10 Tips for Improving Fuel Efficiency

10 Tips for Improving Fuel Efficiency
1] Slow Down On The highway Your car is optimized to drive at 40-60mph(80-100km/hr), when you drive 70-80+mph fuel efficiency drops by up to a whooping 33% . Yes 33% , that is not a typo. I had heard this before and thought it was an exaggeration, then I drove the new Chevrolet Cobalt which has a fuel efficiency gauge in it and I saw it first hand, what a surprise. Is it worth speeding to save 5 minutes off your commute to work so you can just get held up in city traffic? Between the lost fuel efficiency, the extra wear and tear on the car driving beyond optimized speeds and inherent safety concerns I will need a good reason to start speeding on the highway from now on. 2] Cruise In The City The same idea applies in city driving. Speeding up to make the next red light guzzles gas and is hard on your car. This can decrease fuel efficiency by 5%. Why hurry up just to make the next red light? Let’s face it, speeding in the city doesn’t get you anywhere’s faster. If you drive like a bat out of hell you might make an extra light or two and chop a mere 2-4 minutes off your commute assuming you make it there alive. I drive at sane speeds throughout the city while most others fly by me and hard brake at the next red light, I then pull up beside them or even pass them as I may not of needed to stop as the lights are usually synchronized for sane driving speeds not surprisingly (it also takes more gas to get back up to speed than to maintain it). So have some fun watching people fly by you and seeing them at the next red light knowing your car is much better off. 3] Tire Pressure Here’s one everyone can do easily. It only takes a couple minutes to check your tires pressure. Under inflated tires can result in 3% less fuel efficiency. 4] Link Your Trips/Errands Plan your trip to include as many destinations or errands as possible. Fewer trips means less cold starts, better fuel efficiency and less driving than multiple small trips. 5] Avoid Unnecessary Idling. You’re getting 0 mpg for this one. If you’re going to wait 5-10 minutes for a friend give your car and wallet a break. For those who live in colder climates this is a bigger issue. We all want our cars toasty warm in the winter time when we get inside. Today’s cars really only needs 30 second of idling to warm up even in cold weather, then 1-2 minutes of driving to get it fully warmed up. So bundle up and save yourself a bundle. 6] Maintain Your Car Inexpensive oil and air filter changes can boost your cars performance and increase your cars lifespan. A blocked air filter can decrease fuel efficiency by as much as 10% and a misfiring spark plug won’t help either. So try to follow your cars service manual.. It beats dealing with an unexpected major repair and major inconvenience.. 7] Monitor Your Fuel efficiency I like to measure how many miles / KM I get on half a tank after filling it up. It’s easier to measure this way as we don’t let our gas tanks completely run dry and its impossible to estimate how much was left when you fill it up again. You can see how your driving habits affect your fuel economy and if your habits haven’t changed and you fuel economy drops off, then maybe its time for some car maintenance. Purchasing a fuel consumption gauge (if you car doesn’t already have one) can give you real time feedback and more accurate reading. This provides great instant feedback on driving habits. 8] Remove Unnecessary Items From Your Car For each extra 100lbs you lose 1-2% fuel efficiency, so get the golf clubs out of the trunk until your next tee off time. Leaving items on your roof rack also creates extra drag which makes your car work harder, so lock your mountain bikes up till the next trip. 9] Jack Rabbit Starts Some people like to suddenly accelerate by putting their foot to the floor. This guzzles gas and gives marginal speed improvement to a gradual acceleration. 10] Back Off Tail gating results in unnecessary breaking and accelerating. Hang back a little more and you can avoid the added stress and save some gas. It’s also safer to drive this way, give yourself an extra second to avoid an accident ! Paul Fezziwig writes for and administers 'Green Cars Now', <a href="http://www.greencarsnow.com">http://www.greencarsnow.com</a> , a website devoted to promoting fuel efficient vehicles and driving habits.
