Everyone's an expert when it comes to devising ways to save gasoline. Ask my family and friends -- or yours.
As fuel prices work their way up to crazy heights, social conversations focus on tips for conserving gas. Of course, many of these petroleum protection ploys simply do not work.
Here are five honest-to-goodness tricks I have learned and rejected. I would bet you can come up with several more fuel-saving strategies that flop. Don't try these at home -- or on the road.
Wash the car frequently to reduce wind resistance.
My grand-uncle swore by this one, cleaning his car almost daily. His theory was that a dirty vehicle produced greater friction in motion than a spotless one. Of course, the price of frequent car washes (or an increased home water bill) negated any immeasurably tiny benefit he might have gained.
Still, Uncle Roy's old Caddy sure looked spiffy at the gas pump.
Overinflate tires for improved gas mileage.
My sophomore lab partner insisted tires filled with extra air would reduce a car's fuel consumption. Apparently, simple physics dictated that less tire surface on the road would make an automobile run cheaper.
I wanted to believe Peter. (He was a looker.) Once he bought his first car, however, he seemed to purchase plenty of new tires. Maybe Peter was full of hot air.
Actually, underinflated tires can drain fuel efficiency. But overinflation is not a benefit.
Keep your gas tank half full or less.
This theory, proposed by my driver's education teacher, holds that a lighter car requires less gas to run. Traveling with minimal fuel and cargo, then, improves fuel efficiency. A gallon of gas weighs about 6.3 pounds; 20 gallons weighs 126 pounds. That makes traveling with a full tank about as gas-consuming as giving a petite adult friend a ride.
I tried Mr. Brown's idea, but my monthly gasoline bills didn't change. Maybe I had more junk in the trunk.
In fact, a full tank may lose less fuel to evaporation, making it more cost-effective.
Purchase the priciest gas possible.
Does high-test gas clean a car engine and reduce petrol consumption? Fuel companies may want us to believe this, but many studies show it is not so. I have tested this (quite unscientifically).
At today's prices, I'll choose the cheaper pump.
Tuck in behind other vehicles on highways.
This may work, but it's quite dangerous. Known as drafting or hypermiling, this gas-saving strategy is performed on the open road. The driver tailgates a big truck, rumbling down the highway in the larger vehicle's wake. The reduced wind resistance and kinetic pull are supposed to reduce gas consumption in the follower's car.
Hypermilers claim drafting cuts gas usage by up to 20 percent. However, truckers cannot see close-following cars, and a sudden slowing or stop can be disastrous.
The same driver's ed teacher who told us to empty our gas tanks happened to mention that safe driving rules require a 150-foot minimum following distance. Maybe he was onto something there.
If none of these gas-saving strategies actually works, how can consumers reduce pain at the pump? Perhaps the most effective fuel reserve trick is just to drive less. Or is that too simple?
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