6 Gas Saving Myths... Debunked
CNNMoney has compiled a list of gas saving myths and asked Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com to debunk them. Here's the list:
#1. Fill your tank in the morning
Consumer Reports says that the temperature variation in a single day isn't really significant enough to affect the gas, so you might as well stay in bed.
#2. Change your air filter
"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."
#3. Use premium fuel
"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 no reduction in fuel economy."
#4 Pump up your tires
"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."
#5 To AC or Not To AC
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."
#6. Bolt-ons and pour-ins
"... 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."
There's more detailed info at CNNMoney, but as far we're concerned, the best way to increase your fuel economy is to slow down, stop running up on people's ass and then slamming on the brakes, and don't weave from lane to lane trying to find the fast one. They're all slow. Such is life. Relax.
6 gas saving myths [CNNMoney] (Thanks, Aaron!)
(Photo: meghannmarco )
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Comments:
But what about the Hydro-4000? 9 MPG to 23 MPG!!
This article does assume your car has been properly maintained through tune ups. If you haven't done that in a while...well then you are most likely wasting gas.
Some of those can be true, depending on vehicle, but all of it is generally correct. You should never overinflate your tires FOR SAFETY REASONS, but it will definitely improve your mileage. Similary, really hard tires provide low rolling resistance, but will also compromise your handling and braking ability. My view is "what good is saving a dollar a tank on fuel when I end up getting into an accident because of crappy tires?" Sticky tires FTW.
Another good one I read on the tdi forums (harcore diesel drivers) is that "every time you press the brakes, it's like pouring fuel on the ground". Keep a nice buffer zone and use drivetrain braking. This is where it helps to drive a manual tranny, since autos tend to want to stay in overdrive as long as possible. Manually shifting an auto excessively can wear out your torque converter prematurely.
Mythbusters took on #6 and came to the same conclusion (insert comment about how unscientific Mythbusters is here). I am surprised about the air filter, though.
1. Find the economy sweet spot for your car (usually around 50 MPH - tailgaters can bite my painted metal ass), and set your cruise control accordingly.
2. Combine trips.
3. Share rides.
4. Ask yourself what people asked each other during the World War Two years - is this trip really necessary?
I've gone without an oil change for five months because I still haven't driven my car 3000 miles, mainly because of the above. I fill my car every other week, and even with gas pushing four bucks, it still only costs me around thirty bucks.
#1 won't save you gas, but it will save you money. Why? Because the gas stations (around here, anyway) change their prices around noon.
I think Mythbusters found that at speeds up to (if I'm remembering correctly) 45 mph windows open worked better and over 45 mph AC worked better at saving gas. I've always figured the difference saved would be so slight it doesn't matter though.
Here here on the slow down and stop weaving advice. People are non-stop complaining about the price of gas then they get in their cars and gun it and try to fly down the freeway as fast as they can. I cruise along at 70mph on my way to work and get past left and right, and this is on San Diego's busy freeways, with gas over $4/gallon your an idiot to be speeding so fast.
Some of these are bogus debunkings. I've worked on newer cars where replacing old filters definitely brought the fuel economy up to par. Same with the premium fuel. You can't make these sorts of generalities and pass them off as facts.
meg - i beg to differ on that last part. have you ever heard of the racing term drafting? i save $20-$30 in gas/week by riding up on people's asses. XD
How driving with a pickup's tailgate down?
Huge myth, and I see people with their gates down all the time (or their gate replaced with something wind will go through).
Engine computers do not detect what octane you have in your tank, but how your engine performs from it. All the system will do is adjust again and again for the best BALANCE between performance and economy. Oh, and emissions too.
Gas Saving Tip #7 - Drive less.
Also, I get a kick out of the Missoura rednecks who write letters to the editor bitching about gas prices and then pass people on the right shoulder in excess of 90 mph.
@Ash78: Most of those drivers are driving vehicles with transmissons/clutches made for doing the braking. Passenger vehicles are definitely not made for that, and should not be used as brakes. What they mean by hitting the brakes/dumping fuel is that the gas you used getting up to that speed is wasted, and the gas you use getting back on earlier is wasted, when if you gave yourself time/space, it doesn't waste so much.
