How to get 20% fuel savings.

[Hoping4Change]

I don't drive but I saw an interesting story on a Canadian news programme. A man claimed he got 20% fuel savings by altering his driving. What he does is slows his speed when approaching traffic lights that are red or ABOUT to turn red. By doing so he eliminates as much as possible the need to come to complete stops. The trick he says is to always pay attention to upcoming traffic lights, far in advance of the intersection, and slow down so that you don't get to intersection until the light turns green. It seems that accelerating from a stop consumes alot of fuel.

The news reporter did this for a week and saw a 20% reduction in fuel consumption.

[RobertSeattle]

1. Don't drive one day a week?

:-)

[flamin lib]

4. I drive no more than necessary, but I'm dictated to by my clients.nt

[flamin lib]

2. Keep the tires inflated to the proper level or even a few

PSI over. Not much, just a few. Too much wears the tires unevenly and affects handling.

[Roland99]

3. Newer cars employ a fuel shutoff when coasting.

If your car has a trip computer with a fuel mileage display, hit the reset button and try it. You'll notice the mileage hit 99 or Infinity or whatever the upper limit text that was programmed into the software is.

NOTE: Putting it in neutral will NOT accomplish the same thing.


Also, shut off your car when you'll be stopped at a light for more than a minute. Takes less fuel to start a car than for it to idle for a min.

[Jane Austin]

13. Do you know if that is true for diesels, too?

I'd like to turn mine off, but by my on-board computer, it seems to suck up a lot of fuel to restart it.

Thanks.

[Roland99]

16. Hmm...that's a good question. Not sure.

[madinmaryland]

5. While that may not always be practical in high traffic area,

elimating quick accelerations and decelerations can provide a fuel reduction an amount close to the number you have mentioned. Also use cruise control on the highway, maintaining a constant speed.

It is the accelerations that will eat into your gas mileage.

[Jane Austin]

17. When I reclaim my car after Heavy-footed Husband has driven it,

the mileage computer nearly always shows a 2-3 mph reduction in fuel mileage.

When I am his passenger, I observe that he drives the speed limit, but his starts are much faster than mine.

It makes a huge difference, and thoroughly messes up my own statistics. :)

[Inland]

6. People drive like maniacs for no purpose.

EG: speeding away from the tollbooth. I can practically see the gas tanks empty as people put their cars from 0 to 60 in the shortest time possible for no reason at all. I mean, it's not like there's a stop light in the distance you are trying to get to before it turns red. You can only line up two or three cars ahead as the lanes merge, tops.

I mean, I drive agressively, but people are nuts.

[William769]

7. And these are the people that cause the maority of accidents in Florida!

[RethugAssKicker]

8. My oh my .. aren't we all desperate these days !

[mconvente]

9. Gotta go for E85 biodiesel

It will be the future (or part of the future) of fuels. It's clean and renewable.

I really am happy about hearing news that car companies are moving toward making ethanol E85 cars now. There's a thread today that said Chrysler is moving in that direction. Maybe it's just good PR, but I really hope car companies can lead the way on this - if tons of Americans by cars that use alternative fuels, Big Oil will maybe start thinking about developing renewable energy resources - I can hope, right?? :shrug:

[jmowreader]

20. E85 is not biodiesel

E-whatever is ethanol added to gasoline. E85 is 85-percent ethanol/15-percent gasoline.

B-whatever is biodiesel added to petroleum diesel. B20 is 20-percent biodiesel; B100 is pure biodiesel.

Both are important fuels, but they're not interchangeable. (From an energy-recovery standpoint biodiesel is better because you're not using 5 gallons of fuel to get 6 or whatever the exchange ratio is.)

[magellan]

10. Also -- tune up your car and always drive the speed limit

Stay at 60mph or below.

Make sure the air filters are changed regularly.

[JackintheGreen]

11. This is practical if you drive the same roads over and over and over

And it is precisely what I do here in Philadelphia. And you know what I doscovered?


