Increasing Fuel Efficiency

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

This is just anecdotal, but the effect on my wallet is significant.

I drive a Kia Sedona minivan and have been pretty unhappy with the mileage.

A few months ago, my family went on a trip to the beach. We were travelling in a caravan so we had to keep up with the rest of the vehicles. We pulled into the resort on fumes at 320 miles. This was about an 18 mpg trip.

Yesterday we drove 500 miles to Chicago. This time we looked up the gas saving tips online. I set my cruise control to 62, and very rarely had to change it due to traffic until we got about 420 miles into the trip. There was no rush, since dealing with my family is only slightly more enjoyable than a root canal or lower GI exam.

When I refueled in Indiana, I had gotten my mileage to 25 mpg, which is higher than the manufacturer's numbers.

cruise control, 62 mph, and a new air filter gained me 7 mpg and over 100 miles on the tank.

DBDB

[BlueEyedSon]

1. I bet if everyone could similarly improve their efficiency,

we could make a huge dent in oil imports (fuck the gas co's profits).....

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

3. Just more proof that

lowering the speed limit back down to 55 would be significant. People still speed, but the amount they speed on average would come down to 60-65 mph instead of the 70-75 mph

DBDB

[whistle]

4. Cruise control at 55mph, inflated tires and driving on flat surfaces

...and no pit stops except for gas. It is what auto companies base their sticker mileage claims on. For the Kia I'll bet their claim was even higher than the Chicago route result. It's a total fraud, an ideal that most real driving conditions could never allow us to achieve. The auto companies need to be sued for making exaggerated and even false claims to deceive consumers.

[Ian David]

5. My Prius uses 10 MPG when you run the air conditioner.

A few years ago, Cadillac got busted for evading emissions standards.

If you turned on the a/c, the engine would rev faster.

I pointed this out to my grandmother, years before this problem became known to the public. She said she couldn't hear the difference, but I sure could!

The emissions tests, of course, were done with the a/c turned off.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

6. Kia's mpg

I just went to their site and they state 16/22

This is less than the 18/24 that was on the sticker when I bought mine 3 years ago, which is still less than the 20/26 I am getting now.

Shame I can't find a diesel on the cheap so I can start making my own B100

DBDB

[Wetzelbill]

2. nicely done