by Andy Arendt
Road trips, weekend getaways and trips home for the
holidays promise all kinds of attractions – sampling the local food, checking
out the scenery and stopping to see the local oddities, like the world’s
largest ball of twine, in Darwin, Minn.
It also means tracking fuel mileage and
spending money on gas.
To help maximize your fuel mileage on your next trip, here’s a list
of seven tactics to follow – and one to avoid. This list assumes you’re
familiar with the standard fuel-mileage savers, like using cruise
control, planning an efficient route and switching to synthetic lubricants.
1) Properly inflate your tires and consider wheel choice
Inflate your tires to the correct pressure found on the sidewall or
the inside of the door. Low tire pressure increases rolling resistance
and the amount of fuel needed to turn the wheels.
In fact, Consumer Reports says a tire that’s down 10 psi can reduce fuel economy 1 mpg.
Upgrading to a set of cool-looking wheels may boost your street cred,
but it also increases weight.
A heavier wheel means the vehicle will
burn more fuel to move it down the road. A lighter wheel is a better
wheel for fuel mileage. Lastly, if you reduce wheel weight but increase
size, the net result may still be an increase in weight and reduction in
fuel mileage.
2) Change your air filter.
Most people know that reducing drag due to air passing over your
vehicle makes a big difference. Luggage racks, an uncovered pickup box and bike
racks create drag and reduce fuel mileage. But reducing drag through the
engine makes a difference, too.
Your engine is basically a big air pump. It consumes roughly 14 times more air than fuel.
If the air filter hasn’t been changed in a while, it may be clogged
with dirt and debris. This creates restriction that forces the engine to
work harder, reducing fuel mileage.
Change the air filter according to manufacturer recommendations for best fuel economy.
3) Avoid expensive high-octane fuel.
Vehicle manufacturers program their engines to provide optimum power
and efficiency using a particular octane of gas, typically regular
87-octane pump gas.
It’s best to stick with what the manufacturer
recommends.
Unless the manufacturer calls for using higher-octane gas (typically with higher-compression performance vehicles), using higher-octane fuel won’t deliver fuel-mileage gains. Save yourself some money and use 87-octane, unless otherwise recommended.
4) Clean the fuel injectors.
Your engine’s fuel injectors are exposed to increased heat.
Over time, carbon deposits can form that plug the injectors and reduce fuel
economy.
This is particularly true for gasoline direct injection (GDI)
engines, in which the injectors are located directly in the combustion
chamber. GDI injectors are exposed to 30 to 40 times more soot than port
fuel injectors.
The openings on injectors can be smaller than a human
hair, so even minuscule carbon can restrict fuel flow, reducing mileage.
Give your injectors a good cleaning to maximize fuel
economy. AMSOIL has a two-step fuel-additive solution to clean dirty injectors
and preserve cleanliness for the long haul.
First, AMSOIL P.i. removes stubborn deposits, improving fuel mileage up to 5.7%.¹ Use it every 4,000 miles for best performance.
Second, AMSOIL Upper Cylinder Lubricant
used every tank continues to keep injectors clean, while protecting
against corrosion and providing upper-cylinder lubrication. Together,
they help keep your vehicle running like-new and deliver maximum fuel
mileage.
5) Use an instant fuel-mileage gauge.
Many new cars are equipped with real-time fuel-economy gauges.
Monitoring your mileage in real time helps keep your foot off the floor.
And, unlike just reducing your speed, you get the instant reward of
seeing the impact on your mpg. If your car doesn’t have one, buy an
aftermarket model.
6) Develop a feather foot.
Your car is most efficient when it’s steadily moving. Starting, stopping and idling all cut into your fuel mileage.
Decelerating well in advance of a stop sign aids in conserving energy.
Contrary to the “Go-for-the-Gold” approach to stop lights, in which you
accelerate to make the light while it’s yellow, the feather-foot
approach dictates that you lay off the gas when you first see the yellow
light with the goal of slowly rolling up to the red light. This will
conserve fuel and save you some money.
7) Stop shopping for parking.
To take your fuel-economy game to the next level, stop “shopping for parking.”
Rather than circling the lot until you find a spot near the entrance
of a store, reverse your thinking and grab a spot farther back in the
lot close to the exit. This has a three-fold benefit: 1) reduced fuel
consumption since you’re not aimlessly looking for a spot, 2) extra
exercise walking to the store and 3) reduced chance of door dings since,
in most cases, you have these spots to yourself.
CAUTIONS--Avoid the dangerous craft of draft & coast
The practice of drafting by fuel-economy-obsessed hyper-milers
is well documented.
It involves using the tailwind of a larger vehicle to pull
your vehicle along, which means getting close enough to the back of a
semi-truck trailer to read the brand of the padlock on the door. Yes, this is
physics at work and, yes, it works. But it’s extremely dangerous.
The only thing more dangerous is engine-off drafting, in which the driver shifts into neutral and shuts off the engine. Remember – when you shut the engine off you also shut off your steering and brakes.
Engine-off coasting takes a similar approach while driving downhill
or in other coasting opportunities. The driver shifts into neutral and
momentum carries the vehicle forward until slowing to a speed at which
propulsion is again needed to build momentum.
Avoid these practices. Saving a few bucks on gas isn’t worth
the risk of plowing into a semi-trailer. Instead, follow these tips to help
increase fuel mileage safely and save some money during your next trip.
¹ Based on independent testing using EPA tests: Federal Test
Procedure 75 (FTP), Supplemental Federal Test Procedure (US06), and the Highway
Fuel Economy Test (HFET). Average fuel mileage increase of 2.3 percent.