I read an article from my West World AAA magazine as it had a nice article on how to save on fuel consumption. From these, I compiled seven tips to help you get better fuel economy. I just got 34mpg on my last trip by following them - yes, that's thirty four miles per gallon. It's not rocket science, but it's amazing how a heavy foot can cause heavy fuel consumption.

1. Easy on that gas pedal. By using moderate acceleration (no more than 1 inch on the accelerator and stay below 3000rpms), you can save up to 30% (you read that right - 30%) on your fuel consumption. That's 30% for accelerating easy , keeping rpms low, and shifting up as quick as you can.

2. Tire pressure. While it will only save around 1-5% on fuel economy if your tire pressure is off 5-15lbs, its more of a safety issue if you're driving with kids (like me).

3. Change that oil! And make sure you use 100% synth. By using a high-quality synth engine oil, and changing it regularly, you will help increase the efficiency of the engine and reduce wear and tear. Esso XD3 gets top marks on bobistheoilguy.com. The easier the engine can work, the less gas it will burn.

4. Cruise control - control that top speed! Is there any real need to go above the speed limit? Every 10 mph over 65mph increases fuel burn by 10%. Great, you'll get to where you need to go on your 400 mile trip by 25 minutes ahead, but you'll have burned additional gallons of gas for no reason. And when you're driving, turn on cruise control in 5th gear or for the auto guys, leave the overdrive on.

5. Regularly clean filters, valves, and injectors. Make sure you regularly change your fuel, air, and clean valves (throttle body, intake air control), and put fuel injector cleaners frequently.

6. Stop Downshifting! Why are you using your engine to slow down, placing a lot of stress on your tranny/gearbox, wearing out plates, when you're brakes are designed to slow you down and cost around 1/8th less to replace? It also burns more gas as your engine revs up.

7. Turn off the air conditioning & switch to economy mode! Don't have the climate control feature? Just turn off the air. Why are you using air conditioning if you're not creeping in traffic on a hot day? Also, if you don't need air on, turn it off! Sure, it's a hot day, but if you're going under 40mph, open your windows! That free cooling! Air conditioners add up to 20% to your fuel consumption. That's 1/5 of your gas gone to give you cool air. If you're travelling on the highway, alternate the air conditioning / regular to keep your vehicle cool - but ensure your windows are closed above 40mph as they increase drag if left open. Above 90F? Well, yeah, it's an A/C day all day.

Anymore guys?

 

What about changing your spark plugs, remove excess weight (spare, sub, etc.), pumping preminum gas, etc.

 

lol i will have to forward this to my brother. maybe he will listen if it comes from somebody else.

 

while all of those are true, i find the one with the ligth acceleration is probbaly the best one. On one tank of gas i dont think the revs ever went past 3500rpm and i got 29mpg, but its no fun driving the car like that, i drive the car hard, and enjoy every minute of it and i got 25mpg, now is 4mpg worth it, for me no.

another one especially for maximas as it seems a common thing, make sure your rear calipers are fully releasing, mine use to hold a bit and it ****ed up my rotors and my gas milage was pretty bad. my rims got too hot to touch one time.

 

yeah, the first one is the biggest, but I've noticed a huge improvement from switching to Cruise Control at ~72mph. With 300 miles of highway and 100 miles of city I average over 30mpg, usually around 30.5, pretty good consider all the crap I keep in my trunk (tools).

And yeah, I completely agree on the brakes thing, I used to downshift, then I changed my brakes myself, and wow, after doing a clutch job and a brake job, I'll change brakes anyday to avoid a clutch job.

But, it is not 1/8 less, it is 1/8 as much. (Grammar Police!)

Also, fun pic I took today while driving home, I hit a massive milestone! (And yeah, I'll ***** up this thread a bit, but not really worth starting a new thread). In it you will notice I have 126 miles and still have ~3/4 a tank left. So yeah, 123456 on the odometer and going 78 miles per hour. Now if only I would have timed the darn tripometer to match!

 

Good tips, it's hard as hell (and hot) to not use A/C in AZ.

 

Finding a gas station that sells NON Ethanol gas helps. Ethanol burns 26% faster than normal stuff.

 

why leave the overdrive on ?...u get higher rpms

 

Overdrive on is when you get in the car put it in D and drive away,

Overdrive OFF is when you push the switch and get higher RPMS (look at the orange light it says O/D off)

 

Why not just drive in 2 isntead of D in overdrive? Even higher rpms, like 6k when going around 55.

 

oh ok ..i misunderstood...sry

 

Wow I didn't know this, but most gas stations carry ethanol in their gas. Like Diamond Shamrock, Mobil, and AM/PM.

