Hello All,
So for the majority of you that drive you have noticed that just a few months ago (May) gas prices hit an all time high. Since then we have seen a change in what consumers are buying in the auto market. Many are going for the small car class and saving hundreds in their annual gas expense in the process. So, what about those of us that can't go out and buy a new car? Well, I have a few answers to help work with what you got to squeeze a few more miles out of that tank of gas.
A/C off - Many late model cars have implemented a feature that I find to be a inefficient auto-feature. Cars including BMW, Mercedes, heck even Honda's automatically turn on the A/C when you use the auto option. It does this no matter if you need it or not. Now I am not against keeping the air conditioned but by having the compressor engaged requires additional power from the motor thus using more fuel. Save yourself 20+ miles a tank and roll down the window, this isn’t Arizona!
Rechargeable Air Filters - You have seen ads I'm sure for K&N being they were one of the first big players to take rechargeable filter to the next level. At first we only saw these in racing applications but now they are available for almost any model car out there. By using a fiber filter instead of a standard cotton filter you can gain as much as 4 miles per gallon. That ads up in the long-term. To boot most have 100k warranty’s and is very easy to recharge. There’s another 40+ miles per tank.
Exhaust - No, not the obnoxious glass packed tips the neighbor kid has on his little Honda or the cherry bomb's grandpa has on his El Camino. We are talking about a nice tuned cat-back exhaust system from a respectable company like Borla or Dynomax. Systems are available that ad a little grunt but more importantly eliminate a bit of the unnecessary back pressure restriction we find in bulky stock systems. These can be found for reasonable prices and take little time to install This can ad another 20+ miles per tank.
So do your homework and see what you can do to eliminate restriction from your engine. It all ads up and it counts when your talking $3.25 plus per gallon.
Happy Motoring!
-Lance
Just to add...
- Power Pulleys; these are aftermarket pulleys for your engine accessories, such as the alternator & power steering pump. Less load on the engine means more power and better mpg.
- Synthetic Oil; I noticed an increase in mph when I switch to a synthetic blend and even more when I ran 100% synthetic. Better oil obviously cost a little more, but soon pays off with more mpg. Additionally many modern cars can go 6000 miles between oil changes, [Be sure reference your owner's manual].