Saving gasoline

19 years ago

Drive about 40 - 50 m.p.h. is best as far as wind resistance goes. But keep the vehicle in top gear.

Drive as though you have raw egg between your foot and the throttle - no jack rabbit starts, please!

Try to avoid braking as much as possible, for braking means that you used too much gas just before that. Driving aware of what's going on ahead means that you'll take your foot off of the throttle sooner, when there's congestion ahead.

Drive between 1/8 - 1/4 mile ahead of you, keep an eye on what's going on along the edge of the road, and in the rear-view mirror.

That's safer, as well.

When you see a traffic light go yellow half a block ahead, if you're driving an automatic, take foot off throttle, your choice as to whether to shift to neutral (at speed, it'll slow you down). You'll get to know when it's wise to do that.

I drive a standard tranny, and I push in clutch, turn off ignition. When it's a light with whose cycling time I'm familiar, I try to arrange to be 100 - 150 feet behind the last car in line at the time that the light goes green, depending on speed that I'm travelling, a bit farther if there are more than 3 - 4 cars ahead of me ... which means that I usually arrive at proper space behind the vehicle ahead when that driver gets up to speed. Then I turn on ignition key, let out clutch, starting the engine again. Uses much less gas than starting from standing still.

Some years ago I drove 20 km. (about 12 miles) daily to Uncle's farm to look after the house after his death, usually late at night, when there was little traffic. I found that, when I got to know all of the little hills and vallies, I could turn off the ignition and coast for over 80% of that journey. Which I did not do, of course, if there was a vehicle following me.

But that was the wrong approach. As I'd often start the engine in third gear (instead of fifth) and push the engine hard when going up a slight grade, prior to the next downhill slope.

The optimum method would be to keep the car in fifth, and run the engine or stop it as required, but not to push it hard, as that uses much more gas than gentle throttle.

It's not the number of kilometres/ miles that one coasts, but the amount of fuel used that's the important issue.

Right?

Let's walk with a gentle footprint on this precious earth. We've been pillaging our resources for a couple of generations.

The people of the third world have a point when they say that they should have a right to use more energy than they have been, in order to improve their lives and that we should cut back, for we've been wasteful.

Should we tell others that they don't have a right to have a fridge ... or a car?

Not quite fair, is that?

In the meantime, the ice on the Arctic ocean is thinner and dark water that absorbs more sunlight is present for longer periods in summer.

And our glaciers are shrinking. When they're gone, the important rivers on our prairies, that are short of water now, will have a much lower flow.

New Orleans had better build higher levees, when they rebuild.

And some others cities built near the oceans, as well.

ole joyful

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Comments (15)

steve_o
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Many good points there, OJ. Thanks.

When you see a traffic light go yellow half a block ahead, if you're driving an automatic, take foot off throttle, your choice as to whether to shift to neutral (at speed, it'll slow you down). You'll get to know when it's wise to do that.

I drive a standard tranny, and I push in clutch, turn off ignition.

Some things for people to keep in mind if they do this: switching off the ignition in most cars will make the steering and brakes much harder to operate since the power assistance goes away. In addition, with the ignition off, most cars lock the steering wheel and some even render the horn inoperative. This could make addressing an unexpected situation (car appears from driveway, animal runs into the street) much more difficult and an accident far more likely. Be very careful doing this!
macbirch
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Makes me so mad. The price of petrol is such a hot topic here but you wouldn't know it from the way people drive. It's not like there hasn't been publicity about the benefits of driving smoothly.
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dave100
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Coasting in neutral and/or turning off the ignition while underway is illegal here in New York State.
ninos
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Dont get me started about these gas prices or even the prices we have been forced to pay for the last 4 years or so. Im sick of it! When i was a girl my family did not have alot of money but we traveled alot. We packed a picnic and we found our way to everywhere. I can barely give that to my children. Now it is as far as our feet can take us. We bought a scooter last year for my husband which was a great investment. It gets almost 100 miles to the gallon. When i am driving the car i coast as much as i can. Im too chicken to ride a scooter and i usually have the kids.
User
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I used to drive atandard. My vehicle didn't brake or steer well when it wasn't running.

I'm going OT as usual. I think the current gas crunch is a wakeup call to enjoy what is around us. When I lived in the southwest, dh and the kids and I traveled around to see the sites and enormous beauty of the area. We saw a lot of foreign tourists form all over the world in these areas. I always found it ironic that our people will travel to these other countries to become cultured, but never stop to enjoy what is in their own back yard. In talking to the locals, we found a lot of the locals never go to the local spots or take their kids to see them either. My oldest child just turned 7 yo. He and my other two children have seen more amazing things and done more amazing things in just a few years in the local areas than some people have ever seen in their entire lifetimes. If you're willing to bring your own lunch and go camping, it truly didn't take much more than a tank of gas to see what's out there.
joyfulguy
Original Author
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Sorry not to have included the provisos about the braking. I found that in my earlier car, I could get two or three brake pushes before tha residual pressure left and I had to push hard to get the same effect.

