Unique Auto

Posts Tagged ‘fuel efficiency’

Gas is getting more and more expensive and if you have a long commute or if you just like to drive the gas bill can become a burden.

Luckily there is easy ways to lower your gas bill and I’ll list seven that are easy to do and does not require you to invest money in a new car or snake oil add-on kits. I’ll show you seven ways that are commonly available and easy to do.

1. MAINTAIN ECONOMIC TIRE PRESSURE

Driving with under inflated tires is not only dangerous as the tires could overheat, it also uses more gas than inflated tires.

Inflate the tires to the max pressure allowed by your cars manuals, and periodically check the pressure using a trustworthy pressure gauge.

Many hypermilers inflate their tires more than that, to the maximum pressure printed on the sidewalls of the tires themselves. This is often as much as 60 percent more than what the car manufacturer recommends and it will give additional gas savings due to lesser rolling resistance.

The downside is a harder and less comfortable ride. And I can’t recommend you outright to do this, even if it’s safe, as there is a possibility of uneven tire wear in some conditions.

2. REMOVE ROOF RACKS, SKI BOXES AND TRAILERS

If you thought it’s too much of a hassle to remove the roof rack or ski box when it’s not needed, think again! The same goes for driving with an empty trailer or a pick up truck with no flatbed cover.

Anything that you attach to the outside of the car will spoil the aerodynamics of the car and with that your fuel economy. Always remove roof racks, bicycle holders, ski boxes and trailers when not needed.

3. TURN OFF THE A/C

Even if some would argue that the A/C does not affect MPG, it actually uses lots of energy. That energy is taken right from your tank and from your fuel mileage. If at all possible, turn it off. If that’s too uncomfortable set it to a higher temperature as that will use less fuel.

TIP: Park your car in the shadow, keep the doors open for a minute or two before driving somewhere to cool off the seats of the car and, if possible, drive at night to avoid hot temperatures and sunshine during the day.

Just remember, driving at high speed with the windows open is even worse for the fuel economy than using the A/C.

4. DEVELOP YOUR DRIVING STYLE

Your driving style is one of the biggest factors affecting your fuel economy. Refrain from breaking by letting your car roll to a stop when you’re not in front of other drivers, keep your top speed below 60MPH or 100KM/H and don’t push the pedal to the metal when you accelerate.

5. WALK

Many times if you’re not going that far, walking or biking is a lot more economic than taking the car. You’ll save a lot of fuel and you’ll also avoid the other maintanance costs associated with driving.

6. FIX ANY FUEL LEAKS

Obviously if you have a fuel leak you will spill your hard earned gas on the ground costing you money and polluting the environment. Repair all fuel leaks immediately.

TIP: If your gas cap is missing or broken and you live in a hot environment, especially if you park in the sun and the car gets really hot, a lot of gas will evaporate and escape through the missing or broken cap into the air. The loss can be significant and the gas vapors will harm the envirnment.

7. PARTICIPATE IN A CAR POOL

Sharing a car on your daily commute can be a fair amount of hassle compared to going alone but you’ll save more gas and money than any of the other tips except for actually walking or biking.

Joining with just one other person to use the same car for your commute will save you half your monthly commuting cost.

ADDITIONAL FUEL SAVING TIPS

Those tips are among the easiest, most readily available, low cost ways you can save tanks of fuel. And that’s a no gadgets needed bag of tricks.

There’s many more ways you can save gas. You can get a more fuel efficient car (hybrid, diesel, smaller vehicle), change your driving style, improve your cars aerodynamics, use tires with a low rolling resistance, plan your driving, plan for extreme weather and a lot more that this article is too short to cover

There’s also many ways to NOT save gas, like installing one of those fuel saving gadgets advertised everywhere. They usually cost a lot but give barely measurable improvements in MPG.

To keep track of your actual gas mileage you can use a handy online fuel mileage calculator

Now why don't we consider the topic of used cars. Should you buy used cars or new ones? New cars begin depreciating the second you sign the papers.  That makes the question a lot simpler to answer. Since a car is a depreciating asset, meaning in general cars lose value with time, the best money decision is to purchase the car when it will tend to lose less value. Maintenance costs are also a factor. The slightly used car is about the best for both concern. The big hit to car value has already occurred. That loss went to the original owner. The car is still in good condition, often still under warranty, so that it won’t have need for constant and costly repairs like  an older model car needs.

Continuing the discussion about used car prices : There are many places to look for late model used cars.  Dealerships take in trade-ins from customers who purchase or lease new vehicles. The dealers want to sell those cars. Companies like Carmax specialize in used automobiles, while eBay has an entire subsection dedicated to car auctions, mostly for used vehicles. There are car auctions in every city. These include police auctions of impounded vehicles as well as dealer auctions that might involve, for example, cars purchased from car rental companies. 

