Enhance your gas mileage!

The Acetone is great if your car has a carburetor, fuel injected cars (pretty much anything made in the last 20 years) not so much.

Turning off the engine at long lights isn't too great of an idea either, the most wear your engine recieves is during starting.

Not using the AC is misleading, if you're driving on the highway with your windows down to compensate then you're going to get worse gas mileage. If it's stop and go in town or <30mph zones, then it might help you out some.

Properly inflated tires, good oil, new air filters, and new spark plugs and wires are all good ideas.
 
Yep, rolled down windows at upper speeds creates Drag, which as Stouter said, shoots down your gas mileage.
 
Stouter said:
Not using the AC is misleading, if you're driving on the highway with your windows down to compensate then you're going to get worse gas mileage. If it's stop and go in town or <30mph zones, then it might help you out some.
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I think Mythbusters did a thing on this.... Can't remember though >_<
 
Myrrh said:
I think Mythbusters did a thing on this.... Can't remember though >_<
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Yeah they did, but they did it with pickup trucks and how to have the bed of the truck set up to get the best gas mileage.

Some fancy mesh net got you the best mileage.

Than with the gate up got second best.

Gate down got the worst.

I'm a mythbusters freak...


Ninja Edit: Stouter wins the thread.
 
Myrrh said:
I think Mythbusters did a thing on this.... Can't remember though >_<
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Yeah, pretty sure they proved the opposite of what the rest of you are saying.

Same concept as leaving the tail up on your truck creates the same drag as keeping it down.

Edit: Makelith beat me too the truck thing
 
Makelith said:
Yeah they did, but they did it with pickup trucks and how to have the bed of the truck set up to get the best gas mileage.

Some fancy mesh net got you the best mileage.

Than with the gate up got second best.

Gate down got the worst.

I'm a mythbusters freak...


Ninja Edit: Stouter wins the thread.
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They also did it with SUVs. In the end, Air Conditioning had better gas mileage than windows down.
 
Ok just watched that episode, found it online http://video.glath.com/view/mythbusters.Boom-Lift_Catapult,_AC_vs_Windows_down

A few things that bug me about it...

The original test, they estimated their gas mileage to be 11-12 MPG. They put in 5 gallons of gas in 2 identical cars and ran them against each other, one with windows down, one with AC on. Windows down outlasted AC by 15 miles. Flat out calling BS right there, no way that AC took off 25% of the gas mileage.

Second major issue is the lack of mention of cruise control. Were these two guys maintaining speed manually? Cruise control will save you gas mileage if used properly.

Third major issue is "identical vehicles." Do the test a 2nd time swapping who has AC and who has windows down. Like the OP's video says, Oil, Spark Plugs, Air Filters, and Tire Pressure are all factors in fuel effeciency.

Fourth major issue is testing fuel efficiency with an SUV. They have more drag to begin with. Do the test with something that gets more than 25 MPG, and is actually aerodynamic.

Fifth major issue, how high was his AC turned up? At max power, full out it's going to have a much more dramatic effect on fuel consumption than if you turn it to a normal setting. Also at max power it will have a much greater effect of cooling the car than windows down, hello there imbalance.

Also a minor issue with the track, yet another factor. If you want to test something like this, you should be doing it out on the flats. If turning left is as much of a challenge as they claimed it to be, that variable should be removed from the equation.

Another minor issue is the speed. During decelerration your alternator (the thing that creates friction and turns it into electricity to power your battery, lowering your fuel efficiency) will kick in harder, giving AC a larger advantage. At 45 MPH in real world conditions you are much more likely to have decelerration due to stop lights, turns, etc. At highway speeds (55-70) the drag becomes more of an issue. A constant, mid-range speed isn't a fair judge of real world conditions.

Their tests didn't really prove anything, they just showed that one vehicle could outperform another "identical" vehicle driven by a different person in one set of conditions.
 
Stouter said:
Ok just watched that episode, found it online http://video.glath.com/view/mythbusters.Boom-Lift_Catapult,_AC_vs_Windows_down

A few things that bug me about it...

The original test, they estimated their gas mileage to be 11-12 MPG. They put in 5 gallons of gas in 2 identical cars and ran them against each other, one with windows down, one with AC on. Windows down outlasted AC by 15 miles. Flat out calling BS right there, no way that AC took off 25% of the gas mileage.

Second major issue is the lack of mention of cruise control. Were these two guys maintaining speed manually? Cruise control will save you gas mileage if used properly.

Third major issue is "identical vehicles." Do the test a 2nd time swapping who has AC and who has windows down. Like the OP's video says, Oil, Spark Plugs, Air Filters, and Tire Pressure are all factors in fuel effeciency.

Fourth major issue is testing fuel efficiency with an SUV. They have more drag to begin with. Do the test with something that gets more than 25 MPG, and is actually aerodynamic.

Fifth major issue, how high was his AC turned up? At max power, full out it's going to have a much more dramatic effect on fuel consumption than if you turn it to a normal setting. Also at max power it will have a much greater effect of cooling the car than windows down, hello there imbalance.

Also a minor issue with the track, yet another factor. If you want to test something like this, you should be doing it out on the flats. If turning left is as much of a challenge as they claimed it to be, that variable should be removed from the equation.

Another minor issue is the speed. During decelerration your alternator (the thing that creates friction and turns it into electricity to power your battery, lowering your fuel efficiency) will kick in harder, giving AC a larger advantage. At 45 MPH in real world conditions you are much more likely to have decelerration due to stop lights, turns, etc. At highway speeds (55-70) the drag becomes more of an issue. A constant, mid-range speed isn't a fair judge of real world conditions.