 

Good picture for taking it doing 80mph down the highway. On my Maxima, when I fill it up, when going 126 miles, I am still reading very close to full. Just a difference in how the gauges read.

 

im telling you right now that removing your spare is one of the dumbest things you can do when you drive.

 

If someone is worried that much about a spare's weight then maybe they should just lose a few pounds themselves, so they can keep the spare and have weight reduction. The spare doesn't weight that much anyways.

 

What if they are already skinny?

 

I was recently surprised by howmuch difference aprox 250lbs made on my mileage. I travel from cincinnati to charlotte often - about 530miles. I usually have about 4 small bags of clothes, documents laptops etc (250lbs or so) and it takes me 1.5 tanks to make a one way trip. Last wknd I had to go to cinci in a hurry and only took one bag of clothes and I made the trip with one tank and surely enough made it back with one tank. I proly used the AC much more than I usually do plus I was stuck in some construction. I am sruprised at the fuel consumption difference...maybe I had a tail-wind

 

Maybe by adding dr Fuelmax you can get 60% better MPG

 

I've got to do something about my heavy foot or I'll be stuck at 19mpg forever...

 

Or add the TORNADO FUEL SAVER! LOL

 

why use AAA or fix a flat ive had my spare out since 1999.

my wife has a acura and they sent her a list to save gas and on that list was weight reduction

 

spare weighs 28 lbs

Honda actually says the #1 thing to increase MPG is to reduce weight weight and wind resisitance hurt the most.

my car runs 13.1 NA and i get in the mid 30's mpg now that i have the 3.5 its actually around 30 but if i tune the richness out id prob be back to around 33-35mpg

 

AAA isn't always quick, especially if you are out in the wilderness somewhere. fix a flat will only fix a flat, not a blowout or damaged wheel.

I guess it's a personal decision. I would rather just keep the spare and have it for the one time I do need it.

 

haha I was thinking the same thing!

 

I disagree about downshifting. Yes it is bad on the clutch, yes you should use your brakes. That doesn't suggest that it uses gas though. When a manual transmission does not have the gas pedal down then it nearly runs on no fuel. Sometimes downshifting is necessary BTW.

 

I like gunning my beater xD

 

strip naked!

*disclaimer: please only strip if you are a lady ad hot and obey local laws.

 

general rule of thumb, 500lbs taken out=1mpg gained, now maximas may be more sensitive, but my car never seems to do too horrible when its loaded up (98 i30 auto with 93k) got like 28.6mpg this summer with 4 people in it (3 football players) 2 full coolers in the trunk, a guitar, and a bunch of other crap including my fire gear, it was completly full, and rarely saw speeds under 80... ohh yes and i do have my spare too.

 

Being a AAA Emergency road side call advocate I know EXACTLY how long it take AAA to get to a car. If you live in a moderatly large city like say St. Paul MN, Omaha NE, ect the wait time varies. If you call on a Sunday like today, in Omaha NE the wait time is about 20 to 30 minutes. In Chicago it is about 45 to 60 minutes. Now if you happen to call during ruch hour that will increase. Also it may take a little longer if you are in bum F***** Eqypt North Dakota or Nebraska, Iowa, Minnisota, ect ect. So really what is waiting 30 minutes for a service that can change you tire if you have the spare or will tow you.

 

Great tips!!

 

Tornado Fuel Saver FTW!!!!

 

I drive highway 6 days a week, 50 miles each way. I use my A/C, and i cruise ~80mph. Normally on acceleration i am around 3200-3500 rpms. I'm not the easiest on the gas pedal either, and im getting 31mpg. When i drive like grandmom with the windows down i get 27mpg.

My conclusion? Maybe its just my car but im enjoying the drive and my a/c with BETTER gas milage. I run premium down to 1/.4 tank then fill er backup.

 

Yes, I have always had a milage hit when the Oxiginated gas comes out for the winter. The good parts is that Oregon dropped that stupid law. It made a measurable difference in CO, lower in the local air quality, but the quantity airborn carbon was higher.

 

That was a bunch of nonsense.

Gaining 30% fuel economy by never exceeding 3000rpm???
Sorry, but that is a load of crap.

If anything, the ignition timing is more conservative at lower engine speeds because that is where most driving occurs. The car pulls a lot harder above 3000 rpms as compared to below 3000rpms. Why not just get the job done faster?

All else being equal, whether you accelerate hard or soft, it still takes the same amount of total energy to do a given amount of work -- accelerate a given weight up to a given speed.

I have driven lots of miles in 5th gear and lots on the highway never going above 4th gear. Makes almost no difference in the mileage for me.