As exciting as it may be to push your auto well above fifty-five or sixty miles an hour, doing so can really put a dent in your wallet. With gas prices near all time highs, implementing a few gas saving tips can really pay off.

The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that in highway driving over 50% of the energy required to move your car down the road goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance. As you drive faster, both drag and resistance increase. As a result, at speeds above 55 mph, fuel economy decreases rapidly.

For folks driving a typical passenger car, cruising at 65 instead of 70 will save you about $5 per hour in fuel. Those in light trucks will save nearly $10 an hour.

Using Overdrive and Cruise Control

Your overdrive gears improve the fuel economy of your car during highway driving. When you use overdrive gearing your car's engine speed decreases. This reduces both fuel consumption and engine wear.

The cruise control can help you maintain a constant speed during highway driving. Setting and using the cruise will help you control fuel consumption

Around Town Hints

The EPA reports that in city driving, nearly 50% of the energy needed to power your car goes to acceleration. To get the most from your gas, avoid unnecessary braking that wastes energy. Additionally, try to avoid extreme acceleration except in emergency situations as it causes your engine to enter a "fuel enrichment mode" of operation which is considerably less efficient than normal driving

Anticipating traffic conditions ahead and avoiding tailgating can help minimize unnecessary braking and acceleration thus improving fuel economy.

Warming up your car isn't necessary for most cars today. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money.

Quoting from [autopartsworld]:

As exciting as it may be to push your auto well above fifty-five or sixty miles an hour, doing so can really put a dent in your wallet. With gas prices near all time highs, implementing a few gas saving tips can really pay off.

The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that in highway driving over 50% of the energy required to move your car down the road goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance. As you drive faster, both drag and resistance increase. As a result, at speeds above 55 mph, fuel economy decreases rapidly.

For folks driving a typical passenger car, cruising at 65 instead of 70 will save you about $5 per hour in fuel. Those in light trucks will save nearly $10 an hour.

Using Overdrive and Cruise Control

Your overdrive gears improve the fuel economy of your car during highway driving. When you use overdrive gearing your car's engine speed decreases. This reduces both fuel consumption and engine wear.

The cruise control can help you maintain a constant speed during highway driving. Setting and using the cruise will help you control fuel consumption

Around Town Hints

The EPA reports that in city driving, nearly 50% of the energy needed to power your car goes to acceleration. To get the most from your gas, avoid unnecessary braking that wastes energy. Additionally, try to avoid extreme acceleration except in emergency situations as it causes your engine to enter a "fuel enrichment mode" of operation which is considerably less efficient than normal driving

Anticipating traffic conditions ahead and avoiding tailgating can help minimize unnecessary braking and acceleration thus improving fuel economy.

Warming up your car isn't necessary for most cars today. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money.

The best way to save on fuel is to be at the proper gear at lower engine speeds for any particular speed range. Keep track of the tachometer.

Warming up your car isn't necessary for most cars today. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money. - not true. Engine oil has to circulate and engine must be at the proper temperature range if you are planning to keep your car for long. Not warming up will save you gas, but you'd lose your car earlier.

Oil circulation depends a lot on the design of the engine. For example, the American version of the Toyota Camry (bigger than the European and apparently also Asian version) gives you full oil circulation after less than fifteen seconds. It takes me about that long to find the right position in my seat, put on my seatbelt, etc. So for all practical purposes I don't warm up the engine, but technically I do.

Another detail is not accelerating the engine too much for the first some miles. It has to warm up gradually and throughout the whole volume of the metal. After that it isn't that bad anymore if you "put the pedal to the metal". Ok, mind your limits!

Quoting from [germex]:

Oil circulation depends a lot on the design of the engine. For example, the American version of the Toyota Camry (bigger than the European and apparently also Asian version) gives you full oil circulation after less than fifteen seconds. It takes me about that long to find the right position in my seat, put on my seatbelt, etc. So for all practical purposes I don't warm up the engine, but technically I do.

Another detail is not accelerating the engine too much for the first some miles. It has to warm up gradually and throughout the whole volume of the metal. After that it isn't that bad anymore if you "put the pedal to the metal". Ok, mind your limits!

For example, the American version of the Toyota Camry gives you full oil circulation after less than fifteen seconds. - That is only what they tell you.

It has to warm up gradually and throughout the whole volume of the metal. - The main point of warming up. Heard of "coefficient of expansion"?

After that it isn't that bad anymore if you "put the pedal to the metal".  - The topic is fuel economy, you don't really get high mpgs doing that, do you?

 

We risk getting into quite a technical discussion here - literally at the molecular level. But believe me, your slightly used cold engine oil doesn't really want to coat Toyota's cold metal engine. Especially on cold mornings.

As much as possible we would like to get our facts here from experienced real-world users and engineers, not from experienced fast-talking salesmen who can seal a quarter-mile deal in 15 seconds flat.

And enough of salestalk wrapped as advice. Makes it sound like the stock market. We don't want bad advice to circulate here.

