Archive for 'Fuel Efficiency'
Buyer Beware: Products that Increase Your Gas Mileage
Posted on 13. Apr, 2009 by Mark Coleman.
Everyone is reacting differently to the continued increase in gas prices that we have experienced over the last several years. Many drivers have taken to doing whatever they can to increase their gas mileage, which has created a market for products that claim to do just that. The companies that manufacture these products seem to have a great idea, since they know that the public is desperate to decrease their fuel usage. The question is, do these products really provide a big difference, or are these companies just making a quick buck off of consumers who are sick of paying so much at the pump?
It can be easy to get roped in by the very gaudy claims that the companies who make these products are making. Do these products really provide increased gas mileage? Can they prove the claims that they have made? That depends on who you ask. However, the EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, has tested a number of these types of products, and has not found one yet that significantly increases gas mileage. This means that the foremost authority in fuel economy has yet to certify one of these products as being legit.
That is not to say that the products do not work. Perhaps they do provide gas mileage increases in certain vehicles, or maybe they increase gas mileage by a marginal amount. However, since there is no concrete evidence of such an increase from testing done by an unbiased party, so there really is no proof available yet. Again, this does not mean that the products are altogether worthless or useless. However, it is debatable whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on these products, especially when there are very cheap (or even free) ways to increase your gas mileage alternatively.
For instance, you can do something as simple as put the proper amount of air in your tires, and check their air pressure regularly. This simple task will usually cost you nothing (although some gas stations may have machines that charge a quarter or two), and will help you to save some of your precious gas when you drive. This is just one simple act of maintenance that can help you to preserve your fuel.
Another cheap way to increase fuel efficiency is to change your air filters regularly. Although this costs more than most fuel economy products do, it also provides proven benefits that are pretty substantial in regards to fuel efficiency. If you have the choice between spending some money on an unproven method, or something that is proven to work, what would you choose?
These ways of increasing fuel efficiency are just the tip of the iceberg. You can do simple things like avoid packing your trunk with excess junk that increases drag and decreases fuel mileage, or make sure you use the proper grade of motor oil. Even simple things like avoiding the use of the air conditioning system can provide a marked increase in fuel economy!
In short, there are just too many cheap or inexpensive ways to improve gas mileage to be able to recommend buying costly products that may not work much, or at all. With so many easy ways to increase your fuel economy, why pay money for something that is not proven to work?
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Automobile Features That Can Save Fuel
Posted on 09. Apr, 2009 by Mark Coleman.
Drivers seem to let out a collective groan whenever they realize that it is time to stop to fuel up their automobiles, thanks to the sky-high gas prices these days. You would be hard-pressed to find a driver that would not like to save a bit of money at the gas pump, but many people simply do not know how to achieve this. Many consumers turn to products that promise better gas mileage, only to be disappointed. Others believe that they must buy a smaller vehicle or sell their current one, due to the expensive fuel problem.
What many drivers do not know is that there are many ways to use less fuel, some of which are so laughably easy that you will be stunned that you had never thought of them before. You do not have to buy expensive products, as most of the best ways to conserve fuel have no cost, or at least a very small cost. Indeed, some of the easiest ways to increase your gas mileage are right under your nose when you drive- literally! Read on to find out how some of the features in your car can help you save gas!
One of the favorite features a car can have for many drivers is cruise control. Long beloved by drivers who must endure long trips, cruise control has a number of different benefits, although it is a very simple feature. For instance, many people have earned themselves speeding tickets by having a heavy foot that got out of control, but with the cruise control set, you can drive at a consistent speed without glancing at the gauge every three seconds!
Did you know, though, that setting the cruise control can help you to save gas? That’s right, since your car will be driving along at a consistent speed, there won’t be the little accelerations here and there that the inexact science of using a foot pedal can result in. These slight accelerations cause the car to work a bit more every now and then, which obviously results in increased gasoline use. Imagine- a convenient way to drive that offers greater fuel efficiency as well!
A somewhat less used feature for most drivers is the “overdrive” feature. Many people do not even know that their car has overdrive, or what it can do. Basically, overdrive allows your car’s engine to work less hard at higher speeds. Again, as we mentioned earlier, when your engine works less, you use less gas, so setting the overdrive on can help you to easily save a little gas!
