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Improving Fuel Economy

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socceraggie
I have a 2000 model inline 4 sedan that I get between 30-40 MPG and am wondering if there are things I can do that will improve that any further. If anyone has suggestions or tips on driving techniques that would be helpful on this topic that would be great!

Thanks!
Bluedoll
That isn't too bad for gas consumption. Well you could run an experiment and see if you could actually improve it.

Accuracy is important in experiments. Fill car to the top. Where is the top? Filling station pumps seem to vary and shut off at different levels. I had a car I could fill and actually see the gas at the top. Don’t like spilling fuel, that is so bad!

Fill tank, fill up the tires to max pressure and maybe a little more? Careful, harder tires, less friction but less control and maybe can damage tires.

Fill up tank and tires. Tape an egg on the go petal.
Drive and ignore the people yelling at you!

Later!

Fill tank. Use a calculator and accurately note the change.

Is it worth it to you?
ocalhoun
Bluedoll wrote:

Fill tank, fill up the tires to max pressure and maybe a little more? Careful, harder tires, less friction but less control and maybe can damage tires.

Fill up tires to the correct pressure. Overfilling will get you better gas mileage, but you will sacrifice control (making wrecks more likely), and you will wear out your tires faster (wearing out the tires is bad for the environment, and bad for your wallet). That part isn't worth it.

If you can afford it, adding a supercharger or turbocharger to your engine will significantly improve both gas mileage and engine power.

Take your car in for a tune-up. Make sure the engine timing is perfect, replace spark plugs, wires, and distributor if needed. Make sure oil changes are done on time, and that you're using the best oil for your climate. Change the engine air filter if it is dirty. Check coolant to make sure it is clean, and has enough antifreeze in it (antifreeze also lubricates a little).

Consider upgrading the air filter to a 'performance' type, which will give you a slight gain in both gas mileage and engine power.

On a newer car, consider getting a 'chip' to change the engine's characteristics. You can reprogram it to sacrifice power for economy.

Removing exhaust restriction will also help a little. Removing the muffler or replacing it with a performance muffler will help. If you're increasing gas mileage for environmental reasons, don't remove the catalytic converter though. You can increase the gain from this by replacing the entire exhaust system with 'performance' parts, though, even then, gains will be slight.

Use radio and air conditioning (and other accessories) as little as possible. The energy they use comes from the gas tank, ultimately. (Using the heater, or just the fan, uses very little power, because the heat is waste heat from the engine, and the fan uses very little power- go ahead and use the heater and fan.) Turning the air conditioner on 'vent' or 'fan only' will help you cool the car, and use less gas than leaving windows open.

If possible, make the car more aerodynamic. Remove roof-top cargo carriers, and perhaps replace exterior body parts with more aerodynamic ones.

Check differential(s) (if equipped) for proper fluid level and consistency. Also check transfer case (if 4x4 or AWD).

If you're very intent on mileage gains, disassemble the hubs, and check that they don't need to be replaced or re-lubricated.

Get a grease gun, and lubricate suspension points.

Check transmission oil quality and quantity.

Remove excess weight from car. (Excess. Spare tire and other needed equipment should stay in!) If you never carry passengers, you can take out the extra seats, though.

Accelerate slowly, but more importantly, stop slowly. Every time you push the gas pedal you're using gas. Every time you push the brake pedal, you're wasting gas. Be safe, but decelerate for turns as little as is safe.

Tailgating larger vehicles will get better mileage but it is not safe! Don't do it.

If any 'check engine' lights are on, find out why and fix it. If the temperature gauge isn't at the correct point after driving for a while (usually in the middle of the gauge's range), find out why. If the engine is too cold or too hot, it will run less efficiently.

If the battery won't stay charged, find out why. A bad battery or bad alternator will waste engine power while running, and often leave you stranded.
Afaceinthematrix
ocalhoun wrote:
Take your car in for a tune-up. Make sure the engine timing is perfect, replace spark plugs, wires, and distributor if needed. Make sure oil changes are done on time, and that you're using the best oil for your climate. Change the engine air filter if it is dirty. Check coolant to make sure it is clean, and has enough antifreeze in it (antifreeze also lubricates a little).



That, I think, is the best that you can do for your car and gas mileage. I bought an old car and drove it around for a while. I consistently tested the car for MPG and got the same results for several months. I then went down to the Auto Zone and purchased the new spark plugs and wires, fuel injection cleaner, air filter, oil, antifreeze, etc. and consequently improved my gas mileage by 15% (which is a lot, but I still don't get very good gas mileage which is why I am looking for something else).

All it took was buying parts (which, I admit, was expensive) and about 3 hours of work on my part...

So I would suggest doing this things (or going to a mechanic if you aren't too good with cars - although none of these maintenance things - with the exception of spark plugs on some cars - are too difficult to do yourself...) to increase fuel efficiency.

Another very easy thing you can do is simply checking tire pressure... That takes 2 minutes (you can sometimes even do it when getting gas if you keep a guage in your car) and can save you a lot of money.
BigGeek
Ocalhoun is right with everything he posted, but at some point you have to draw the line. What I mean is, at some point you end up spending thousands of dollars to save $5.00 in fuel per fill up. Takes a long time at $5.00 per tank to recoupe the 1k or 2k spent to get the milage.

So best advice is to do the things that give you the biggest bang for the buck. Keep your tires up on air pressure, change your oil every 3 to 5K miles, replace the air filter at each oil change, and run a can of fuel injector cleaner through the tank every oil change, tune up the vehicle as often as the owners manual suggests or more. And get the vehicle in when the "check engine" light comes on.

Those will give you the best fuel milage for the cost.

If you want you can try and radically change your driving habits, and alter the car and motor for more efficiency and aerodynamics, but the cost to savings is to much to really help you out.

Just my opinions, take it for what it's worth!
ocalhoun
BigGeek wrote:
Ocalhoun is right with everything he posted, but at some point you have to draw the line. What I mean is, at some point you end up spending thousands of dollars to save $5.00 in fuel per fill up. Takes a long time at $5.00 per tank to recoupe the 1k or 2k spent to get the milage.

To tell if it is worth it, you can use a simple formula:

Total Cost to Upgrade / Savings Per Month = Months you'll have to drive it before it starts really saving you money.

If you plan to keep driving it for that many months, it will save you money. If you plan to get rid of it before then, you'll loose money on the deal.
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