Simple Fuel Saver Strategies

Fuel Saver Strategy #8

Keeping your highway speed at 55 mph can increase your fuel saver miles by as much as 25%, compared to 75 mph. Keep in mind that over 50% of the energy required to move a vehicle down the road is spent overcoming aerodynamic drag, the faster you drive, the more air, you will have to push out of the way.

Speeds above 60 mph result in being anti-fuel saver. As a rule of thumb you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.25 per gallon for gas. If you do the math this adds up in a hurry. And in today’s rapidly rising fuel costs, this figure is rising rapidly too.

I’ve touched on this principle in my previous post concerning flag flying which is an anti-fuel saver practice.

UEFA EURO 2008 Flags are Anti–Fuel Savers

Huh???? What is that? What has soccer got to do with fuel savers?

EURO 2008 fever has begun to grip soccer fans the world over. Patriotism demands you to wave the flag of your country.

But don't hoist that large Anti–Fuel Saver flag from your vehicle. I just read from the papers an article taken from The Guardian stating that “engineers have declared that the flags, which are usually attached to window frames, cause wind resistance, which alters a car's aerodynamics and causes it to burn more fuel”

Anti-Fuel Savers in the form of 2 flags on a car, according to Australia's automobile club, can lead to an increased gas consumption of “up to half a litre a kilometre on motorways”! (That works out to be a loss of almost 5 miles per gallon!!)

On the subject of wind resistance, keep your windows closed when possible. Your mileage should improve if you keep the windows closed at motorway speeds, since drag is reduced. That is a plus for Fuel Savers.

Another tip for fuel savers is to remove any external accessories such as a luggage rack, surfboard or rooftop carrier. These are other items that reduce your vehicle's aerodynamic capabilities and increase your gas usage.