You probably look at your MPH (miles per hour) gauge quite often, if you are like most drivers. However, how often do you look at the RPM gauge? Probably not nearly as much! If you drive a manual transmission especially, keep an eye on your car’s RPMs. After all, the higher your car is running in the RPM range, the harder your engine is working. If you do drive a stick, make sure that you are changing gears before you get too high in the RPM range, and use your higher gears at a consistent speed whenever possible!
Not all features are beneficial for gas usage, however. If you are a big fan of using your car’s air conditioning, you are costing yourself in fuel efficiency! Having the air conditioning on makes your car work much harder, as you can tell because of the lessened power and responsiveness when you accelerate. Whenever you can, try to drive with the air conditioning off!
As you can see, these are some fairly simple ways to take a little of the pain of filling up your car’s gas tank away. Remember that if you can try to control your fuel usage, you can lessen your gas expenses without having the ability to change the price of gas itself!
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Why You Should Avoid Fuel Economy Products
Posted on 05. Apr, 2009 by Mark Coleman.
A lot of things have happened due to the huge increases in gas prices that we have seen over the last several years. One of the more intriguing results has been the creation of a new market, which is the area of products that claim to increase gas mileage of cars, trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles alike. The manufacturers of these products are counting on a frustrating and fed up public to support their products in an effort to escape gas expenses. However, are these products worth the money or not?
First, you have to look at the things that the manufacturers of these products are boasting. They claim significant increases to fuel efficiency, but have they proven these claims? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (or EPA), they have not. The EPA is responsible for testing and certifying the fuel economy of vehicles, among other tasks. When you go to a car dealership and see on a sticker that a vehicle gets x miles per gallon, that is information obtained by testing done by the EPA.
The EPA also has tested a number of products that are supposed to increase gas mileage, but they have not found any yet do so significantly. That is one reason why you should use caution when shelling out money for these types of products. They may claim to do wonderful things, but if there are no proven results to back up the claims, they are not to be taken without a grain of salt.
It is also important to note that you do not have to buy expensive and costly products to increase your car’s fuel efficiency. In fact, there are a nearly endless number of ways to increase gas mileage without spending a dime! For instance, you can make sure that you remove unneeded items from your car, so that you are not driving excess weight around. You can also do something as simple as use the cruise control more often, or avoid using the air conditioner, since it leads to more fuel usage than normal.
Other valuable tips include simply tweaking your driving style. If you can control your speed on the highway and try to coast when you know that you may have to stop shortly, you can see some improvements to your fuel economy. Often, you will notice huge changes by simply staying off the gas a bit when driving on the highway; far bigger changes than you would ever receive from pouring a product in your gas tank!
There are even more very simple tips, such as not leaving your car running when you leave it to go inside a store or gas station, or keeping your tires properly inflated, since not doing so can cost you some of your ideal gas mileage. Again, there is simply no shortage of easy and free ways to increase your vehicle’s fuel economy!
That is why you really do not need to rely on expensive products to increase your fuel economy. After all, there are so many ways to do so already, that unless you are taking advantage of all of them and still not getting the results you want, why would you pay for a product that supposedly does the same thing?
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Using Your Car’s Features to Minimize Gas Use
Posted on 01. Apr, 2009 by Mark Coleman.
The quest for relief from oppressive gas prices have led drivers on searches far and wide for ways to minimize the effect of the high prices on their wallets. However, many drivers are literally at arm’s length from ways to help themselves, and do not even know it! In fact, many features that come standard with new vehicles are not only convenient, but can help you to save on gas usage as well!
Since every gallon counts at today’s gas prices, even the simplest improvements to gas mileage can lead to more money in your pockets. Although many products make gaudy claims to improve gas mileage drastically, most (if not all) of these claims are unproven. As usual, the best remedies are usually the simple and somewhat obvious ones. For instance, use your car’s already existing features to ease up on your gas usage when you are driving around from place to place.
