Economy | Spark Plug Wires

Air conditioning. As a general rule, if you are driving under 40 miles per hour (MPH), it is more fuel efficient to turn off the air conditioner and roll down the windows. Above 40 MPH, however, the drag on your car created by the open windows causes you to use more gas, so turning on the air will actually improve your fuel economy.

Acceleration. When accelerating, do so gradually. Stomping the gas pedal at every traffic light or stop sign causes your engine to suck fuel to meet the heavy load you are putting on it. A more gradual approach can significantly improve fuel economy.

Deceleration. Let off the gas well before a stop sign or traffic light and allow yourself to coast to a stop while gently applying the brake. Accelerating all the way to the stop and then slamming on the brakes not only wastes gas, it uses up your brake pads more quickly.

Speed. For every ten miles per hour you decelerate, you can save up to 5 miles per gallon (MPG). So if the speed limit is 65 MPH and you drive 55, you can increase your MPG by 5 miles.

Car Maintenance
In addition to improving your driving strategies, use the following car maintenance tips to maximize your fuel economy:

Tire inflation. Make sure you keep your tires properly inflated at all times. This not only lengthens the life of the tire, it will help your fuel economy. By and large, the standard inflation for most car tires is 35 pounds per square inch (PSI). Some mechanics may recommend inflating your tires to 30 PSI to improve riding comfort, which is true, but with gas prices the way they are the best thing to do is maintain proper inflation. Please make sure you check with either your tire dealer or the tire owner’s manual for proper inflation instructions.

Fuel grade. Mountain West states (New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, etc.) offer 85 octane fuel, whereas most other states offer only 87 octane and up. Check your owner’s manual, since some models have a minimum octane requirement. Using a lower octane fuel than what your vehicle has been designed for drastically reduces fuel economy. Also, it does not improve your gas mileage to use a higher octane fuel than the minimum requirement for your car.

Alignment. Most cars need an alignment every three to five years, although your mechanic will recommend you do it more often than that. A simple test of your alignment is to briefly release the steering wheel while cruising at least 55 MPH on a straight stretch of highway. Please make sure there is no oncoming traffic and that it is a calm day! If your car veers immediately to the left or right, have your mechanic check the alignment. Alignment problems affect your fuel economy and wear your tires down more quickly.

Tire rotation and balance. Have your tires rotated every 5,000 miles. This not only improves their life span but also causes them to wear evenly, meaning improved fuel economy for you since they ride more smoothly. Your tires should be balanced when they are first installed, and in general they should not need another balancing. Regularly check for the wheel weights mounted on the rim of each tire on your vehicle. These will be oblong metal pieces clipped to the rim, one per tire. If you don’t see one on your tire, ask your mechanic to balance the tires when he rotates them. Most tire dealers that sell you your new tires will rotate and balance those tires for free.

Tune ups. Check your owner’s manual for the recommended life span of your vehicle’s spark plugs, plug wires, and coils. In general, spark plugs should be changed every 55,000 – 75,000 miles and plug wires every 100,000 – 120,000 miles. If your engine idles very rough, or cuts out easily, have your mechanic check the coils. Also make sure to change out your vehicle’s air and fuel filters regularly. All of these parts affect your vehicle’s fuel economy.

Buying A New Car
When considering purchasing a new car, remember that the miles per gallon estimates posted on new cars are always very optimistic. Those estimates are generated by operating the car in perfect driving conditions, as in 55 MPH on a windless day at sea level on flat ground with the windows rolled up and the air conditioner and radio off. Typically your actual miles per gallon will be two to five gallons less than the estimate.

Go smaller! Technology has improved to the point where many smaller vehicles have high safety ratings and perform very well in adverse driving conditions. Remember that if you spend a little more on a smaller car with posi-traction as opposed to a bigger lunk with four-wheel drive, savings will be realized in improved fuel economy down the road. And you don’t have to put the thing in four-wheel drive, it will do so itself!

Go hybrid if you can. Some very important factors to remember: hybrid and electric car technology is skyrocketing right now, so the vehicles that come out in five to ten years will show enormous improvements over the ones available today. If you have a lot of disposable income and buy a new car every three to five years anyway, go buy a hybrid today. If you are not that lucky, follow the tips above to maintain your current vehicle and tough it out until the car companies can bring to market all the technology in development right now.

