations to come
back for more.
So if there really was
an additive that made
gas burn up more slowly,
it wouldn't be sold over
the Internet one bottle
at a time.
Likewise, car companies
are already spending big
bucks to increase fuel
mileage. If General
Motors could make its
cars go significantly
farther on a gallon
simply by putting a
device into the fuel
line, don't think for a
second it wouldn't be
doing that. GM's car
sales would go through
the roof.
"There are a number of
these gas-saving devices
that are generally
useless," says Champion.
But drivers who try them
will swear they work. In
reality, it's probably
an automotive placebo
effect, says Reed. Buy
one of these devices or
additives, and you're
like to pay extreme
attention to your fuel
economy and how you
drive.
Of course it can't hurt
to keep a close eye on
your driving habits --
and what kind of car you
drive. In the end, that
can make the most
difference in saving
gas.
Gas prices have climbed
to record levels. Are
you feeling the pinch?
Tell us how gas prices
are affecting you and
what you're doing to
cope.
Send us your photos
and videos, or email us
to share your story. |
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No Myth: Slow Down To
Save Gas
One tip that is not
a myth and can actually save gas is: drive more gently,
don't carry extra stuff in your trunk and combine trips,
like shopping or medical appointments.
One more tip that is sure to save you money is to: slow
down.
The reason is as clear as the air around you. |
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When cruising on the highway, your car will be in its
highest gear with the engine humming along at relatively
low rpm's. All your car needs to do is maintain its
speed by overcoming the combined friction of its own
moving parts, the tires on the road surface and, most of
all, the air flowing around, over and under it.
Pushing air around actually takes up about 40% of a
car's energy at highway speeds, according to Roger
Clark, a fuel economy engineer for General Motors (GM,
Fortune 500).
Traveling faster makes the job even harder. More air
builds up in front of the vehicle, and the low pressure
"hole" trailing behind gets bigger, too. Together, these
create an increasing suction that tends to pull back
harder and harder the faster you drive. The increase is
actually exponential, meaning wind resistance rises much
more steeply between 70 and 80 mph than it does between
50 and 60.
Every 10 mph faster reduces fuel economy by about 4 mpg,
a figure that remains fairly constant regardless of
vehicle size, Clark said. (It might seem that a larger
vehicle, with more aerodynamic drag, would see more of
an impact. But larger vehicles also tend to have larger,
more powerful engines that can more easily cope with the
added load.) |
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