Pretty much nailed it - am I able to pick nits without coming off like an @$$?
thelusiv Wrote:* Drive a manual.
Back in the day this was true but not so much any more. Between a lock up torque converter and 4+ speeds in the automatic transmission some auto vehicles are rated better than their manual counterparts.
Quote:* Coast. If you know that the next half-mile or more will be downhill, get up to speed, put it in neutral and turn your engine off. (Note that your power brakes and power steering will not work, don't do this in heavy traffic!) When you start back up, don't use the starter, put it in 4th or 5th gear and let the clutch out. When coasting with the engine on, leave the car in gear, most cars will cut the fuel, while in neutral it goes back to idle, which does not cut the fuel.
Hmm, not a fan of turning off the engine for the safety reasons noted. Maybe if we were living in a post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" world (hmm, new car for vdrift?) I could get behind this. Couple of points:
* some people are complete spazzes
* coasting without power assist for brakes and/or steering gets the typical spaz in trouble
* putting a car in gear to restart an engine at speed with get the typical spaz in trouble
* A spaz using the techniques above will likely loose any savings through the fuel consumed by the emergency vehicles required to pull his car from the ditch and/or shuttle him to hospital.
Quote:* Inflate your tires to 50-60 psi. Your tires will not blow up. The manufacturers recommend 35 psi for a softer ride but higher pressure is actually safer and will reduce rolling resistance. Check your tire pressure regularly, and rotate your tires regularly.
Yep, to a point. If you were really anal you'd chalk the tires for wear indication and note the differences in economy between say 45psi vs 55psi and make a judgement call. The tires do work better at higher than OEM suggested values - that's why auto-cross guys will bump up their tire pressures 5-10 psi (Depending on car). OEM rating is based on ride comfort.
Quote:* Make sure you have a good air filter. A clogged one will impede a little. A high-flow filter will give you a very slight, probably unnoticeable change.
Some poeple mentioned using a K&N. I'm not a fan of these filters because they do not filter as well as a normal, quality filter. The cost in fuel is effectively deferred to the new engine that is needed sooner. Now, that said, a K&N used on a Jeep versus a track car is two different things. For the record, I've used many K&N filters over the years - it's your call on what is important. For a "normal" car, change the paper filter often (juxtapose cost against extra fuel).
Quote:* Make sure your O2 sensor is working. The ECU responds to a bad O2 sensor by dumping more fuel.
This alone is worth having a car with OBD-II - it'll tell you if your O2(s) is bad.
Quote:* Use a lighter synthetic oil. Often if your car requires 10w30 you can get probably away with syn 5w30 or even 0w30 (the latter is expensive though). Don't bother if your car burns oil. Don't do this until you read up on oil and get an oil pressure gauge.
Very important points above. Don't do it on an old vehicle (oil leaks), depending on the car changing grade may not be a good idea - research the hell out of it before doing. Some engines run really hot and/or have marginal oiling systems - stick with mfg rec'ed grades for those cars. Some (most?) mfgs will have synth recs in the manual.
FWIW, when I drive my Cherokee (4.0 tractor engine, 4 speed OD auto w/ TCC) like a grandma I get around 550 km per tank. When I drive "spiritedly" I am lucky to break to get to 490 km per tank. That's a considerable difference. Now my `07 Civic, it seems to get 50 mpg (UK gal) regardless of how I drive it. Isn't technology grand? I've been using a lot of fuel in the S2000, but then I've been auto-crossing and generally beating on it since the novelty hasn't worn off yet.