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Greg McGuire -
About the Author:

Greg is a freelance content website writer. Read more of his articles at the Energy Efficiency Advisor website.

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Fuel Economy Testing: “Real World” VS. “DYNO”

by admin on Jun.30, 2010, under How to Spark Plugs

Fuel Economy Testing: “Real World” VS. “DYNO”

For the past 30 years or so a variety of methods have been utilized to evaluate new fuel saving devices for fleets in an attempt to simulate “real world” testing. These tests were born out of a disregard for automaker fuel economy data that often does not accurately reflect the actual experience of fleet owners. Generally, “real world” testing does not attempt to control driving habits or driving conditions. Instead they use a variety of vehicles with differing missions.

”REAL WORLD” VS. REAL DATA

These “real world” tests range from a simple seat-of-the-pants, 1-week driving test that compares the results to historical data, to elaborate, A/B tests utilizing global positioning systems (GPS) and computers tapped into the onboard diagnostics (OBDII) sensors. In these tests the selected vehicles are first run for 3 months to base line the data (A) and then they are converted to the new fuel efficiency device and run for another 3 months (B). After about 6 months of testing the A/B data is compared often with no real conclusions. Why? Because something happened during the testing to throw all the results into doubt, sort of like “the dog ate my homework!”

So, what typically goes wrong? A lot. Some of the selected vehicles get replaced during the test, others are pulled out for maintenance and some repurposed to another task. Perhaps the most insidious data faults result from seasonal changes. The A test may be done in the spring and 3 months later the B test is done in the summer. It would not be surprising to find the B test vehicles idling more due to a running air conditioner. Some fleet managers could explain this away as “real world” testing, but unless the data is normalized for this anomaly, the test is irrelevant.

UNCONTROLLED VARIABLES

The problem with the “real world” approach to testing is that it lacks control over 4 key variables. Consider the first variable, actual testing conditions. These could include weather, topography of the locale, and even the condition of the road surface. Most people don’t realize that oil companies change gasoline formulation every two months to compensate for seasonal temperature fluctuations. This combined with temperature-related air density changes can significantly alter fuel economy results.

The second variable is the measurement of fuel consumption. In almost every “real world” test, the trip computer on the dashboard is the fuel measurement device. Of course this method is useless in the short-term because it varies widely until enough miles have been accumulated to average out the instantaneous swings. It can be relatively accurate over a 2 or 3-month period. But, measuring fuel consumption over such a long period of time brings in the first uncontrolled variable: weather.

Third, is the largest fuel economy variable of all: the driver. Unless you are a professional driver driving a fixed course to a tightly controlled time/waypoint standard, it is impossible to accurately duplicate driving in the A/B test. Many fleet vehicles have multiple drivers which further confounds any semblance of reproducibility.

The final variable is the actual data collection process itself. This usually leads to a report published to the “powers that be” who will decide the fate of the new fuel economy device. Unless the data can be normalized for conditions, measurement tolerances, and driver habits that differ between test A and test B, they are usually not very relevant, but nonetheless often used as fact for “real world” testing.

NEW TEST PROCEDURES

So, if “real world” testing is not very reliable, what is? Here is where we come face to face with the reason most fleet managers prefer “real world” testing in the first place. The tests used by the automakers and the EPA up until 2006 were based on a 1975 test protocol called the Federal Test Protocol 75 or FTP75. The FTP75 attempted to simulate driving as it was done in 1975 in a town in California. This route was fed into a computer and then driven on a dynamometer (more on this later). Those who remember the first oil embargo know that speed limits across the U.S. at that time were 55 MPH. So, too, the FTP75 is limited to a top speed of 55 MPH. Today some highway speed limits are 80 MPH. The FTP75 did not even use the same type gasoline available to consumers, but rather a highly refined version of gasoline called indolene. No wonder “real world” experiences did not reflect the MPG sticker on the car and why fleet managers came to disregard them.

