RE: :: Gasoline (Full Version)

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[Poll]

:: Gasoline


Yes
  32% (13)
No
  67% (27)


Total Votes : 40
(last vote on : 4/23/2008 1:32:56 PM)
(Poll will run till: -- )


Message

stellaluna -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/20/2008 10:02:22 AM)

I live close to my work, too--by design--so I walk most days now that it's warm. I have an 11-yo Geo Metro. I fill up/top off the tank once a month. I always have unless I went out of town or something. It has an 8-gallon tank and that's how good the gas mileage is. I've never understood the idea that one would intentionally buy a car that doesn't get excellent gas mileage. <shrugs> Anyway, I spend about $20 a month on gas, which is good because my husband spends about $300. He has to drive an hour each way to his job, but his schedule is such that he only drives that distance about six or seven times a month. We cancel each other out this way.

For the record, gas where we live is at $3.45, I think. We buy our gas at Sam's and I think it's still about $3.20. Diesel here is at $4.09.



Psalm22 -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 4:56:09 PM)

Here in Anchorage, most stations are advertising $3.549 for regular; only 8 cents of that is state motor fuel taxes and there is no sales tax. In Bethel, the highest price on www.gasbuddy.com is $4.98, and the msaller villages are even higher, all due to transporation costs as well as a relatively low volume of sales.



Roberta_ -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 5:49:44 PM)

It's about $3.85 for the cheap stuff and about $4.05 for the expensive stuff here.



danas_mom -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 8:04:24 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna
I've never understood the idea that one would intentionally buy a car that doesn't get excellent gas mileage. <shrugs>


But how many kids can you fit in a Geo Metro? [&:]



stellaluna -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 8:56:29 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: danas_mom
quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna
I've never understood the idea that one would intentionally buy a car that doesn't get excellent gas mileage. <shrugs>

But how many kids can you fit in a Geo Metro? [&:]

Three, I guess. But there are lots of cars that get over 30 miles per gallon that are bigger. (Some minivans and smaller SUVs, I think, right?) I have a friend with one child who drives a Cadillac Escalade and complains about gas prices the whole time. I have another friend with no children who drives a Hummer and complains because he gets 12 miles a gallon. Hello...it says right on the sticker what the average is, right?



Roberta_ -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 8:58:12 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna

quote:

ORIGINAL: danas_mom
quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna
I've never understood the idea that one would intentionally buy a car that doesn't get excellent gas mileage. <shrugs>

But how many kids can you fit in a Geo Metro? [&:]

Three, I guess. But there are lots of cars that get over 30 miles per gallon that are bigger. (Some minivans and smaller SUVs, I think, right?) I have a friend with one child who drives a Cadillac Escalade and complains about gas prices the whole time. I have another friend with no children who drives a Hummer and complains because he gets 12 miles a gallon. Hello...it says right on the sticker what the average is, right?


I drive a van that gets 14 mpg because it was given to me. I can't afford a vechicle, so my brother gave me his old van.



Papa-san -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 9:44:42 PM)

The thing I find to be utterly amazing is the fact that so few people have changed their driving habits... Everyone is still stomping on the gas and brakes. (My first real job was one where I had to track my fuel expenses and fuel economy, so I've been in the habit all my life.)

I drive a full size Dodge Ram pick-up. with a 318ci V-8 engine. My brother-in-law has the same truck. ('Cept fer the color...) When I bought it, I was getting about 11 mpg city and 14 or 15 on the highway. My average over the first years was right around 13 mpg. About three years ago, I decided I was going to change my driving habits to be as fuel efficient as possible.

My BIL didn't believe it when I told him that my average went up to 19.6 mpg! But it did, and I proved it to him by using his truck for a week and got him 20.2 mpg.

Here is how:
1 - I got my target max rpm by getting to highway speed. I saw that I could run at 65 mph at 2,000 rpm. (1,800 in the minivan.)

2 - I forced myself to try to never let it go above 2,000 (1,800 in the van) rpm when I was driving. Difficult, but do-able... Makes for slightly slower take-offs, but the gas savings is worth it! (Oh, and the people behind you can feel free to complain as soon as they are the ones putting the gas in my truck!)

3 - I always start the vehicle early enough so it is a normal operating temperature before I take it out of park. I might have used a pint of gas just idling, but compared to over a half gallon for the first mile with a cold engine was well worth it! A cold engine runs almost straight gasoline. There's barely any air going into the cylinders!

4 - In hilly terrain, I don't accelerate up hills. I build a little extra momentum up on the downhill run, and as soon as I start uphill, I lift off the gas a little. The goal here is to keep it from downshifting... Yes, it will slow down. but we are looking to save gas, right? (Same thing applies here with the people behind. They want to go faster, they are welcome to downshift, pass, and waste their own gasoline! They aren't buying mine, so they are not allowed to force me to waste it!)

If you do this, I can guarantee a huge increase in your mileage! Oh yeah... you might need to leave 2 or three minutes earlier because of it!

However, if you are not willing to change your driving habits, you will help keep the prices up, and you certainly have much less right to complain about it!
The plan to have everybody stop driving for a day isn't really possible, but maybe getting everybody to drive wisely might actually work. Try it out and pass it along. Can you imagine what kind of impact it would have on the gas companies if every vehicle out there added 30 - 40% to their actual fuel mileage?



ta_mosquito -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 9:51:05 PM)

Interesting post, papa-san. I didn't know that about cold engines.



Roberta_ -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 10:19:39 PM)

I've also been told that if you inflate your tires to about 10 lbs above the recommendations, that will make for a bumpier ride, but better mpg. Is that true?