Cruise control is a great feature for many reasons. It can keep you from having to glance down at your speed all the time, for one thing. This means that you can avoid getting a speeding ticket by merely setting a consistent speed that will not get you pulled over. Using the cruise control feature effectively takes away any chance of you accidentally getting a heavy foot and an unintended speeding ticket as a result.
However, cruise control is also a great way to conserve gas! When you are on the highway, the cruise control can help your car to stay at a consistent speed. This means that you will not be accidentally increasing your speed and making the car periodically work harder. So, you see? Some of the best ways to conserve gasoline are also convenient methods of driving, anyway!
If you have an “overdrive” option for your car, you should use the overdrive gears whenever possible. Overdrive allows your engine to work much less than it would otherwise. Of course, the less your engine works, the less gasoline you use. In other words, overdrive alone will increase your vehicle’s fuel efficiency!
While you are at it, keep your eye on your RPM gauge, especially if you drive a manual transmission automobile. After all, any time your car is running in the high end of the RPM range, you are using more engine power than you need to, and thusly, more gas. Make sure that you are not staying in the low gears for too long before shifting, and spend as much time in the comfortable RPM range of higher gears as you can, since you will save yourself some gas in the process. The RPM gauge is another example of an under-utilized feature that, if used correctly, can help you to conserve gas.
While we are talking about features to use, let’s also mention a feature that you should stay away from if you are trying to conserve gas: the air conditioning feature. If you turn on your car’s air conditioning, your car will end up working much harder than usual, which means your car will consume more gas to fuel that work. The easy translation here is to avoid the air conditioning whenever you can. After all, it may be hot out, but you definitely do not want to have to sweat it out while pumping gas into your empty tank, right?
As you can see, there are many fairly basic features that can help you to keep your car going and away from the gas station. Even though some of these features may only have a small effect on your car’s gas usage, if you follow all of the tips, it will add up. Again, with gas prices as high as they are now, even if you can save a gallon or two here and there, that can be a pretty substantial savings for you!
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Using Public Transportation to Cut Gas Costs
Posted on 26. Mar, 2009 by Mark Coleman.
In all but a few communities, it seems that public transportation does not get a fair shake. After all, most people are not tempted by the idea of sharing space with many strangers on a bus, and instead opt for the considerably more expensive (and damaging to the environment) option of driving their own cars instead. While no one can blame someone for their own personal preference, if you are serious about cutting your personal gas costs, you may want to give public transportation a bit of consideration!
Let’s face it- the cost of gas is not letting up anytime soon. Though many of us do not really understand what forces are driving the cost up so much or why gas prices have to continue to rise, we do know that it is unlikely that gas will become much more affordable anytime soon. That is precisely why it is up to all of us to reduce our gas usage so that we can enjoy a break from paying big money for fuel at the pump. After all, while we may not be able to control the price of gas, we can certainly control how much gas we use and how often we buy it.
While there are many ways to increase your vehicle’s fuel efficiency, there simply is no way to beat the value of simply not driving at all. If your car stays parked, it uses no gas whatsoever, after all! That is why you should probably look into transportation whenever possible. Although there may be barriers in your area towards incorporating public transportation into your lifestyle, there may be more options than you would think.
For instance, even if the local bus or subway does not stop anywhere near where you work, that does not mean that you can’t occasionally use these methods of transportation to go shopping or to a night out on the town on the weekend. Depending on what activities you decide to engage in on a weekend night, you may be better off with the convenience of public transportation, anyway! You can take a bus downtown, then take a cab home at the end of the night!
Many folks are not satisfied with the areas of travel that are provided by their local public transportation options. However, routes will not expand if people are not taking advantage of public transportation to begin with! The only way to get more coverage is to support the system that is already in place. You can do this, along with speaking with your local officials about expanding the public transportation system, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
While there is no way to force anyone to use public transportation, there has never been a better time than the present to give it a try! In many areas, there is a negative stigma surrounding public transportation, which is unfortunate. After all, public transportation provides a great way to save gas money, all while helping the environment by reducing the number of vehicles on the road (and therefore, the amount of emissions). What could be better than getting to where you need to go at a low price, all while helping to preserve the environment? If gas prices have got you down, give public transportation a try!