In 2006 the U.S. Congress finally acknowledged this disparity and ordered the automakers to use another, more relevant test protocol called the EPA US06, which better simulated driving today with greater data collection accuracy. The problem with the EPA testing is that vehicles have to be transported to one of the few independent, certified facilities around the country. Furthermore, the cost to test could cost between ,000 and ,000 per vehicle. Put 10 vehicles in the test and you may well spend any potential fuel savings from a new device in testing alone.

NEW AND PRACTICAL TEST PROCEDURES

Albuquerque-based Enerpulse, Inc. studied the conflict between “real world” and scientific testing when introducing the Pulstar pulse plugs to fleet managers. A pulse plug looks and fits exactly like a spark plug and incorporates an electrical device called a capacitor, which boosts the energy of the spark like a camera flash boosts light. It’s sort of like putting a flashcube in your engine. The more robust spark makes ignition more precise and combustion more efficient, improving engine performance and fuel efficiency by an average of 6%.

In 2008 Pulstar was introduced to a U.S based “green” fleet with a healthy mix of E85 and hybrid vehicles. By this time Enerpulse, Inc. had developed a cost-effective alternative to EPA testing. It is called the Enerpulse Performance Evaluation Procedure or E-PEP. E-PEP is comprised of 3 types of dynamometer tests: torque, acceleration and fuel economy. The fuel economy test utilizes the same drive cycle as the EPA US06 test and instead of costly gas analysis equipment, it uses relatively inexpensive, but very precise, digital flow meters. The result is a test that can be done in one day with reproducibility of +/- 2% and can be set up in or near the fleet operations. More importantly, the E-PEP controls the variables associated with “real world” testing and is therefore, far more accurate.

DYNAMOMETER DEFINED

To control the conditions, the test vehicle is lashed to a dynamometer (dyno). The dyno is a rolling roadbed tied to an electric motor. The motor, which is linked to a computer, senses the power and speed from the wheels. It is calibrated by inputting the weight of the vehicle so load can be applied to the wheels to simulate actual driving for that specific vehicle. In that the testing is done indoors, all weather, topography and road surface variables are eliminated.

Next, a digital flow meter is installed into the engine’s fuel line and linked to a computer. This device samples fuel flow twice every second during the test and is the data that will be collected and compared to determine the efficacy of the new fuel economy device.

The most important element of the E-PEP test is the drive cycle. In this case E-PEP utilizes the EPA US06 drive cycle. During the test, the driver is constantly watching the screen above. At the bottom of the screen is the 10-minute cycle he will actually drive on the dyno. It combines both city and highway driving ranging from 0 to 81 miles per hour. The driver’s main focus is on the green line inside of the two blue lines. The driver must remain within the blue lines or flunk the test. In our case, the test is first run 3 times with automaker recommended spark plugs and then another 3 times with Pulstar pulse plugs.

An enormous amount of data is generated, which is ultimately distilled into a comparison chart showing the Pulstar improvement over the recommended spark plug.

DYNO TESTING PROVES RELATIVITY

The argument that dyno testing does not simulate the “real world” misses the point completely. Dyno testing is designed to prove relativity. If a fuel economy device tested on a dyno in a sterile environment improves fuel economy by 5%, then even if the car is driven up the side of a rocky mountain in the “real world” it should get 5% better fuel economy than without the device. A dyno test on a Hummer and a Prius will show dramatically different fuel consumption results, but there are conditions in the “real world” under which the Prius will use more fuel than the Hummer (Hummer idling vs. the Prius racing). This does not make the Hummer more fuel-efficient. The dyno will prove the relative value, which must absolutely translate into the fleet average costs. But, unless test variables are controlled, no fuel-efficient device could survive the ambiguities of the “real world”.

Perhaps part of the dilemma with fleet testing in general can be explained by the motivations of fleet managers. Most are judged on the reliability of the fleet and not on fuel efficiency, which is thought to be out of their control. After all, how can a fleet manager control the driving habits of others? A new fuel efficiency device, no matter how effective in reducing fuel consumption, is a potential concern to the fleet manager because it could create more maintenance issues and fleet downtime.