When dealing with used cars one will also want to consider fuel consumption and The most trusted source for used car prices is Kelly Blue Book. Categories include make, model, year and condition from poor to excellent. It also breaks down the prices between dealer sales and private sales. That does make a difference because dealers have overhead that private sellers do not have.

Have you considered financing? Think about saving up the pennies and making a cash purchase.  No matter how low the monthly payments or interest rate, paying cash is better. Yes, cars are status symbols. But bells and whistles can cost a lot of money. That can even mean a less stressful life. People with more expensive cars worry more about theft, accidents and wear. Not that used car owners like to drive junk, but a little ding or dent means less on a simpler model. 

Sure cars are a status symbol, but wealth isn’t based on what you spend. Wise spending turns into wealth. There are people living hand to mouth even though they earn a lot of money. Good used cars help the budget.

The Ford Motor company have just revealed the test results of a new ethanol assisted engine that looks set to compete with Hybrid technology. The news coincided with president Barrack Obama’s announcement of new regulations that require the fuel efficiency of all new cars and trucks to be improved by 2016.

The new engine, called a direct-injection ethanol engine, runs primarily on petrol. When the engine needs a bit more power, perhaps to go up a hill or overtake, then the ethanol injection kicks in.

This results is an improvement in fuel efficiency of around 23% for an average car.   This is due to the fact that the engine operates at a higher compression ratio. The compression ratio is a measure of how much the fuel and air mixture is compressed before being ignited. Higher compression ratios would normally result in premature ignition which is commonly called knocking. Adding ethanol to the fuel-air mixture suppresses knocking.

A pick-up truck fitted with one of the new engines, along with an additional ethanol fuel tank, showed a 23% improvement in fuel efficiency while maintaining performance levels. It was estimated that a 40 litre auxiliary tank of ethanol would last for around 30,000 kilometres.  

It is expected that the next phase of testing and evaluation will see the new engine used in a variety of vehicles. More testing is to be carried out to assess whether the new ethanol assisted engine becomes unstable when the ethanol runs out.

The cost of these new engines is around one third of the extra cost of a hybrid petrol-electric engine. Hybrids typically deliver an improvement in fuel economy of between 25 and 35%. The new direct-injection ethanol engine looks like it is a strong contender that will meet Obama’s projected fuel efficiency figures.

It was on May the 19th when Barrack Obama announced at the White House: “The goal is to set one national standard that will rapidly increase fuel efficiency, without compromising safety, by an average of 5 percent each year between 2012 and 2016″.

The new rules would require vehicle’s average fuel economy standards to be 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Specifically, an average of 39 miles per gallon for cars and 30 miles per gallon for trucks. For reference, this year (2009) the average fuel efficiency is 25 miles per gallon.

These new regulations will inevitably mean additional costs for motor manufacturers, which will be passed on to consumers. But although people will be paying more for their cars and trucks they will be paying less for fuel. Obama said that it was estimated that the average driver would save as much as $2800 by improving their gas mileage.

One way that anyone interested in a new car can save money is to consider financing their new transport using a car lease. Car leasing offers personal and business customers many advantages over outright purchase. Looking out for new model Fords using the new direct-injection ethanol engine on a Ford lease could be a practical way to save a small fortune.

President Obama’s plans to reduce carbon emissions by increasing fuel efficiency standards in the United States have sparked a heated debate. On the one hand reduced fuel consumption means less dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, and will undoubtedly help create a cleaner environment. On the other it could contribute towards the problems of the US car industry, which is already struggling with the recession.

The new laws allowing each state to impose its own standards for fuel efficiency will ensure limited carbon emissions and will be a long overdue first step by the US towards dealing with climate change. The issue was largely ignored by the Bush administration, though even fellow republicans like California’s governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have been fighting to make these changes for a long time.

Eventually all the manufacturers, even prestige brands like Audi, Mereceds and BMW – all the names we’ve been told to aspire to – will be forced to move towards designing greener cars and new fuel technologies.One thing’s is certain, even with the government money these new cars will be pricey.  So perhaps the more expensive brands like Audi may even have to reconsider their marketing strategies and think about introducing other options for buyers such as offering an Audi lease agreement as an alternative to buying outright.

Consumers who are strapped for cash will also be faced with a difficult decision. It’s easier than ever to find a bargain in the current market, as the slump in sales has led to marked reductions in the cost of used as well as new vehicles. However, if the UK government were to follow in America’s footsteps drivers who choose the wrong car now could find themselves faced with high taxes for carbon emissions in the future.

Perhaps the answer is not to buy that new Merc, or Beamer or Roller (if  those are your dream cars), but instead enter a Mercedes lease agreement with the option of renewing and upgrading your vehicle in the future. Really you’d be getting the best of both worlds – your dream car now at a fixed and predictable monthly price that’s often far less than taking out a loan (that’s if you can find any institution willing to lend you anything!)  and the possibility of being one of the first to benefit from the new fuel saving technologies that could save you money in the future!