Saving Money on Fuel: What Not to Do
By Rico, 9:09 am Wed Jul 16 2008 - Tips & Tricks - 3 Opinions
We feel your pain over increasing fuel prices, dear readers. We also remember the good old days, when a full tank of gas would cost only P500.
But those days are long gone. If you’ve already given up that Expedition for a Picanto, and follow those fuel-saving tips you’ve encountered online, but are still wondering why you have to pay so much for gas, maybe it’s because you’re following the wrong advice?
That’s right: don’t believe everything you see on the Internet folks. Unless it’s from a reliable source like Consumer Reports. They spent the time and money to see which fuel-saving tips work—and don’t. Here are three “tips” they’ve found to be myths:
- Fill up during early mornings and late evenings, when the temperature is low. “The theory is that the cooler gasoline will be denser, so you will get more for your money. But the temperature of the gasoline coming out of the fuel nozzle changes very little, if at all, during any 24-hour stretch. Any extra gas you get will be negligible.”
- Air conditioning vs. opening windows. “Our tests show that neither makes enough of a difference to worry about. Using air conditioning while driving at 65 mph reduced the Camry’s gas mileage by about 1 mpg [about 2km/liter]. The effect of opening the windows at 65 mph was not even measurable.” And don’t tell us you’re willing to drive with your windows closed and the air-con off under the hot Philippine sun?
- A dirty air filter. “Our tests show that driving with a dirty air filter no longer has any impact on fuel economy, as it did with older engines. That’s because modern engines use computers to precisely control the air/fuel ratio, depending on the amount of air coming in through the filter.” Who actually changes their air filter over here anyway?
We also agree with Consumer Reports over one thing: Driving at a moderate speed (no speeding!) and smoothly will save you a lot of fuel. 100kph is still pretty fast, yet it still uses up your fuel (and pesos!) much more efficiently. In other words, don’t bother racing between traffic lights, hoping to beat the red light. You probably won’t make it anyway, and do you want to end up talking to Mr. MMDA?
Photo credit: James Deakin
Ryan
9:09 am Fri Jul 18 2008
I also make it a point to get my tires checked every now and then. And wheel alignment too, just to make sure that there isn’t any drag that slows the car down and reduces efficiency.
rc
10:10 am Fri Jul 18 2008
add ko lang. when your filling up, tell the gasoline boy to set the pump at low speeds.
Technograph
11:11 am Fri Jul 18 2008
Ryan: We’ve also read that you should avoid over-inflating the tires, since that also lessens fuel efficiency.
rc: Can the gas boy set the pump speed? How does a slower speed add to fuel efficiency?