Now that we have experienced .00 per gallon gasoline, and by most accounts will again, fleet operators are scrambling to find new ways to reduce fuel costs. Add to this a growing sensitivity to global warming and our dependence on foreign oil and you have a powerful reason to consider fuel efficiency alternatives. Separating truly effective fuel economy alternatives from the “snake oil” requires accurate and cost-effective dyno testing procedures that are relative and relevant to the number one cost of operating a fleet.

Enerpulse, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Albuquerque, N.M., was founded in 1996. The company develops environmentally friendly ignition products through the application of pulsed power technology. For more information, visit http://www.pulstar.com

Achieving the Best Fuel Economy

by admin on Jun.25, 2010, under Best Spark Plug

Achieving the Best Fuel Economy

In engineery terms, fuel efficiency means the thermal capacity of converting the energy contained in the fuel to kinetic energy, or work, needed to move your car. For a vehicle, fuel efficiency means the output one gets for a unit amount of fuel input, such as “miles per gallon” or “litters per 100 kilometers”. For you, fuel efficiency simply means less fuel wasted and more money in your pocket.

The automotive industry believed that by maintaining the air/fuel ratio of 14.7:1 by electronic means, like electronic fuel injection and electronic ignition systems, they had already achieved the best combustion process that assures the best fuel economy.

Unfortunately this is not always true because is not sufficiently known, but there are a lot of very ordinary daily driving situations that makes than the engine operates steady at low speeds, creating less temperature in the combustion chamber. It makes that the stock spark plugs results operating too cold, which affects the combustion process, because the low temperature do not allows to burn completely the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber.

Unburned fuel is wasted fuel and you paid for it. Wasted fuel is wasted money.

These very common driving or traffic conditions are:

• Steady city driving, where prolonged idling or short distances and stop-and-go driving prevails.

• Extended low speed driving, or short distance driving or even in the freeway driving where the automatic transmission maintains the engine under 3000 RPM.

• Low speed cruising.

• At high elevations, above 3000 ft.

• Weather conditions, where the humidity rises.

• Moreover, these conditions may combine in endless ways.

And believe it or not, this situation is not the exception, in fact is almost the rule for more than the 75% of the cars worldwide. You can confirm it simply by seen the exits of the exhaust tips in any parking zone and in anywhere around you. Most of them are covered with dry black soot produced by the unburned fuel. And this is not due to an incorrect air/fuel mixture adjustment in the carburetor or the fuel injection system; even this occurs in a well maintained vehicle which just passed the smog test satisfactorily.

This is because the stock spark plugs are being too cold for those operating conditions, consequently are no longer adequate and must be substituted by spark plugs with a different and hotter heat range.

Why occurs it? because the heat range of the original stock spark plug was defined by the manufacturers at their laboratories, based on differents and teorical speeds, and trips, that supposedly should be done by the potential target market who conceptually will buy a gived model and type of vehicle. But in the real life, not all the people have the same driving habits nor lives in the same geographical and under the same weather conditions, or drives in the same traffic conditions neither gives the same maintenance to their vehicles.

Do you still have doubts? Think just a minute that the traffic between a big city like LA is very different from a smaller city and from a town. A teenager drives different from his mother and she drives different to her husband, whom drives different to his neighbour whom tows a trailer. Additionally from Alaska to Dubai, there are hundreds of different weathers, altitudes, and humidities; and there are many different fuel brands and qualities, among other different conditions.

So it is absolutely necessary to refining and tailoring the selection of the spark plugs for matching the real operating conditions of the engine to each individual driving habits and or each particular operating conditions.

As you can see, it is more likely that you are having Heat Range problems that are affecting your mileage, even if you didn’t know they existed, and you are wasting more in fuel than neccesary.

To achieve the best fuel economy in these extremely frequent but seldom considered driving conditions, you must install different and hotter spark plugs than the original stock, suggested by the manufacturers in their application catalogs in order to achieve the right combustion chamber temperature that ensures the perfect combustion process.

But to define which exactly is the sparkplug, whose heat range results being the best adequate for your engine, is a risky puzzle and not an easy task.

Nevertheless, only by tailoring the selection of the park plug’s heat range, customizing it to your particular conditions, you will achieve your engine’s top efficiency, thus guaranteeing the best fuel economy, whit the best performance, power, reliability and low emissions.