Starting from stoplight A, if you accelerate sanely and DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT (+/- 5 mph, usually) you make every single light. Once I got in the habit I found that I could cruise 3-5 miles down 2nd street and hardly ever touch the break, let alone come to a complete stop.

Unfortunately, this is very hard to do if you rarely go the same place twice, and not all streets are timed so perfectly. But there you go. Anecdotal evidence is the best.

[TheFarseer]

15. Some cities time their lights like that

Lincoln, NE does. I lived in Houston, TX and I swear to God they time their lights to make sure the maximum amount of people are sitting at lights.

[Hoping4Change]

33. That's why the driver in the story said he checks out the lights

when he is still blocks away from the intersection. I think the trick is never accelerate to reach a green light, instead slow down so you get to the intersection when it just turns green.

[Blue Diadem]

21. Yep it works around here too.

There's a very main road that leads into a main shopping area that has the timing set perfectly for about 2 miles over the speed limit. There are times of the day when we can go through there without ever stopping..and other times with a little more traffic that people go so fast they end up sitting at the lights then racing to the next light only to stop again. It's always amusing to get in the 2nd lane and just breeze by them while they're accelerating. Then they overtake and race to the next light only to sit there again.

[berni_mccoy]

12. I've been doing this for years...

And keep in mind, 20% fuel savings on a 20 mpg vehicle is 4 mpg. When you drive 200 miles a week to work (average commute is about 20 miles, 5 days a week), that's a difference of about 1.67 gallons of gas. At $3/gal, that's about $250/year in savings.

[ComerPerro]

14. Yeah, great, thats all we need. Pundits telling people to drive

like damn idiots.

I am tired of hearing stuff like this.

"To save fuel, drive really slowly, at least 10mph under the speed limit! And be sure to slow down gradually way before the intersection. And if you think a light might be about to change, don't keep your speed to get through it. Slow down gradually, so everyone behind you is sure to miss a light they otherwise would have made green if you had just maintained a constant speed. Furthermore, when the light does change, be sure to run through it, even if its yellow or red."


There is a fine line between "driving to save fuel" and "being an asshole"

[CAcyclist]

23. As a cyclist, I prefer people to drive like the OP

Those are the careful people who will see me and not endanger me by making sudden moves. Your little strawman scenerio doesn't hold up. Careful people don't run red lights and endanger others.

[CottonBear]

27. I'm very careful driver. We have many professional cyclists in my area.

There are at least two professional teams here plus many, many bike commuters and recreational riders. We have very few bike lanes in my county and none in surrounding counties.

I am an occasional cyclist myself and I know what it's like to deal with idiotic and aggressive drivers. Scary.

[ComerPerro]

30. Conversely, I'd like to see more cyclists actually follow traffic laws

You want the respect that a car earns, then follow the laws.

I've seen countless bicyclists weave through traffic, run red lights, and drive on the wrong side of the road.

How can they expect others to treat them with respect and obey the law when they won't even do these things themselves?

[CottonBear]

31. The vast majority of our bicylists (including me) obey the laws.

It is too dangerous not to.

[ComerPerro]

34. So do a good majority of motorists

[CottonBear]

37. My family and I were nearly killed by a reckless driver

who ran us off I-65 North at 65 MPH (literally pulled into our lane so that they were parallel with us and within 12" of our car) and sent us into an uncontrolled spin (after we fishtailed at 65 MPH with cars in front of us, behind us and to the right of us) which sent us across the median and southbound lanes going north! By some miracle, there was a gap in the southbound traffic and we skidded across three lanes at over 50 MPH without being hit. This was on the busiest traffic day of the year: the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Mr. CB, who has never had a traffic ticket or accident (until then) was driving. Our little Corolla saved us because of its super-high non-rollover rating.

:scared: It was a miracle that we were not killed. The other driver left the scene. Someone called in a 2 car accident report but the highway patrol said we'd never find the other driver and there was nothing we could do. Thousands of cars were on I-65. We have never driven on that day again. In fact, I rarely ever drive on the interstates anymore.

