Comments on: Saving Money, Saving Fuel, Saving The Environment.

By: Willy

Willy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:26:30 +0000

The speed that a car gets its optimal mileage at changes for every vehicle. So going 55 could make your mileage worse than 70, depending on gearing and engine power curves. Shutting an engine off at a light only saves gas if its a very long light as starting an engine takes quite a bit more gas than people might think, plus it’ll burn out your starter much more quickly. High power demands on the highway means using A/C at higher speeds will put a lot of strain on your engine and have a MUCH bigger effect on mileage than the windows being down. If you drive a 400hp sports car, this isn’t an issue but that isn’t exactly your average vehicle… Using higher fuel grade constantly provides no benefits, but used occasionally can help keep your engine clean and help seals and such, so using it about once every 5-10 fill-ups depending on the exact engine can help mileage in the long run. Also, over-inflating tires can cause small drops in mileage and BIG drops in tread life.

By: David

David — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:16:16 +0000

I like doing that as well…sometimes I think the guy behind me gets scared though! Thanks for the thoughts Maria!

By: maria

maria — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:41:24 +0000

re: “avoid idling”–my husband and i started shutting our engine off at some stoplights, just the ones we’re familiar with. if we know we just missed the light and it’s going to take a while to come back around again, we put it in park and turn the car off. it does mean you have to pay attention (we start it back up when the light before ours in the sequence goes yellow) so the person behind you doesn’t get annoyed, but it saves a lot of idling time at a long light.