Hard to believe?

You don´t have to take my words. Spark plug manufacturers have never failed to explicitly acknowledge that:

“A hotter spark plug may be better for prolonged idling or city type stop and go traffic”.

AC DELCO Spark Plugs

“A hotter plug is better for prolonged idling and city travel”.

BOSCH Spark Plugs

“Use spark plugs with a hotter heat range for steady city driving”.

SPLITFIRE Spark Plugs

“For short distances and stop-and-go driving a hotter plug is better”.

DENSO Spark Plugs

“The spark plug heat range should remain the same unless also at high elevations, (above 3000 ft ), in which changing to a hotter plug may be necessary”.

CHAMPION Spark Plugs.

“This is reflected in the increased importance assigned to precisely adapting the spark plug to engine. Customized solutions are the order of the day”.

BOSCH Sparkplugs

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You Can Improve your Dodge’s Fuel Economy

by admin on Mar.21, 2010, under Best Spark Plug

Pain at the pump is a frequently used expression, one that is felt by consumers across North America. With gas prices in some areas topping three, even four dollars per gallon, the need to find ways to save on fuel has never been greater. Short of trading your ride in for a toaster on wheels or for a skateboard, you can get better fuel mileage for your Dodge Magnum or other fine vehicles by following several proven steps as well as considering the purchase of a product designed to conserve fuel. Read on and we’ll explore some sensible fuel saving options for you.

Bundle Your Trips If you find yourself going in and out of your driveway throughout the day, you are wasting gasoline. If you need to stop by the hardware store, the city dump, run to the mall, or do any number of other visits, consider combining your excursions to just one trip. You’ll put less mileage on your car and eat up less gas.

Under Inflated Tires Tires that are under inflated are less safe as they take longer to stop and are more susceptible to blow outs. They also cause a drag on fuel economy, perhaps as much as ten percent!

Performance Air Filter Most vehicles use paper air filters and they simply are not the best device for your engine. Instead, cotton gauze filters the same ones used on race cars are the best for your vehicle. They improve fuel economy, give you a boost in horsepower, plus they are reusable. No filling up landfills with endless amounts of paper air filters as a performance air filter will likely outlast your car!

Keep Your Speed Down Your Dodge can go 70, 80, even more than 100 miles per hour. Of course the legality of a high speed is one thing, but the efficiency of a high speed is another. Most cars are most efficient if they are driven at about 65 mph or less. Going over that amount and your fuel economy will suffer.

Install A Tornado A stainless steel device costing less than $60 can be the best Dodge part you can install on your car. Yes, the Tornado Fuel Saver will help your car get better fuel mileage as it helps your engine work more efficiently by burning less fuel. Squeeze out an additional 1 to 2 gallons per fill up and get a return on your investment within a month or two. A lifetime part, the Tornado will help your car and benefit your wallet.

Changing your spark plugs, driving with your windows rolled up, keeping your oil and oil filter fresh, and choosing regular gasoline over premium fuel are some additional ways to save on gas. Altogether, you could squeeze out an extra three or four gallons per fill up and with gas prices as high as they are your savings can mount to over $500 per year.

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Tips To Live By For Better Fuel Economy

by admin on Mar.16, 2010, under Change Spark Plugs

With fuel prices going through the roof and hitting us hard in the wallet we need to fight back, taking time to check out our vehicles and adjust our driving habits. The following tips are common sense procedures that will save you money in the long run.

According to government statistics a vehicle that is properly tuned up will increase your fuel economy by four percent or approximately 12 cents a gallon. So if you haven’t replaced your fuel filter, spark plugs or checked the air filter in awhile, it’s time to get it done.

It’s interesting to note that just changing a plugged air filter will increase your fuel savings up to 10 percent or 29 cents a gallon. If you own a newer vehicle it’s a good idea to get a qualified technician to run a scan on your engine electronic control system.
A faulty oxygen sensor could possibly decrease your fuel mileage as much as 40 percent.