Same regret for the steering, but that takes more strength iommediately. Which doesn't bother me, as I was driving small cars and I'm stronger than quite a few folks.

My car has an intermediate "Off" position that leaves the radio operating, steering unlocked etc. (don't know about the horn: I seldom drive in a manner that requires it, but I'll have to try it, next time). (I had a risque comment ... but forebore).

I should also have mentioned the illegal part - best to check as to that aspect of it, in your jurisdiction.

But if I got such a ticket, they'd see me in court.

I'm a bit careful where I do it - I want there to be good visibility. And, if something develops, I can have that engine running in one second.

My main concern is braking capability, and, as I said, I have 2 - 3 usages before I lose the boost ... in which situation, I usually start the engine, or if there are obstructions nearby from the other side of which a kid might run out, with seeing him/her being impossible for me until the last second.

It seems to me to be a worthwhile proposition in rural areas, where there are not a lot of roads or traffic, though sometimes crops growing close to roadways reduce visibility somewhat.

Thanks for your additions, folks.

We should have been paying more for gas - they've been paying $5.00/gal. or so in Europe for a long time ... and they're the ones who, seeking alternative low-cost energy sources, have developed wind- and solar-powered equipment that is more advanced than we have.

I remember two agencies that sold wind-powered generators years ago on the Prairies before the power became available in a number of rural areas - Wincharger and Jacobs. I think that I heard that they went out of business, years ago. No market.

And we hear today that our province is talking of building several new nuclear-powered electrical generating facilities.

I hope that you're all enjoying this new week, with interesting opportunities for personal advancement/growth. Try to learn something, every day.

(Haven't heard whether we can take knowledge with us into the Great Beyond. Do you think that everyone knows everything, there? Like God, so to speak?).

ole joyful
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
How many years ago was it when there was a gas crises, and the US government reduced the Interstate speed by 5 MPH across the country? It helped and saw us through the 'crunch'.

It seems that I am the only one who thinks doing that again would be a fantastic idea.

In the meantime I can be found going 5-10 miles under the speed limit, while most everyone else is going 5, 10, 15, or 20 MPH over the limit?

Once when I was in a construction zone, Max Speed Limit 45MPH, I actually put my flashers on as everyone (it seemed) was going 20-30 MPH over the posted limit....no respect for the workers out there, or for the hazards facing all drivers in the construction zone. I'd like to see them all ticketed.

Sue
steve_o
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Once when I was in a construction zone, Max Speed Limit 45MPH, I actually put my flashers on as everyone (it seemed) was going 20-30 MPH over the posted limit....no respect for the workers out there, or for the hazards facing all drivers in the construction zone. I'd like to see them all ticketed.

In this state, traffic fines double if the infraction is within a construction zone. Wonder if more states might want to emphasize the point of not speeding through construction....
ninos
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I dont believe that we are in a gas crunch. The oil companys seem to have some dumb excuse. During Katrina the oil companys had the highest profits in history. Dont get me wrong, we should find other mean of fuel. But if there is such a shortage then the oil companys wouldnt be getting richer and richer.
cynic
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
ninos, it's called profiteering. Taking advantage of a bad situation and holding people up in the pricing. Similar to people going into hurricane zones and charging $300/sheet for plywood. Supply and demand gives the ability for windfall profits.

Hey Joyful, you forgot the other way to save money on gas. Close neighbors and a good siphon hose! ;)
jannie
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Keep your tires properly inflated and remove any excess weight from your cars, like that 25 bag of cat litter you use for ice emergencies.
joyfulguy
Original Author
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I found out that my horn works when the ignition key is in the "intermediate off" (off but with steering wheel unlocked) position.

Cynic,

You appear to be a bigger rascal than I thought!

Or is that a case of, "Do as I say, not as I do"?

ole joyful

P.S. We are a really peculiar lot, in North America ... while we currently buy perfectly good water to drink, available on tap, at small fractions of a penny per glass ... we willingly pay more for water (granted, in a small bottle), that we have to buy and cart around, than we do for gasoline (bought in bulk), but we complain bitterly about the price of gas!

And you tell me that we are reasonable??

o j
coolvt
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
If you want to get even with the big oil companies, buy their stock and share the wealth with them:-)
joyfulguy
Original Author
19 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
See my post on the "Price of Gas in Your Town" thread for a similar comment - about a guy who retired at 34, saying that he didn't mins paying more for gas ... for he has bought a number of oil and gas stocks.

ole joyful.
joyfulguy
Original Author
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Seeing a five-year-old thread about trading coupons show up on the forum, I checked P. 10 (of 27) to see how far back the poster might have gone to find that one ...

... and found this one there that I thought might be of interest, currently.

ole joyful

Saving gasoline

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