GroupW -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 10:56:13 PM)

It can be, but will tend to result in a bad tire wear pattern. Personally, I don't think I'd do it. Car manufacturers design the cars to ride a certain way based on a certain tire pressure.



Papa-san -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 10:58:17 PM)

Yes, over-inflating will also add to your mileage. There is a tiny increase in the diameter of the tire, so if you can imagine gaining like a millimeter on every ten tire revolutions, you can see how it will add up. The tire will wear a little quicker in the middle, though.

If you drive an SUV, pray about it and think it through. The factory recommendation for tire pressure is lower than what is stamped on the tires. There is a reason for this: Overinflated tires increase the likelihood of a rollover. Having them set a little low adds some 'give', that's why they do it.

As far as the cold engine thing goes, that is on a fuel injected vehicle. On cars with a carburetor, it is even higher. If you do nothing more than start letting the car warm up enough, you will gain a significant increase in mpg... You want it to open the choke fully before you drive it. (The computer in fuel injected cars just changes the mixture of the fuel to air ratio.)



GroupW -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/21/2008 11:06:43 PM)

On a side note - underinflated tires however are worse than overinflated. Underinflated tires overheat AND get lousy mileage. When the overheat, they can fail catastrophically and result in some nastiness.

Bottom line - check the pressure regularly, particularly after a major weather/temperature change. Seasonal differences in temp can make a difference in your effective tire pressure.



Deleted User -> [Deleted] (4/21/2008 11:34:44 PM)

[Deleted by Admins]



zoebob -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 7:55:50 AM)

How do you keep it at under 2000 RPM as you are accelerating? Will it really stay below that if you accelerate slow enough?



jod78 -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 8:00:52 AM)

Yes, you can accelerate all the way to 70mph (or higher, depending on the gearing of the particular vehicle) and keep the car below 2K rpm.

Some other tips: replace your fuel filter once a year. They are 12 bucks. Use a K&N replacement air filter. Yes, they are 3 times as expensive, but you'll never have to buy another air filter and they are more efficient. Consider using full synthetic motor oil, Mobil1 or Amsoil are good. Synthetic not always recommended for very old or very high mileage engines.



zoebob -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 8:25:30 AM)

Well, my van is old and high milage. It has 198000+ miles on it and is at least 10 yrs old.



Papa-san -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 11:04:15 AM)

Sounds like a few vehicles I have had! LOL

Definitely get a good air filter. Some of them are sturdy enough that you can take it out every once in a while and use compressed air to blow some of the junk out of it, making it last a bit longer... Change the fuel filter if it's feasible. (Most Dodges in the last 10-15 years have the filter as part of the fuel sending unit. The sending unit is $300.00, the filter not changeable, and the whole setup is sealed inside the fuel-tank...)

Zoebob, Make sure that is your target rpm. what is the engine speed at full cruising speed? Some smaller cars run 3,000 rpm. That is the target rpm... But yes, it will work at less than 2,000 rpm. It just takes some time, but that's the tradeoff. You will save gas if you drive carefully.

My truck(1995) has 78,000 on it, and the van (2002) has 212,000... Don't run full synthetic oil, but don't be afraid to add a quart of it, it cuts friction, which saves fuel...



Deleted User -> [Deleted] (4/22/2008 11:21:59 AM)

[Deleted by Admins]



stellaluna -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 11:25:32 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DenimDiva

quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna

quote:

ORIGINAL: danas_mom
quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna
I've never understood the idea that one would intentionally buy a car that doesn't get excellent gas mileage. <shrugs>

But how many kids can you fit in a Geo Metro? [&:]

Three, I guess. But there are lots of cars that get over 30 miles per gallon that are bigger. (Some minivans and smaller SUVs, I think, right?) I have a friend with one child who drives a Cadillac Escalade and complains about gas prices the whole time. I have another friend with no children who drives a Hummer and complains because he gets 12 miles a gallon. Hello...it says right on the sticker what the average is, right?


I drive a van that gets 14 mpg because it was given to me. I can't afford a vechicle, so my brother gave me his old van.

You didn't intentionally go out and buy a van that only got 14 mpg...it was given to you. That was a nice gesture on the part of your brother, since you didn't have a car. Different scenario than someone going to the car lot and choosing a car that gets super low gas mileage because it's super cool or all the rage or whatever.



stellaluna -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 11:29:57 AM)

What if your car doesn't have a gauge to tell you the RPM?



Roberta_ -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 11:30:16 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tall_One

quote:

ORIGINAL: zoebob

How do you keep it at under 2000 RPM as you are accelerating? Will it really stay below that if you accelerate slow enough?


If you accelerate slowly, you can maintain the engine below 2000 RPMs. Try it sometime. Watch your tachometer and see what you can do. Be patient because you will not be accelerating at a quick rate of speed but more like "Driving Miss Daisy" speed if not slower. [;)]


I accelerate slowly too. This often irritates other drivers and sometimes even the passengers in my van. I figure when they are willing to put gas in my car, then I'll take their irritations into consideration. [;)]



ta_mosquito -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 11:46:13 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: stellaluna

What if your car doesn't have a gauge to tell you the RPM?


Listen to the engine. If you have a good ear, you can hear the different RPM's. [;)] Other than that, you're probably stuck.



Deleted User -> [Deleted] (4/22/2008 4:56:56 PM)

[Deleted by Admins]



earthless -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/22/2008 6:38:00 PM)

Premium is now $4.48 here.



Papa-san -> RE: :: Gasoline (4/23/2008 9:36:21 AM)

Thinking about putting a sign in my back window that says:
"If you followed me,
and didn't drive
like a jerk,
you just saved Gas!"

I wonder if that would be understood by those people who follow like they are just itching to pass...



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