I
like to go fast. Really fast. Nothing makes me happier than hurtling along
to Boston on Acela at 145 mph, brief as those sprints may be, or catching the
jet-stream on a flight and hitting 600 mph.
And nothing frustrates me more, like you, than being in slow-moving,
bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-95, that highway’s normative state.
But
I’m also thrifty, some might even say “cheap”, especially when it comes to
buying gasoline. Which is why I recently
traded in my powerful six-cylinder sedan for a very cool electric hybrid.
While
I used to get about 20 mpg in the sedan, the hybrid now gets me 40 – 45 mpg. That
means I’m using half as much gasoline (and contributing half of what I used to
pay in gas taxes to fund road repairs).
Those who drive all-electric cars, like Teslas, pay nothing toward
Connecticut roads.
The
hybrid achieves these impressive miles-per-gallon stats because it runs much of
the time on electricity. Its battery
gets charged every time I hit the brakes, turning the engine into an electric generator.
But
to get the best mileage I’ve also had to change the way I drive: accelerating more slowly and relying on the
visual feedback from the car’s dashboard display. It’s a game the car has taught me to
play: keep the monitor display in the
green, not the red. I’m hooked.
Oh,
this car can accelerate quickly when I need to, by slipping out of “Eco” mode
into “PWR”. But I’m constantly
challenging myself to maximize MPG by driving and braking efficiently. I’m finally losing my “lead foot”,
compromising my love of speed for saving money.
Whatever
kind of car you drive, four, six or eight cylinders, you can save gasoline by
avoid these mistakes:
- · Don’t accelerate too quickly, especially from a dead
stop. Pretend there’s a raw egg between
your foot and the gas pedal and ease into it.
- · While driving down the road, if you see the light ahead
turn red, take your foot off the gas and coast to a stop. It will also save wear and tear on your
brakes.
- · Keep your vehicle as light as possible. No need to waste fuel hauling extra weight.
- · Keep your tires properly, but not over-, inflated. Softer tires increase road friction. Over
inflation causes more wear on your tires.
- · Keep your gas tank cap tightly closed. If you get air in
your gas tank your engine has to burn more fuel.
- · Don’t idle unnecessarily.
Sitting still can burn one to two ounces of fuel a minute or about a
gallon an hour that’s giving you zero MPG
- · When you gas-up, do it in the morning when the station’s
underground tanks are coldest and the fuel is the densest.
- · Replace your engine’s air filter as often as recommended
by the manufacturer. A clogged air
filter has to work harder to combust the fuel, cutting down on efficiency.
- · Use your car’s air conditioner sparingly. But for 60 mph highway driving, keeping your
windows closed actually improves mileage by cutting down on drag.
- · Use your car’s cruise control to avoid unnecessary
braking and acceleration, the two enemies of good MPG.
- · Just slow down.
Driving at 60 mph instead of 70 can save you two to four miles per gallon!
Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media
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