Gas Savings Ideas

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by Ron Mummert

Ron (remember the days of cheap $2.00 gas...two months ago?)

I vividly remember people cursing and swearing they'd walk before they'd pay one dollar per gallon for gasoline. Most gas station pumps and signage didn't even have a provision for three-digit prices.

dcb

[PDSides]

Originally Posted by dannmarr

I installed a fuel magnet on the fuel line. It supposed to help with fuel consumption. I do average 27MPG (highway) I drive over 200 miles a day. New cars have them installed.

You installed a "fuel magnet" on your fuel line? Just what does a fuel magnet do? You say they are standard equipment on new cars? Never heard of it, and I suspect a scam. Do you also wear a copper braclet on your wrist?
Preston

[b3lha]

http://www.chem1.com/CQ/magscams.html#MFT

Here's an idea that is more likely to work: unplug two of your injectors and remove the sparkplugs from those cylinders. This will reduce your engine from a 3.3. to a 2.2, and give a fuel saving of 33%.

J/K

Petrol is $6.80 a gallon here.

[dannmarr]

It has been claimed that a fuel magnet is actually a hydrodynamic magnet that breaks apart clusters of fuel molecules so gas burns more efficiently. I noticed this on the descriptions of expensive cars such as BMW's. Once I find the magazine were I saw it, I will post it. I paid $20 for mine, a small price for testing it.

[Phil Hill]

Originally Posted by dannmarr

It has been claimed that a fuel magnet is actually a hydrodynamic magnet that breaks apart clusters of fuel molecules so gas burns more efficiently. I noticed this on the descriptions of expensive cars such as BMW's. Once I find the magazine were I saw it, I will post it. I paid $20 for mine, a small price for testing it.

You just wasted $20 of your gas money..............

[dannmarr]

Easy come, easier go!
Even if they have no proof, I do see a difference in MPG. I average 27MPG highway, I used to get 25MPG. (My last fill up, 305 miles on 11 gallons of gas= you do the math)

[PDSides]

Originally Posted by dannmarr

Easy come, easier go!
Even if they have no proof, I do see a difference in MPG. I average 27MPG highway, I used to get 25MPG. (My last fill up, 305 miles on 11 gallons of gas= you do the math)

Whatever works. I'd try a voodoo symbol hanging over my gas tank if it increased my gas mileage. Good luck with your car.
Preston

[SVXer95]

I say drive it like you stole it. What is the point of saving a few dollars if you lose all the fun of motoring.

[nysvx10]

I have been hearing that adding 3oz 100% acetone to 10 gallons of gas is really supposed to help MPG. I'm going to be trying this tomorrow when I have to drive 200 miles.

[NikFu S.]

I might try it as well. With the amount of fuel data I have collected it should become obvious if it works or not.

[immortal_suby]

Originally Posted by dannmarr

It has been claimed that a fuel magnet is actually a hydrodynamic magnet that breaks apart clusters of fuel molecules so gas burns more efficiently. I noticed this on the descriptions of expensive cars such as BMW's. Once I find the magazine were I saw it, I will post it. I paid $20 for mine, a small price for testing it.

Don't feel too bad. Some people actually bought the tornado intake swirler too.

[Beav]

Why buy and install a magnet when there is already an electric fuel pump inside the fuel tank? I'll even bet ya it develops a helluva lot stronger magnetic field than any clip on magnet. (I guess the 7000 rpm impeller inside doesn't do a good enough job of breaking up molecular fuel clusters.)

BTW, for the person that was concerned about fuel evaporation: Carbon cansiters have been around for years, simple vent storage in 1971 and sealed systems in 1978. They store fuel fumes collected from the fuel system and later send them to the engine, while it is running. OBDll cars even have monitoring systems that ensure the system's integrity. A loose gas cap will illuminate the check engine light and set either a code for a large or small leak.