Quoting from [bong_cortes]:For example, the American version of the Toyota Camry gives you full oil circulation after less than fifteen seconds. - That is only what they tell you. - No, that's what I found out in  the shop!

It has to warm up gradually and throughout the whole volume of the metal. - The main point of warming up. Heard of "coefficient of expansion"? - Agreed! In fact, I mentioned that.

After that it isn't that bad anymore if you "put the pedal to the metal".  - The topic is fuel economy, you don't really get high mpgs doing that, do you? - It's bad for the mpg, but I was just talking about the (absent) consequences of "putting the pedal to the metal".

 

We risk getting into quite a technical discussion here - Exactly! Isn't that what it's all about?

Quoting from [germex]:

Quoting from [bong_cortes]:For example, the American version of the Toyota Camry gives you full oil circulation after less than fifteen seconds. - That is only what they tell you. - No, that's what I found out in  the shop!

It has to warm up gradually and throughout the whole volume of the metal. - The main point of warming up. Heard of "coefficient of expansion"? - Agreed! In fact, I mentioned that.

After that it isn't that bad anymore if you "put the pedal to the metal".  - The topic is fuel economy, you don't really get high mpgs doing that, do you? - It's bad for the mpg, but I was just talking about the (absent) consequences of "putting the pedal to the metal".

 

We risk getting into quite a technical discussion here - Exactly! Isn't that what it's all about?

So ok I guess we agreed on a couple of points. That's good.

We risk getting into quite a technical discussion here - Exactly! Isn't that what it's all about? - Not really. If people here had enough technical knowledge to actually understand us, they should at least have enough brain cells to tell them not to post that article that started this forum. I'm sure I've read that one before somewhere, and I can't believe people actually subscribe to it. Must've been written by a fast-talking salesman and circulated by a used car parts dealer.

Anyway cheers to you grandpa... I envy your Cooper.

PS.. The main point of my first reply was summed in my last 2 sentences:

Engine oil has to circulate and engine must be at the proper temperature range if you are planning to keep your car for long. Not warming up will save you gas, but you'd lose your car earlier.

Say you have a premium car you intend to keep for  long, or say a Porsche you want your grandson to enjoy, do make it a habit to warm up. But if you have a cheap car you might not want to see in your garage after 5 years, and you are * bent on saving gas, then there's no point warming up. You really want to save on gas and don't care about your drivetrain? Then here's my advice: Start on 2nd gear. You'll save a lot of gas. Just don't ask me about your drivetrain. Indeed you are saving on gas, the question is: at what cost?

Quoting from [bong_cortes]:

Anyway cheers to you grandpa... I envy your Cooper.

Actually, it's a Camry, the bigger American version. - But anyway, you hang on to your points of view, I'll hang on to mine.

Quoting from [germex]:

Quoting from [bong_cortes]:

Anyway cheers to you grandpa... I envy your Cooper.

Actually, it's a Camry, the bigger American version. - But anyway, you hang on to your points of view, I'll hang on to mine.

Just read your post on "Mazda Ryuga Concept". Wasn't reffering to your Toyota. Ooops sorry I missed out one word. My apologies.

 It's a good thing to have differents points of view. Otherwise there'd be no point having a discussion board. Keep it up.

Truth to be told, I have nothing against fuel economy. In fact I have been making concious efforts to reduce fuel consumption for years now. What I am against at is people spreading myths they have no idea about. Let's break down the article:

As you drive faster, both drag and resistance increase - While it is an established fact that drag increases with higher speed, not so can be said with rolling resistance. You may have noticed you have less grip with higher speed. And cars do have a tendency to fly up at high speeds ( with the exception of modern supercars which were conceived with downforce in mind), that was why spoilers were created (actually its a reverse wing). So what does that tell us of rolling resistance?

As a result, at speeds above 55 mph, fuel economy decreases rapidly.
For folks driving a typical passenger car, cruising at 65 instead of 70 will save you about $5 per hour in fuel. - That you would achieve better fuel economy running 55mph rather than 75mph has another side to it. With the same gear, to reach a higher speed, you obviously need higher Rpms.

Warming up your car isn't necessary for most cars today. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money. -  Oh we've discussed this one before.

I do feel for the average guy out there who spent a bigger part of his savings to buy a car, and intend to keep it for long. He wants to save on gas, and reads something like this article.

Auto manufacturers around the world have faced financial trauma during recent years, resulting from consumer change in regards to both politics and the environment.


With no imminent resolution to the oil crisis in the Middle East, the price of crude oil has raised well over one hundred dollars, and will only continue to rise. Gas prices are now reaching above four dollars per gallon, and consumers around the world are looking for ways to save money on gas, as well as reduce their impact on the environment around them in this era of speculation about global warming.


There are quite a few ways that drivers are able to conserve gas while driving their current vehicles. The most obvious option is to cut down on the number of hours spent driving the car. Of course, this isn't a viable option for most people, especially in rural areas, but walking or riding a bike is a great way to save money and stay healthy.


Other conscious decisions including having your vehicle coast down hills, and avoiding stopping and starting. Driving on a busy street during rush hour is a great way to guarantee your car is burning gas.

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