In times of soaring prices of gasoline and all other petroleum products, car owners should explore all possibilities to save on fuel. A number of additives and fuel saving devices are available in the ‘aftermarket’ or secondary market of the automobile industry that claim to improve fuel efficiency of cars and other vehicles.
There are a wide range of such devices that profess to optimize ignition, air flow or fuel flow and that is why there are extremely popular with car owners. Nevertheless, some of the savings on fuel is neutralized by the air conditioner fixed in the car when people use air conditioners in summer.
Air compressor inside the air conditioner is connected to the engine and consumes fuel to run the AC. Fuel economy will also be affected if windows of the car are kept open. The general principle is that car mileage will improve if the windows are kept open when driving at a speed below 40 miles per hour.
On the hand, when driving over 40 MPH, the air conditioning system will help in enhancing the fuel economy, though it will drastically reduce fuel efficiency when driving at high speeds on the highway with windows kept open.
The best way to boost up fuel efficiency is to plan the trips carefully and be more fuel- conscious. Another method of improving gas mileage, in case of some work in town, is to drive up to a central place, park the car in a parking lot and cover the balance distance for shopping or other items of work either walking or cycling.
This is because stopping and starting the car off and on looking for a suitable parking place is when the engine needs extra gas making it more fuel inefficient. One way of enhancing ‘gas mileage’ is by preventing such situations.
Higher octane content in gasoline will not enhance fuel efficiency and on the other hand; it will damage various parts of the car and leads to carbon accumulation if the octane content is very high or too low.
A car designed for regular octane will run better on regular octane gasoline. Car drivers can improve fuel efficiency by blending correct proportions of gasoline at the filling station. This is necessary as most of the cars are designed for 87 octane, where as some pumps only have 85 octane as well as 89 octane.
While 85 octane is extremely low, 89 octane though not that high, costs more. A correct mix of gasoline and octane will reduce fuel consumption and to that extent contributes to fuel economy.
Weight is one of the major causes for loss of ‘kinetic energy’. Any extra weight due to variety of articles left in a car will put additional strain on the engine of the car leading to reduction in gas mileage. All unnecessary articles or items that is not required for immediate use should be taken out of the car in order to reduce fuel consumption.
The fuel economy can be substantially improved by systematically planning the trips. For this purpose, Internet maps or GPS system will be most helpful. The gas mileage will improve if one covers long distances with less gasoline.
In other words, it is important to plan trips and routes taking into account traffic patterns and density of traffic on the roads to maximize driving efficiency. It is better to know the locations of gas stations on the way so that less time is spent in finding a gas station or stuck in heavy traffic. This will reduce gasoline consumption and improve fuel economy.
These are only a few steps that will improve car mileage. Those who regularly drive the cars should try various alternatives to improve car mileage.
If you are really feeling the pinch from rising gasoline prices, why not consider converting your gas guzzler into a pure electric car? What you’ll need is a good EV conversion guide, hand tools and a small investment capital for parts and components. For more information on electric vehicle conversion, click on the link below to visit the Convert2EV web site.