The top three fuel economy sins are:

-1- Tire pressure. Almost every single car we see in the shop, if it isn't under our regular maintenance schedule, shows up with less than 25# in each tire. That's roughly 33% under spec! What other portion of an automobile does anyone expect to be 'o.k.' when it's operating at only 67% of nominal?

-2- Driving 'style'. I admit, this is my guilty pleasure. Love the feeling of being pushed back in the seat. Recently though I've been thinking of how one would extract the most from a hybrid. Typically their batteries are only 50% charged, if they were 100% charged there wouldn't be any room to store energy created from regenerative braking. So, in order recapture the most energy, coasting distance is a crucial factor. This is a huge concern in non-hybrid vehicles as well. Whenever you aren't accelerating you don't necessarily need to be on the brakes. Brake usage is just as bad as jack-rabbit starts when it comes to fuel economy.

-3- Just where are you going? Stop at the store on the way home from work, don't make a separate trip. Take some beer home and chill with the family and neighbors. I don't know about the rest of you but my home is many times more comfortable than any bar or restaurant. Why commute so far to work? Do you ever wonder that you might be passing someone in the opposite direction that lives where you work and works where you live? Doing the same job? There's a new business opportunity for all of us -arranging job swaps for the purpose of relocating people closer to their home.

[AutoTchr]

Beav,

we are in perfect agreement then and your comment about the fuel magnet is right on.

Don't spend your gas money on these gimmicks.

Acetone-Without seeing the chemistry behind it I will add that in order to work it would have to increase the BTU content of the fuel. I just don't see that hapening. I would worry about fouling O2 sensors and Cats, but again I am no chemist.

My #1 way to offset the gas prices? I am cutting out the morning Americano coffee. I have drank 1 per day for maybe 5 years? At 2.00 per day I will be more than offsetting the price of gas. (I only live 5-10 minutes to work)

[PDSides]

Beav: You make some excellent points regarding saving fuel. One would think that SVX owners/drivers would be more aware of something like tire pressure but that's not always the case. Tires lose air over time. Spirited driving can cause tires to lose pressure much sooner than in normal driving. Checking the pressure in tires at least once per month is a good idea, and a quick walk-around of your car each day can help to spot potential problems. You also mentioned braking, something we don't often think about. Braking turns the forward motion energy of our cars into heat through friction, either slowing our speed and/or bringing us to a stop. In either case, a portion of the fuel we burned to get us to speed is wasted through braking. We could, instead simply coast down our speed, allowing the friction of the drive-train along with wind resistance to reduce our speed. This works in open road conditions but may pose a hazard in traffic. A hybrid benefits from coasting as it generates electricity during this period. A normal gasoline (or diesel) engine car will also benefit by utilizing inertia, but to a lesser extent. Standard transmission cars can take greater advantage of this gas saving technique by disengaging the clutch. I do NOT recommend shifting an automatic transmission to neutral in order to coast - its not the same thing. If one is inclined to give coasting a try, let me suggest you first give yourself a lesson in long-range awareness driving techniques. Most drivers are only aware of what is happening with their car for a distance of maybe 100 feet in any direction at one time. In long-range awareness driving, one makes a conscious effort to look as far down the road ahead as possible, and as far behind in the rear-view mirror as possible to gain awareness of what lies around you. Give this a try and force yourself to become more aware of what is happening at longer range so that you do not encounter surprises. This will allow you to plan for coasting or more slowly reducing speed in order to conform to changing speed limits or conditions that lie ahead. Less braking needed, more fuel saved.
Preston

[NikFu S.]

Originally Posted by PDSides

In either case, a portion of the fuel we burned to get us to speed is wasted through braking. We could, instead simply coast down our speed, allowing the friction of the drive-train along with wind resistance to reduce our speed. This works in open road conditions but may pose a hazard in traffic.

This is what I do, alone, in traffic, wherever. I adjust my throttle input just enough to let me coast to the next stop, but there is always a group of people getting on the gas until about 50ft before they need to stop, then slamming on their brakes.
Some of them try to overtake me as I'm slowing for a red light. Man I hate that.