Their tests didn't really prove anything, they just showed that one vehicle could outperform another "identical" vehicle driven by a different person in one set of conditions.
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They actually did that myth a second time in one of their fan e-mail shows. I guess a ton of people emailed them about it.

The one I saw was with two identical cars going identical speeds on a closed race track. The end result was A/c winning, I believe.
 
Pasquale said:
The one I saw was with two identical cars going identical speeds on a closed race track. The end result was A/c winning, I believe.
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My wife told me this a few months ago and good thing I listened to her. Saved gas in the process. ^^
 
You can also use cooking oil, as a cheap alternative also.

I'm guessing that burning pure acetone off isn't exactly gonna be doing the atmosphere any good, and it's probably why they don't want you to know how to do it, since it'll probably be releasing more bad chemicals into the air than strait up petrol.

And yes, I remember a few of the Mythbusters episodes, specifically the Windows Up/Windows down ones, and the Tailgate up/down myths. It surprised me, but it does make sense. I remember being on a car journey to the south of england with my family, and having the AC on, and my father was complaining about how many more stops he had to take with it on. It wouldn't surprise me if it was maybe 7-10 mpg knocked off the fuel efficiency.

Also, cracking an egg into your radiator doesn't stop it from leaking (atleast not very well.)
 
Most fuel additives LOWER YOUR GAS MILEAGE. Just keep that in mind, gasoline is an pretty efficient energy storage medium.

As for the cooking oil thing, yes, you can use that, assuming you have a slightly modified diesel engine. Though typically it'll cost you more unless you put together a system to filter it and go around getting it cheap/free from local restaurants.
 
I was wondering about this.

I'd hate to find out the hard way if acetone does/does not affect the plastic or rubber parts of my fuel system.

Anybody know of any long term test on this?
 
Actually, one thing that was also explored in that particular episode of Mythbusters is that biodiesel (the cooking oil alternative) is a valid option in even an UN-modified diesel engine.

In other words, if you're willing to take the used-up cooking grease after a night of frying, and let it filter clean overnight, it'll work in a diesel engine almost as well as straight gas. No engine modification necessary, so long as you don't mix the fuels (make sure the tank is empty). Granted, engines designed to run on biodiesel will take the transition more kindly (more efficient fuel-to-energy conversion, among other things), but it's not required.


The fact that we're not doing this on a large scale already is, to me, a tremendous scandal. We've got plleeeeenty of grease from fast food joints that is just being thrown away every second of every day. If we can propel ourselves with that stuff, and reduce carbon emissions in the process, there should be more of an effort to make the option both more well-known and more available.
 
Haha, fast food restuarants changing their grease...

I worked at McDonald's in High School, we had a machine that filtered the grease then put it back into the fryer, and we added grease to compensate for the stuff that came out with the fries.

If you're going to filter your cooking oil, why wouldn't you just reuse it? If it's cheaper than gas, then skip the used and filtering part. If it's not, then you're not going to save cash.
 
Diesel engines are able to run on any flammable substance capable of being liquefied. I ran out of gas in my uncle's truck when we were using it to move, just poured a bottle of cheap whiskey in the tank that we happened to have in one of the boxes and drove the 10 miles to the first gas station with diesel. Definitely an interesting thing to do when you're not too familiar with the workings of engines, which at the time I wasn't.

The reason "Bio-diesel" is so popular is the commonplace source of the supply. The problem with this movement is the lack of access to diesel vehicles in America. Our normal car size diesels are limited to Volkswagen and Volvo pretty much, and even those are more rare than hybrids today.

As for Stouter, most places will give it away for free, and *MOST* places change their oil weekly. So for now, it's a free source of fuel, but once it's a real market people will charge for it. The mileage for bio-diesel is lower than diesel but higher than gasoline on average.
 
Wanna know the best way to increase gas millage? Walk. Excepting people who live in butt-fuck nowhere and commute, walking a mile or 3 to run an errand rather then driving it saves a shitton of money. Like myself, I managed to cut my gas bill down from about $80 a month to about $10 by walking to anything within about 5 miles of my appartment, weather permiting.
 
Andreva said:
Wanna know the best way to increase gas millage? Walk. Excepting people who live in butt-fuck nowhere and commute, walking a mile or 3 to run an errand rather then driving it saves a shitton of money. Like myself, I managed to cut my gas bill down from about $80 a month to about $10 by walking to anything within about 5 miles of my appartment, weather permiting.
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Not really an option for the range you say for most. The average person walks at 3-5 miles per hour. That means that a 5 mile errand is at least two hours of walking when it could be 10 minutes of driving not to mention having to carry stuff one or both ways if needed.

I agree with less than a mile thing though, I'll happily pay the premium price at a gas station down the street than drive 10 minutes to a grocery store to "save" 50 cents.

Personally I'd like to see more people riding bikes like years past had. Hell, in Europe there's tons of people who bike 90% of the time regardless of weather. It'd be a nice healthy way for people to get what they needed done and exercise at the same time. I know I'd rather burn a few hundred calories than a few dollars.

Another great short distance option for people of all ages: Scooters/Mopeds. You get ridiculous mileage on them and they're actually a ton of fun to ride once you get over looking like a tool. Also, they don't require a license if under a certain engine size, so they're even better for people who don't have theirs yet.
 
I don't think American culture is quite ready for 90% of our population to be biking and walking lol. Not to mention that it is usually very inconvenient to walk most places you need to go. I think more use of carpooling and/or public transportation where available would be a more practicable option here. Also, drivers and road conditions aren't very "bicyclist friendly." I'd be scared to ride a bicycle down the streets I come through to get to work.
 
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