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Installing Aftermarket Head Units
Are you thinking about installing your own car stereo head unit? Be sure to read this article and figure out what you will need to do to get it done. Upgrading the sound system is usually one of the first modifications attempted when we talk about car customization. The best place to start is with a good head unit. If you plan to install it yourself, read on for some technical tips from our experience installers. You will need a few tools to do the job right, so start by collecting some screwdrivers (flat head and phillips head), a socket set, wire cutters, wire splitters, butt connectors or heat shrinking sleeves, electrical tape, zip ties, solder and a soldering iron, and some patience. The first thing I would do before installing I would suggest buying the stereo wiring harness for your vehicle application. This will make the installation easier for you if you are a beginner, and it allows for easier replacement of the stock radio (if you choose to sell the vehicle in the future) and swapping or upgrading to a different aftermarket head unit. Begin by disconnecting the negative battery cable from the battery. This will ensure that you don’t accidentally cross any wires and burn out a new piece of equipment. Next, remove the old head unit. If you need to see how this is done on your specific vehicle, you can look up your vehicles application on installdr.com. This is a great resource for seeing pictures of how to remove the head unit. Once it is loose, disconnect the wiring harness and the antenna from the head unit and remove it completely. There are two types of wiring harnesses you can get. There is the universal wiring harness that connects to your vehicles existing wiring harness, and has the unfinished wire ends that connect to the color coded wires of your new head unit. There is also a wiring harness that has a harness on both ends, and just clicks in place on both sides. These are the easiest to install, but can be harder ot find to match your vehicle to the head unit. Most wiring harnesses are the universal type, so we will focus on those. If you have obtained the wiring harness, you will notice the color coded wires in the back of the head unit. The wires on the head unit and wiring harness should match. The head unit wires and the wiring harness wires will be partially spliced for easy installation. There are several good ways to connect the wires. One way is to use butt connectors, which crimp the wires within a connector. These can be picked up almost anywhere that sells/installs head units, or at Walmart, etc. My favorite way requires a soldering iron and heat shrinking sleeves. Twist the wires together tightly. Apply just enough solder to weld the two wires together. Now fold them over parallel to one of the wires. Slide the sleeve over the connection and heat it with a heat gun or good hair dryer. I have had to rewire or repair systems where butt connectors were used, but this could be installer error, and not a problem with the connectors themselves. I have never had any of the soldered connections fail. Once all the connections are made, and the sleeves heated and shrunk in place, I like to take a zip tie and tie them all together. Clip the excess zip tie for a clean finished look. Connect the wiring harness of the head unit to the wiring harness connected to the vehicle. Plug in the antenna (you may find you need an antenna adapter in some applications). Now slide the head unit in place, but don’t attach it yet. Reconnect the negative battery cable and turn on the head unit (make sure the key is turned to the ACC position). It should be functioning properly at this point. If you plan on adding an amp, or have purchased one for this setup, turn the unit off and connect the RCA cables. Run them through the dash to the floorboard and to the amp (more on how to successfully do this in future articles). If you encounter problems, you can email <A HREF="mailto:support@majesticmodifications.com">support@majesticmodifications.com</A> for help. Brought to you by <A HREF="http://www.majesticmodifications.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.majesticmodifications.com</A>. Majestic Modifications is your online source for auto parts and accessories, installations advice and technical support.
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For Better Gas Mileage, Have a Better Car
In today’s world of contemporary society, we have many cartels and monopolies, but the one, which stands out for being the most profitable, most effective, and most powerful is the one involving oil. This is the main reason why oil prices continues to escalate in the market area. On a global basis, this high-pricing of oil is considered as a worldwide dilemma. Hence, in order to cut down extra cost in gas or fuel consumption and have a better gas mileage, it is a must for every driver to understand and employ the different ways on how to maximize their fuel consumption with a lower cost so as to achieve a better gas mileage. Here’s how: 1. Check your filter. One of the most important factors that affects your chance of getting a better gas mileage is your car’s air filter. In order to have a better gas mileage, it is important to know and maintain you car’s performance by checking on its air filters. Clean air filters gives the machine’s performance a considerable boost enabling it to travel farther with a lesser fuel consumption and a better gas mileage. 2. Inspect your tires regularly. Tires in good condition can also contribute to a better gas mileage. The tires condition directly affects your car’s gas mileage when the tire is “under-inflated”. It tends to make your car run relatively slower than its usual pace but increases your probability of getting a better gas mileage. 3. Remove excess weight. Based on the common belief of many, light cars do travel faster. And so, in order to have a better gas mileage, be sure to always check on things in your compartment that are no longer needed. 4. Change oil regularly. It is very important to have a regular oil change. Usually, a car has to exert more effort if it has to wrestle with a dirty oil, thus, it consumes more gas. So, a regular oil change will enable you car to run smoothly and, therefore, acquire a better gas mileage. 5. Check your carburetor. Carburetors can also affect your car’s fuel consumption simply because car’s exert more effort when grappling with a dirty carburetor. In this instance, your car is consuming more gas than you can imagine. And so, it’s better to have a cleaner carburetor in order to have a better gas mileage. 6. Cut air conditioner usage. Air conditioners can also increase fuel consumption and lessen the possibility of getting a better gas mileage because it uses extra strength to power up the compressor that boost the air conditioner’s performance. If this is the case, then it will be impossible for you to have a better gas mileage. So, in order to cut down additional fuel consumption, do not use air conditioner especially when you are driving in a highway. After all, natural air is still the best for your health. 7. Slow down. Do you believe in the old saying, “Slowly but surely?” It is highly applicable to driving. Normally, when you drive faster, you tend to put more stress on the gas pedals, right? And because you increase your speed by hitting hard on your gas pedals, you are also increasing your car’s consumption on fuel. In doing so, you will have a difficulty in achieving a better gas mileage. All of these conservation tips boils down to one common point, the better car you have and the slower you drive your car, the better gas mileage you have.Ken Reno is the owner of http://www.CheapGasIsGone.com
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