On the way down to LA on that same trip, we were driving on I-65 South. It was a nice day and there was no traffic in sight. We were driving the speed limit and not more which is what saved us because we came over a rise and ahead of us was a massive chain reaction collision wreck. It was on both sides of the south and north sections of I-65 just inside the AL line from GA. We skidded to a stop about 6" from a car bumper and we were off the road on the shoulder at this point. Cars, SUVs, trucks and semis were all crushed and smushed. It was awful. I think fog and sppeding caused the accident. It we had been speeding we could have never have stopped in time to avoid smashing into the wreckage.

:scared: I am a super defensive driver but you can't blame me. I'm lucky to be alive.

[ComerPerro]

40. Glad nothing came of that. But, I guess my point is

even driving defensively can't always save you.

I've actually had situations where driving somewhat aggresively helped me avoid accidents.

[ComerPerro]

28. Ive seen people do it all the time

they drive up to a green light at 5 or 10 under the limit, gradually slow down as they approach the intersection, and then arrive just as the light is yellow and turning red.

Naturally, they proceede through the intersection.

Why shouldn't they? They don't give a shit. And at least they made it through, right?

[CottonBear]

26. Driving safely is smart not idiotic

Driving is a privilege not a right and the public health, safety and welfare is at stake.

I have been hit by speeding college students, uninsured drivers and speeding pizza delivery guys. None of these people were driving the speed limit (or even within 5 MPH of it) and they were reckless and were not paying attention or using signals.

There is no law against driving less than the speed limit except on the interstates. It is illegal to drive over the speed limit.

[ComerPerro]

29. No, but driving under the speed limit can create dangerous situations

Don't forget that you still have to interact with other traffic, that is probably going faster than you (but still within the legal limit).

For example, someone going 20mph in a 30mph zone, surrounded by traffic going 30mph, could cause an accident if traffic going the legal speed limit must stop quickly in order to accomodate the slower driver.

[CottonBear]

32. Going 5 MPH under the limit isn't dangerous. I drive slowly in the rain.

I am sick and tired of those persons driving up to 20 or 30 MPH over the limit in my community.
The county had to install red light cameras in some areas of my city because of the reckless red light runners and drivers who are mostly rural folks and suburban SUV drivers from surrounding red counties along with horrible college students from the Atlanta metro area (where the world's worst drivers live.)

[burythehatchet]

18. Its called momentum driving and it is a very responsible

way to drive if you are concerned about gas usage. Aggressive driving is inefficient, and it always makes me laugh when a crazy person weaves in and out, cuts off people and then ends up at the same traffic light as me. I always make sure to wave.

[mdmc]

19. i have a straight 6

that only uses 4 cylinders unless you are passing (read: floor the gas peddle). There is an economy gage that tells you how much gas you are "wasting". I save money by not speeding up when I accelerate. I let the 4 cylinders get me there.

[negativenihil]

22. HAHA this sort of driving will get you killed in Boston n/t

[CAcyclist]

24. If you're in Boston, you don't need a car anyway

The subway is awesome and everything is walkable anyway.

[Gormy Cuss]

25. Not if you make careful use of your turn signals

as a diversionary tactic.:P

[mwooldri]

35. I'm glad you mentioned "diversionary tactic".

We have plenty of people here who don't know what a turn signal is. I guess they're in working order here otherwise they wouldn't have passed the vehicle inspection.

[Gormy Cuss]

39. It's an old joke in Boston. If the driver is signalling left, that's the

one direction you can be sure he will not go.

[tabasco]

36. "See the big picture."

I still remember that from my MD drivers ed.

Yes, keep an eye out for slow downs and stops up ahead.

It will save your brakes too.

[CottonBear]

38. Good point.

I drive a stick shift 4x4 truck. I have to accelerate and brake slowly. I simply can't make jack rabbit starts.