@nursetim: They just about got themselves kill in the process too. After they got done disposing of the water cracker, they fed hydrogen directly into the carburetor. They wound up getting a massive backfire that lit the hose attached directly to the gas cylinder! It could have been worse, but that's a frightening event especially if you don't have a backcheck valve in the line.
#6 - I guess this goes for gassers but Stanadyne is a great additive for diesel engines. At the current price of diesel it actually cheaper to use Stanadyne performance with every tank because of the savings from the increased mileage(5-10%).
As far as I know, it is the only fuel additive that VW endorses. The rest is probably snake oil.
i bought an 86 toyota mr2 for my daily driver (mr2's are the best cars ever). stock is about 35 mpg, and therefore my mr2 has paid for itself almost twice in the 6 months ive driven it over my (pos) cadillac.
then, after reading an article on those hypermilers (insane people who do insane things and achieve 100+ mpg), ive decided to attempt 50 mpg in my car.
thus far, ive gone 97 miles, and its still on F. this is mostly just driving slowly, calmly, coasting a lot, and trying to NOT need the brakes.
Speaking of keeping tires inflated properly - does anyone know the accuracy of different types of air pressure gauges? 10% off is 3 psi for a tire holding 30 psi, 1% would be 0.3 psi - I'm just curious.
Folsom street.... but with gas prices being THAT high, it's more like Folsom PRISON.
The ring of fire... the ring of fire....
#4 is crucial. I realized i was nearly 10psi low in two of my tires and it boosted my total miles per tank by a few good %
@mac-phisto: HHHAAA! I had a bumper sticker to that effect years ago....
I'm not Tailgating... I'M JUST DRAFTING.
Re : # 6
You mean to tell me that the spam email that I have been getting about "saving $.70 a gallon" by pouring this stuff into my engine is a LIE ? It's CLINICALLY PROVEN,for Gods sake ! Over 26 gajillion miles of testing ! The huge oil companies don't want you to know just how much this stuff can save you !
I for one,am shocked, SHOCKED that someone would lie to me in and EMAIL !
@Dobernala: "Some of these are bogus debunkings. I've worked on newer cars where replacing old filters definitely brought the fuel economy up to par. Same with the premium fuel."
We're not just talking fuel savings, but overall cost savings.
*If* you get better MPG from premium, does paying an extra .20 cents a gallon put you in the positive or negative for cost savings?
Same thing with a filter... does spending $7 on a new filter save you a corrosponding $7 worth of gas milleage improvement?
My guess would be 'no' since the improvements are so small as to be negligable when taking into account the associated costs.
The best recomendation is about Tire pressure. That's generally free (or a quarter), but provides actual improvement.
@verucalise: Funny enough, ring of fire also occurs around Folsom, well South of Market actually. But only when one party of the duo is especially well-endowed. And oddly, the other party is grateful afterwards.
@Anitra: Yeah, but that only saves you money if they raise their prices at noon. What if they lowered them???
HAHAHAHHAHAA! Sorry, I couldn't resist a good joke.
@Al Czerviks Ride: I follow you...I was just stating that it's easier to maintain good distance when you have the benefit of drivetrain braking to modulate speed (all manuals and some automatics do a better job at this).
Unfortunately, in most places, one person's "safe following distance" is another jackass's "gap to change lanes"...
They are generalizing too much. Some cars WILL get better mileage with premium fuel. For some cars the MFG doesn't recommend premium fuel even though the engine is designed with it in mind b/c people would complain. So they just use the knock sensors so the car runs fine on regular, even though premium fuel would add more horsepower.
Almost the long weekend, get ready for the first of many Gas-Gouging-Long-Weekends coming soon to a gas station near you.
The Gas pedal doesn't waste gas, the break pedal does.
