Of course, I didn’t realize that when I designated the eco-resolution for July as the month to practice driving more efficiently to conserve fuel and reduce carbon output, would there be the worst oil spill and environmental disaster taking place ever.
In the the midst of summer and day 78+ of this disaster, it is even more important to reflect on our on personal oil dependence and ways we can drive in a more fuel efficient manner. Halfway through summer, there are still many more driving miles many of us may be taking to reach our summer destination (s). My family has already made our annual trek to Florida to visit relatives and friends and we have two more weekend trips to make. Yes – I have always loved a road trip but am making these drives in a little more of a somber manner as I think about all that oil continuing to gush out into the gulf.
I’ve gathered the following tips from both FuelEconomy.gov and CarMax to help us on our way.
- Stay in Shape: Routine maintenance of your car of course will keep things running smoothly but more importantly helps improve overall gas mileage. Properly inflated tires, using the correct grade of motor oil and replacing dirty air filters can all help increase fuel efficiency. Neglect in these areas could mean a reduction of gas mileage from one to two on up to 10%, respectively.
- Lose The Weight. I know this is hard when packing up a couple of kids, coolers and other accoutrements but an extra 100 pounds can reduce your efficiency by two percent. Pack as much as you can in the trunk as items on top of the car create wind resistance which can impact economy.
- Turn It On: Usually we are told to turn things off to improve efficiency but in this case, turn on your cruise control or put your car in the overdrive mode if it is manual. Overdrive reduces your engine speed and cruise control maintains a consistent speed – both which will save you gas. And as for the A/C – crank it up on the highways. Driving with the windows down, creates excess drag, thus greater use of fuel. When driving around the city, however, windows down is better.
- Driving for Dollars. Most fuel is used from accelerating from a stop to cruising speed. Speeding, rapid acceleration and braking does nothing but waste gas and can reduce your gas mileage by almost 33% on the highways. Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly above 60 mph, so for each 5 mph driven over is like paying an extra $.024 per gallon…ouch. Don’t let your car idle. Idling for longer than 30 seconds uses more gas than starting up your engine.
And the most interesting tip from CarMax, is this:
- Fill up your car in the morning: early morning is the best time because the gasoline is cooler and denser. Since gas pumps measure volumes of gas and not densities, you get more fuel for your money.
So whether on the road for a short or a long haul, practice these tips to drive down your fuel consumption and emissions not only during vacation days but every day. What else do you do?
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }