Reply #13: If you want to hurt the oil companies cut back on your consumption

[NJmaverick]

Walk or Ride a bike where practical. Take mass transportation. Get a scooter or motorcycle. Make sure your next car gets good economy. Takes steps to improve the fuel efficiency of your current vehicle.

1) Make sure your tires are properly inflated. Under inflated tires can be a significant drag on your fuel economy.

2) Empty that trunk- All that extra weight costs you at the pump

3) Try to use the brakes less- In other words roll to stops, rather than braking when you get to them

4) Slow down- Wind resistance goes up exponentially, so the faster you go on the highway the lower the economy

5) In the warmer months open the windows when you first get in the car, to let the hot air out. Then let close them and let the AC cool the car down. This will take some of the load off the AC (which drains your fuel economy). On the highway though, it's better to use the AC than to leave the windows open (despite what you might has seen on myth busters, unfortunately in that challenge their lack of an engineering background showed).

6) You can get a roughly 5% boost in you efficiency if you use the oil additive Tufoil http://www.tufoil.com/ . I have been using the stuff for decades. It's the only additive that uses Teflon (this is hard stuff to work with, which is why others don't use it). I first started using it after a college professor talked about it, he knew the guy that invented the stuff. It's also good for extending the life of your engine.

7) Consider a hybrid for your next vehicle purchase (especially if you do a lot of city driving).

8) Don't idle- If you are going to idle for more than 2 minutes, shut off the car

9) Try to bunch your errands together- A warmed up engine is more efficient than a cold one. So try and do your driving errands all together so that you maximize the amount of time you are driving with a fully warmed up engine.


10) Consider walking, public transportation, motorcycle or bicycle where possible. All are more efficient alternatives. The more each of us save, the better off we all are.

11) Easy on the gas peddle. The faster you accelerate the more fuel you consume.