Improperly inflated tires reduce fuel economy and causes premature tire wear. A harsh ride, poor handling and excessive road noise will develop as well. A 10 degree change in temperature equals a 1 pound difference in tire pressure, while inflation pressures should be adjusted according to the sticker located inside your door frame or on the trunk lid.

Tires pressures should be checked when cold or when your vehicle has sat for at least 3 hours or driven no more than one mile. Tire rotation at least once a year is also recommended.

Use the right grade of oil, if you use a thicker grade of oil the resistance increases in your engine and eats up more fuel. 10w30 is heavier than 5w30 so just remember, the higher the number the thicker the oil. Make sure the oil you buy is energy conserving which means friction reducing additives have been added.

Aggressive driving which includes speeding, quick acceleration and hard braking take a toll on your gas budget. You could save 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent in the city so try and keep the pedal off the metal. For every 5 miles per hour over the 60 mile per hour speed limit you will pay an extra 20 cents a gallon on gas.

For every one hundred pounds of excess weight in your vehicle you will eat up an extra 2 percent of fuel. This applies more to smaller cars, so it’s time to get the weight set out of the trunk.

Try not to idle the engine too much as this wastes fuel especially on bigger engines. A new engineering concept to save energy is vehicles that shut off automatically when stopped and start up again when the throttle pedal is depressed.

Use cruise control on the highway to maintain a constant road speed compared to the up and down engine speeds when using the gas pedal.

Use your transmission overdrive selection, this will lower your engine revolutions per minute and reduce fuel demand.

It’s hard to believe that only 15 percent of the gas we put in our tank is used to move our vehicle down the road while the other 85 percent gets burned up in other areas. Sixty two percent of energy is lost due to heat loss and inefficiency of the gas engine itself. It’s interesting to know that diesel engines are 30 to 35 percent more efficient than gas engines.

Fossil fuels are not going to be here forever with the progress of alternative fuels and the hybrid car market. Right now we just have to concentrate on driving the vehicles we have and keeping them maintained along with watching our driving habits. I hope you use some of these gas saving tips and keep some money in your wallet.

John Whelan is a certified mechanic with 30 years experience and likes to share tips and resources that will help vehicle owners avoid costly auto repairs.
For more information check out http://knowyourautotips.com

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Improving Fuel Economy

by admin on Mar.16, 2010, under Change Spark Plugs

If you own a powerful car and you drive enthusiastically, you’re probably not going to be blessed with marvellous fuel economy. However, there are various steps you can make to lower the amount of gas you use on any journey without driving like a miser. This article only majors on the most effective methods of reducing fuel consumption, if you need more tips please do a search on Google – there is a plethora of information out there…

Keep your car well maintained

Following the correct service intervals will keep your car running efficiently. New air filters will allow the free flow of air necessary for efficient fuel combustion, clean fuel filters provide a steady stream of petrol to the cylinders, and shiny new spark plugs will provide the spark needed to set the whole thing off. A thing of beauty! They key here is the efficient burn of the fuel air mix, which will allow more power to be extracted from a set volume of fuel. A new air filter alone could increase fuel consumption up to 10%.

Tyres

Underinflated tyres need more energy to roll. Keeping the pressures at the correct level can increase economy by up to 3.5%. Specialist fuel saving tyres are also available, although these may not perform so well on the track! Properly inflated tyres are also key to providing optimum levels of grip, so it’s worth checking periodically.

Gears

Using higher gears won’t give you lightning acceleration but will save fuel. Keeping your revs low (but not so low that your engine starts to struggle) is a good habit to get into when cruising. If you have a “Sport Mode” on your auto transmission, turn this off, as this will hang onto low gears for longer and may even prevent changing to the highest cog.

Accelerate hard to save fuel?!

A British automotive engineering consultancy claims to have unearthed proof that putting your foot down hard on the accelerator can actually be more fuel efficient than driving more conservatively.

“It sounds totally counter-intuitive — and it is,” admits Cousins. The key to saving fuel, he says, is to accelerate hard until the engine reaches 2000 rpm, move up a gear, then put your foot down until you reach 2000rpm again. It’s all to do with internal friction. “Put simply, with your right foot down on the accelerator, the engine is working at its most efficient,” says Cousins. Above 2000rpm the benefits diminish and you start using more fuel, not less.

