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I HAD to drive a less economical vehicle last September, hello gas prices were only $2.11 at the local Kangaroo..... and wouldn't ya know it, after 4 years of declining gas prices it now is over $3...... killing me on a fixed income now.... and with summer and airconditioning season ramping up here in the south, OMG, my 14 local miles per gallon will be slashed to 10.... i had to go with a four wheel drive vehicle and the Sooo-ba-rooos were way more expensive than the Jeep Patriot i bought 'cause after four years here, i just got sick and tired of waiting 5 whole days until i could get out of my driveway after a two inch snowfall.... there is not one local county owned snow plow, and i'm an old coot, have doctor's appointments up my ying-yang gdit!!!!!! so HAD to go with a 4 wheel drive car.
My solution? VERY UNCOOL but at my age, who cares? i used to have a kawasaki kz 400 in my youth (biggest bike i could handle at 300 pounds should someone try to make me ditch .... and that happened all the time, what is it about a woman on a motorcycle that angers men so much??? and some of them would circle back and try it again when i didn't ditch....and i never did thank you very much )
I'm scouring the world wide web for an affordable not too high scooter LOL...... you younger, more manly, better reflexes younger women can go get a motorcycle..... but for me? not as agile or strong as I once was? It's Vespa time y'all!!!!!
p.s. and please don't tell me geezers on vespas are equally targetable by yahoos in their pickup trucks with their dawgs chained to the roof!!!!!!!
Don't drive your vehicles so much. Learn to eliminate short trips wherever possible. Walk ,ride a bike ,share a ride whatever it takes to leave your car at home....resting. Not only will you save gas but you'll need to buy fewer cars, oil changes, Insurance cost will go down, ETC.. All of which will put $$$$$$$$$$ in your savings and pocket.
A car is a very $$$$$$ hungry beast!
I was chatting with neighbors just a couple of days ago and they were whining about the higher cost of gas. Had to really bite my tongue not to suggest the obvious ways they could buy less of it. They have a fleet of 3 older 8 cylinder trucks (none with a functional muffler I might add ) plus 2 ATVs, at least one dirt bike and a snowmobile. They gun the things up and down their long driveway (the ATVs, dirt bikes and snowmobile are not street legal here) and are constantly driving off in one of the trucks only to return 10 minutes or so later. Usually leave their truck idling, idling, idling before actually moving it. I have no idea where they think they need to get to so urgently hour after hour, day after day. Town is about 5 miles away. Nothing but a gas station any closer.
Last edited by Parnassia; 05-03-2018 at 12:26 AM..
Use the brakes as little as possible. When you know you will have to stop, coast to the stop point, rather than to continue to apply gas when a stop of forthcoming.. NB: For best results, combine this strategy with common sense.
When your foot is on the gas and you then step on the brakes, all of the energy you just generated is applied to heating the brake pads, rather unproductively.
Don't run the A/C if not necessary. Seems to give a couple mpgs on my "vintage" Accord. Maybe not effective on newer cars? Not sure.
I know this worked on older cars, but not so much on newer cars, and by newer, I mean 2000 and up. running the a/c in my 2006 Hyundai Tucson (6cyl) does nothing to MPG, city or highway.
I know this worked on older cars, but not so much on newer cars, and by newer, I mean 2000 and up. running the a/c in my 2006 Hyundai Tucson (6cyl) does nothing to MPG, city or highway.
Newer cars have MUCH more efficient AC systems, and the car bodies are designed to be more aerodynamic with the windows up, especially as more and more people tend to use the AC much more frequently. Even in the "winter", here in Phoenix, it's not at all common to see people driving with windows down. Driving with the windows down tends to get you horrible wind buffeting and wicked wind noise inside the cabin at any speed over about 35mph, whereas it's much more pleasant to drive even 75mph with the window down in my old cars.
I fail to see how fixing broken stuff, and seeing an improvement somewhere after is somehow a secret...
A clean oil control filter means more MPG. I could not find that information in any automotive forum or owners manual or service manual. I would also bet it's indisputable. A well kept secret.
A clean oil control filter means more MPG. I could not find that information in any automotive forum or owners manual or service manual. I would also bet it's indisputable. A well kept secret.
The trick is adding a quart of snake oil to your crankcase. They are trying to keep that secret so's as not to screw up the economy.
Strap a really old and large canoe on top of my truck. It forces me to drive the speed limit and I get noticeably better MPG.
Drive in Ohio or Indiana. They seem to drive really slow and since you do not want a ticket because you stand out from the crowd, you have to drive slowly as well. again noticeably better MPG.
Keep up with your air filter. That is probably the biggest maintenance item for MPG. It does not improve MPG, but if it is really dirty, it will result in substantial drop.
Ride a Bicycle. I get over 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 mpg on my bicycle.
My commute is 40 miles per day. Riding a bike at 56 calories per mile would require 2240 calories per day. An energy bar has 240 calories and cost about $1 each. That’s about $9 a day. Bike riding is too expensive and gets terrible mileage.
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) plus 2 ATVs, at least one dirt bike and a snowmobile. They gun the things up and down their long driveway (the ATVs, dirt bikes and snowmobile are not street legal here) and are constantly driving off in one of the trucks only to return 10 minutes or so later. Usually leave their truck idling, idling, idling before actually moving it. I have no idea where they think they need to get to so urgently hour after hour, day after day. Town is about 5 miles away. Nothing but a gas station any closer. 
A clean oil control filter means equals more MPG
