Unique Auto

Posts Tagged ‘save gas’

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

In this article I’m going to discuss the properties of the diesel and gas engines, and compare them to each other. Specifically their usage in automobiles.

Looking at them from a distance both the gas and the diesel engine work in about the same way. Fuel manufactured from refined crude burns in the cylinder forcing the piston to move from the resulting pressure. The movement of the piston is then transferred to the wheels through crankshaft, gearbox and transmission.

It’s when we look at the engines a little closer that we start to notice that there are differences. Differences in gas mileage, smell, vibrations, price and expected age to name a few.

With a gas engine there is an ignition system that uses high voltage electricity with wiring and spark plugs. This is not needed in a diesel as it compresses the air n the cylinder until it's hot enough to ignite the fuel when injected. In the gas engine it's the spark plug that ignites the fuel-air mixture through a high voltage spark at the right time.

Also separating the diesel and gas engines is the fact that gas engines mix the fuel vapor with air in the intake manfold before it's entering the cylinder. The air/fuel mixture is then sucked into the cylinder to be burnt the next time the piston strikes.

The diesel on the other hand sucks clean air into the cylinder and then waits for the piston to compress the air as much as it will go. At this time when the air is compressed and hot enough to ignite the fuel, diesel is injected directly into the cylinder (or a small space connected to the cylinder) through high pressure nozzles. The fuel ignites instantly due to the high temperature in the cylinder.

The differences is fuel injection and ignition results in the diesel burning the fuel more efficiently than the gas engine. That's why diesels have better fuel economy than it's gas burning relatives.

I'm not saying that a diesel engine is better. It's different, it has drawbacks too. Diesel engines usually is harder to start in cold and freezing weather. As you may remember it was the hot compressed air that ignited the fuel. When it's too cold outside the air will never become hot enough to ignite the fuel, and the engine won't run.

That’s why diesels have glow plugs that are used when starting a cold engine. Electricity from the accumulator heats the glow plugs inside the cylinders before you even try to start the engne. This way the hot glow plugs ignite the fuel when the air is not hot enough to do it. A couple of seconds after the engine has started it is usually hot enough to ignite the fuel without the help of the glow plugs and these are not used again until the next cold start.

This is one of the nuisances of having a diesel in your car. Glowing can take from a couple of second to half a minute and can be quite a stress if in a hurry. You just have to wait until it's ready or the car won't start. On the other hand if the engine is well done the glowing does not take long and you soon get accustomed to it.

Lets for a second look at the practical differences between the diesel and the gas engine. The diesel is large and loud, it emits black smoke when accelerating and is generally regarded as bad smelling by those not owning one. It also has a sturdier construction due to the higher pressures it must handle and thus can often go twice as many miles as a gas engine during it's lifetime. The heavy duty contruction also makes it expensive when bought new.

Features of The Gas Engine

• More quiet that the diesel
• Better acceleration and higher top speed
• Uses an Ignition System with Spark Plugs to Light The Fuel
• Adds fuel to the air before letting it into the cylinder
• Not as sturdy as a diesel. Lower price but breaks down faster
• Gas readily available everywhere
• MPG is low compared to a diesel

Features of The Diesel Engine

• Loud noise, sounds like a truck or agricultural machine
• Slow acceleration (get one with turbo charger, that helps)
• Lower top speeds but can easily reach the legal speed limit in most places
• Uses glow plugs to help the fuel ignite when the engine is cold
• Lets clean air into the cylinder and injects the fuel later
• Engine is simple and robust. Higher price but runs many miles
• Emits black smoke when loading it (like a quick acceleration)
• Easy to convert to using Eco fuel oils
• Has a great fuel economy

If I where to give you advice on selecting either a gas or a diesel powered car I would probably tell you this: Get a diesel if you drive long trips and can live with the small nuisances of more noise and poor acceleration, get a gas powered car if you drive less than average or if you just want the comfort at any price.

Oil prices seem to keep going up and it is becoming a lot tougher to save money on gas. On internet you can see a number of run the car on water guides in the market and a lot of them are scams. It is normal that under the circumstances individuals are going for all forms of products which save fuel to save more than just a few bucks. Luckily there are some very simple, tasks that you can do now to save your fuel costs. It’s amazing how often we waste petrol without even noticing it.

When you are at Petrol station
Press the trigger softly. This will get you more petrol for your buck. Usually we push the trigger as hard as we can and get out of the way as quickly as possible. Regrettably, this fills your tank with largely fumes and that dollar you spent doesn’t last as long.

Tires
My friend Tom who operates a water jet machine shop gave me this tip. Check your tires with a decent tire pressure gauge. A correctly inflated tire can save upto 12% of the fuel. It will also improve the life of the tire. Thus it will not only reduce your gasolene bills but will also save money on your tires. By the way I bought a digital tire pressure gauge from online.

Driving
Keep Off from speeding and having quick stops. On the main haighway remember that whenever you exceed 60 mph you are not using your car efficiently and it is wasting more money.

Air Filters
Esure that your Air filters are cleaned. Clogged filters eat up more energy.

Regular Maintenance
Apply the correct engine oil for the car. Particularly ensure your engine is regularly tuned. Maintaining your car in good condition will make sure that you make the most out of the fuel in your car.

As well as the common sense methods to save gas, there are also scientific options in the market now. Alternative fuels and hybrid cars are growing more popular day by day and, eventhough they are presently quite overpriced, some day they will change the transportation sector.
In the future it will be rather affordable to drive, with the invention of the Salt Water Engine (which is being fine tuned right now) we will have a tremendous source of energy for everyone and it comes from the most plentiful thing on earth. Water.
Meanwhile it is our duty to use energy saving tips and secondary fuels.  A number of small business owners and inventors are trying to find with inexpensive and simple conversions for individuals now. Go to google and do a search to find more tricks and tips to save fuel..