You do realize HIV 2 Elway said "rednecks" and not a member of a certain race, right? I believe it is YOU who is the racist :)
@zidan: 80s K-cars and other Chrysler products that used the 2.2 engine ping like crazy on regular. That wastes gas. I used to put 91 octane in my Omni and get an improvement in mileage greater than the difference in price. Then I got a Honda Civic, which ran just as well on 87. Better engineering makes better performance.
@mac-phisto: heh, I tell my wife that all the time. I still get hit for some reason though :(. I wonder how much of a difference this does make, on a few non-stop drives from FL to PA, "drafting" as much as I could my car got about 10mpg better than regular highway driving averages This was at speeds of at least 75mph, so not exactly in the ideal speed zone either.
@Tgg: "
How driving with a pickup's tailgate down?
Huge myth, and I see people with their gates down all the time (or their gate replaced with something wind will go through).
The problem with having the tailgate down or replaced with an air gate isn't so much to do with mpg. The bed of the truck depends on the tailgate for support. Removing the tailgate will cause the structural integrity of the bed to fail and fall apart.
I think people should use the grade of gas that the manufacturer recommends. My car is supposed to have premium so I only put premium in it. And I disagree about not being able to tell the difference. With my last car I tried putting regular in even though premium was recommended and it felt like a different car. It wasn't nearly as frisky.
Are people still thinking that putting 93 octane on their Kia sephia is gonna make it run better? Idiots
Also come on the AC does drinks all your gas the Myth Buster already proved it
I call BS on the air filter. Yes, modern cars adjust the fuel/air mixture automatically, but that doesn't mean the adjusted mixture is efficient. Engines are designed to run with a certain mixture. Adjusting this can and will cause problems. If less air is coming in, less fuel is also sprayed into the cylinder. The resulting 'explosion' may be less powerful than the engine needs to keep the pistons pumping in an efficient manner.
@xanadu1979: Exactly correct. If your owner's manual says to use at least 91 Octane gasoline, DO IT. High compression engines like the VW/Audi 1.8T and other (many German and Japanese performance engines) MUST be run on Premium - you can go for a tank on regular if you must, but regular use of, um, regular gas can damage the engine over time.
That said, putting 92 Octane in your 1999 Ford Explorer with the tractor engine won't benefit anyone by the oil company that makes a slightly higher profit margin on that grade.
On the air filter tip, the logical conclusion is that fully occluding the air filter will result in a 100% increase in gas mileage. The point is that a dirty filter reduces performance, which tends to create heavier feet on the gas pedal. Just replace the air filter twice a year and be done with it.
Ditto for oil; if you aren't changing your oil at least twice a year (no matter what the mileage) you're asking for trouble. Especially if you only take short trips, which creates acids in the oil by allowing condensates to remain in the oil instead of burning off.
@jscott73: You're an idiot for being in a lane where everyone passes you. Get the message. Move to the right please.
Gas has gotten more expensive but I haven't seen a significant decrease in my quality of life. In fact, the freeways have been clearer = less traffic = shorter commute times. Maybe high gas prices aren't so bad after all.
@Ex_EA_Slave: The problem with having the tailgate down or replaced with an air gate isn't so much to do with mpg. The bed of the truck depends on the tailgate for support. Removing the tailgate will cause the structural integrity of the bed to fail and fall apart.
I gotta question this. With a few unibody exceptions (Ridgeline), most trucks are just a ladder frame with a cab and a bed bolted on top. The bed is just a shell and shouldn't involve any substantial load-bearing. What am I missing?
@Ash78: The tailgate does help with aerodynamics--when up, it gives you the best fuel economy. Actually a bed cover gives you the absolute best but it is offset by the heavy weight it adds to your car.
#4 Pump up your tires
This is the easiest gas saving tip. Check your owners manual for the correct PSI. And make sure you check the PSI when the tires are cold, not after you've been driving around.
#6. Bolt-ons and pour-ins
I hope this is obvious to everyone. Damn those infomercials. :-)
Great photo!
Folsom Street, gee, the gas prices sure are high, but what does a lube job cost?