PETERPOOP
06-13-2011, 12:27 PM
http://autos.yahoo.com/news/6-driving-tactics-to-save-gas-this-summer.html
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/HGZ_fqXzyRzTJnvznreJEg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/290/2011/06/10/popmech_215858.jpg
Tactic No. 1: Coast to a Stop
Brakes are necessary (duh!), but they're inherently wasteful: They take the kinetic energy of a moving car—energy it took pricey gasoline to generate—and turn it into heat that's lost to the air. Everyone knows that accelerating until the last moment then braking hard to stop is less efficient than slowly coasting to a red light. But PM's test data (illustrated above) prove what a huge difference coasting makes. The lesson: Whenever possible, anticipate that a light will turn red and ease off the gas. Generally, the less you have to brake, the better your fuel economy.
Tactic No. 2: Avoid Slowly Crawling Up to Speed
Conventional wisdom says that jackrabbit starts consume more fuel. But it turns out that nursing your speed up to the limit too slowly also lowers mpg. How can that be? Cars get poorer fuel economy in lower gears, and accelerating too slowly prevents up-shifting at an efficient rate. The best acceleration rate varies with the vehicle, gear ratios and weight. But in our testing we found that taking 15 seconds to accelerate to 50 mph used less fuel than taking 30 seconds to reach the same speed, because the car entered its top,
etc...
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/HGZ_fqXzyRzTJnvznreJEg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/290/2011/06/10/popmech_215858.jpg
Tactic No. 1: Coast to a Stop
Brakes are necessary (duh!), but they're inherently wasteful: They take the kinetic energy of a moving car—energy it took pricey gasoline to generate—and turn it into heat that's lost to the air. Everyone knows that accelerating until the last moment then braking hard to stop is less efficient than slowly coasting to a red light. But PM's test data (illustrated above) prove what a huge difference coasting makes. The lesson: Whenever possible, anticipate that a light will turn red and ease off the gas. Generally, the less you have to brake, the better your fuel economy.
Tactic No. 2: Avoid Slowly Crawling Up to Speed
Conventional wisdom says that jackrabbit starts consume more fuel. But it turns out that nursing your speed up to the limit too slowly also lowers mpg. How can that be? Cars get poorer fuel economy in lower gears, and accelerating too slowly prevents up-shifting at an efficient rate. The best acceleration rate varies with the vehicle, gear ratios and weight. But in our testing we found that taking 15 seconds to accelerate to 50 mph used less fuel than taking 30 seconds to reach the same speed, because the car entered its top,
etc...