Driving and Car Maintenance Transportation accounts for 66% of U.S.
oil use -mainly in the form of gasoline. Luckily, there are plenty of
ways to improve gas mileage.
Driving Tips:- Idling gets you 0 miles per gallon. The best way to
warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling
on
winter days is needed. Anything more simply wastes fuel and increases
emissions.- Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and
hard
braking) wastes gas. It can lower your highway gas mileage 33% and
city mileage 5%. Drive at lowest and constant rpms; 2000 rpm are
enough; you can save up to 30%. Even a Porsche can be driven at the
4th gear at 20 mph and at the 6th gear at 50 mph with 2.5 times less
fuel consumption.- Avoid high speeds. Driving 75 mph, rather than 65
mph, could cut your fuel economy by 15%.- When you use overdrive
gearing, your cars engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces
wear.- Use air conditioning only when necessary.- Clear out your car;
extra weight decreases gas mileage. Each 60 pounds increases fuel
consumption by 10%. - Reduce drag by placing items inside
the car or trunk rather than on roof racks. A roof rack or carrier
provides additional cargo space and may allow you to buy a smaller
car. However, a loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel economy by
5%.- Check into carpooling and public transit to cut mileage and car
maintenance costs.
Car Maintenance Tips:- Use the grade of motor oil recommended by your
cars manufacturer. Using a different motor oil can lower your
gasoline
mileage by 1% to 2%.- Keep tires properly inflated and aligned to
improve your gasoline mileage by around 3.3%.- Get regular engine
tune-
ups and car maintenance checks to avoid fuel economy problems due to
worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, low transmission fluid, or
transmission problems.- Replace clogged air filters to improve gas
mileage by as much as 10% and protect your engine.- Combine errands
into one trip. Several short trips, each one taken from a cold start,
can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance
when
the engine is warm. Do not forget that in the first mile your car
uses
8 times more fuel, in the second mile 4 times and only after the
fourth mile it becomes normal.Long-Term Savings Tip- Consider buying
a
highly fuel-efficient vehicle. A fuelefficient vehicle, a hybrid
vehicle, or an alternative fuel vehicle could save you a lot at the
gas pump
and help the environment.See the Fuel Economy Guide
(
www.fueleconomy.gov) for more on buying a new fuel-efficient car or
truck.
Source:
www.eere.energy.gov and
http://www.vcd.org/155.html
How you can save fuel and the environment
How you can save fuel and the environment
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