Here’s the really interesting thing: in tests carried out in a Citroën C1, one of the most fuel-efficient cars, Cousins’s driving technique proved 8.5% more efficient than the “eco-safe driving” style promoted by the Department for Transport (http://www.dsa.gov.uk — search for eco-safe). The government’s official driving method — taught to all UK learner drivers and now included in the driving test — encourages drivers to save fuel by using the accelerator pedal only lightly.

Source: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/

Dr Steve Cousins should know what he’s talking about – he was project leader for the Axon Automotive Caterham 2R which achieved 131 miles per gallon in UK Shell Eco-marathon, and is one of the world’s top researchers into fuel economy.

Accelerate gently to save fuel

Although there may be evidence that accelerating hard to 2000rpm could save you fuel, accelerating to the red line in every gear will certainly not. In general, try to keep a constant speed where possible by judging potential reasons to slow down in the road ahead and react to them, avoiding rapid changes in momentum. If you’re slowing down and accelerating the whole time, fuel bills will go through the roof.

Speed

The faster you go, the harder it is to propel your vehicle through the air. This means that a small decrease in cruising speed could provide fuel economy benefits. The UK’s Department of Environment claims that every 5 mph you drive over 65 mph will provide a 7% decrease in fuel economy.

Incidentally if you believe these figures, at 130 mph on the autobahns of Germany, you’ll be using 91% more fuel than at 65mph. At 150, you’ll actually be getting negative miles per gallon, and you’ll arrive at your destination younger than when you started!

For more driving tips, please visit DrivingFast.net

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Get More Mpg for Your Car With Simple Devices That Improve Fuel Economy

by admin on Mar.15, 2010, under Car Spark Plugs

Let’s face it the way things are going it doesn’t look like the price of fuel is going to drop anytime soon. In fact it looks like things are going to get a lot worse. With this in mind many drivers are on the lookout for devices that improve fuel economy and help them get more MPG for their vehicles (whether that be cars, trucks or SUVs).

For those who can afford it, trading in their existing vehicle for a more fuel efficient model,( as most newer vehicles get more MPG than an older one would) or one of the new Hybrid cars seems to be the way to go. However the majority of us, who’s budget doesn’t stretch to a new car will have to rely on devices that improve fuel economy to get more MPG from their old bangers.

During this fuel crisis (as in any crisis) you will get people coming up with scams and schemes to relieve you of your hard earned cash. Scams claiming to have the latest gadgets that will get you the highest MPG from any car or vehicle. Sadly most of these gadgets are shams or myths, some of which have been around for years and are just now popping up again with a new lease of life thanks to the internet.

However along with the more ridiculous claims of gadgets, gizmos, and devices that improve fuel economy, there are some that just may work. Listed below are some of the more promising ones. Now I’m not claiming that these will get more MPG for your car or improve your fuel economy in any significant way, but after reading up on them, they at least seem more practical than most that I have come across.

Devices that improve fuel economy.

1) Carburettor Mixture Enhancers. This is a device that is installed between the intake manifold and your carburettor, and is supposed to improve the process of vaporising the air/fuel mixture before being burned in the engine.
2) Liquid Mixture Enhancers. These work on a similar principle of the Carburettor Mixture Enhancers but are in liquid form and mixed with your regular fuel.
3) Killer Wires. These are used in replacement of your ordinary spark plugs and are claimed to improve the spark by creating magnetic fields and so improve combustion.
4) Fuel Additives. Such as xylene which is added to your fuel tank along with your regular fuel to give you better fuel economy and get more MPG.
5) Water to Energy Converters. These are small Hydrogen Generators for cars and use electrolysis to produce Hydrogen Oxygen Gas which is mixed with your regular fuel mixture and results in a more efficient burning fuel.

These are just 5 of the devices that improve fuel economy and help you get more MPG. There are hundreds if not thousands more out there. As I mentioned before a lot of these are just scams and not all of them are going to work, but these 5 at least sound practical, and anything that could get more MPG for your car has got to be worth a try.

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Save Money on Gas by Improving Fuel Economy

by admin on Mar.14, 2010, under Change Spark Plugs