Tips to Increase Gas Mileage
Via MBoffin.com
Tips to Increase Your Car’s Miles Per Gallon
- Don’t accelerate quickly
- Let your car brake itself
- Drive at the speed limit on highways and freeways
- Use cruise control
- Don’t use the air conditioner
- Accelerate before hills
- Clean out your car
- Check your tire pressure
- Change your air filter
- Do more in one trip
I always thought that using cruise control hurt gas mileage. The rest all make sense, though. Easier said than done, of course.
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Oct 4th, 2005 at 11:21:36
One tip I read in Click and Clack’s column a few weeks ago is if you drive a manual transmission car, shift into 5th gear as soon as possible - even in city driving. If your 5th can sustain driving speeds and decent acceleration then do it. I frequently go 1st, 2nd, 5th when 2nd hits about 35 mph. I also have the habit of putting the car in neutral when coasting down an exit ramp, hills, coming up to a stop sign, etc. With my car and its performance upgrades, i went from 23-24mpg city/highway combined to 16-18. I still get 24-28 if all I am doing is highway.
Or the best way to get good gas mileage? buy a motorcycle! 35-60mpg! (I get 45)
Oct 4th, 2005 at 14:02:03
Cruis control helps keep the engine at a consistant speed. the slowing down/speeding up is what burns gas. I do some of the stuff Paul does…the coasting down hills, to stop signs and such.
Oct 4th, 2005 at 17:18:16
I prefer not to use my brakes at all! (Look, I posted a comment!)
Oct 4th, 2005 at 17:25:58
Lol, look at you. You’re moving up in the world! Well, we’ve already seen what happens when you don’t use brakes, so maybe you should try them out sometime…
Oct 4th, 2005 at 18:59:35
You actually riding your motorcycle to work now, Paul?
Oct 4th, 2005 at 19:28:07
About cruise control…I would think that the engine would be doing more work, accelerating and decelerating more often, to keep the car at the constant speed.
Oct 5th, 2005 at 11:08:46
yup. as long as the weather holds up, i’ll be on the bike. Since Friday, I think I drove the talon once. I’ve put over 200 miles on the bike since Friday night
Oct 5th, 2005 at 16:32:11
From my understanding cruise control actually hold the engine at a consistant speed, not actually at a mph. I could be wrong, but that is my understanding. Use Cruise and if you have a tach in your car watch it for a bit. It will vary as you go up and down hills, but it is much more consistant than your foot.
Oct 5th, 2005 at 17:29:28
Ah, okay, that makes sense. Not that it matters for me - I don’t have cruise. Good to know, though.
Oct 5th, 2005 at 20:06:10
Cruise control is good unless you are driving in the hills/mountians where the incline varies frequently and steeply.