Gas saving tips

I've seen many gas saving tips scattered through hundreds of posts on the forum, but I thought it might be a good idea to corral them all into one thread. If that's been done before, please forgive me. (Sorry if it's there and I missed it.) So I thougt it might be good to start a thread to deal with ONLY suggestions for improving gas mileage.

Here are the primary things I've found on the forum to help save gas. And thanks to the many members who have furnished them...very sorry I can't quote your names.

1. Keep the revs at 2500 or below...in ANY gear.
2. Use the cruise control whenever possible.
3. If you're going to cruise at 45 mph, speed up to 48 or so, and let the tranny shift into a higher gear. You'll see the tach drop. Then you can slow down to 42 or so without the tranny shifting down again.
4. Install a bed cover. Should save you about 1 mpg on the highway.
5. Ethanol reduces your mpg by about 15-20%.
6. Drink Jack Daniel's. It helps you forget about gas mileage. :D

Thanks for sharing your suggestions about improving gas mileage. With gas approaching four bucks a gallon, any help is appreciated.
Tom

6. Drink Jack Daniel's. It helps you forget about gas mileage. :D Tom

First of all, suggestion 6 works best for me.

Beyond that, I've noticed that the A/C compressor seems to run even when it's cold out. I push the button to turn it off when I don't need it. I can't say for sure, but I got to believe this saves gas.

Same here although, be careful with the Cruise control... if the terrain you're driving is hilly and transcends quite a bit I find it most fuel efficient to tickle the throttle and work through the hills yourself than letting the cruise control down shift and waste Gas every time it kicks down a gear to move up the hills (at least the long stretches of hill on the highways...)

OK... here's a couple easy ones we all can do...
Don't allow your truck to idle for extended periods of time.
Watching the display on my Scangauge during idling, the Ridgeline evidently burns enough gas to decrease mpg by .1mpg [point one mpg] for every ten seconds of idle time.
This loss adds up with extended warm-up periods during cold weather, extended cabin-cooling with AC blasting during hot weather, while parked and waiting for passengers, drive-thru's, loading of the bed at store loading zones, and also sitting and enjoying your sound system. :p :o

And try to "keep it light".
Unload all the stuff you don't need to have in your truck. There's no need to have that 150lb box full of tools in your truck if you're not going to be using them on a daily basis, and for your wallet's sake, keep your bed, trunk, and rear cabin clear of unnecessary items. The weight adds-up quickly.

Being that my daily commute to and from work is only 12 miles, I've often wondered if keeping my gas tank over 3/4 full is such a good idea. Maybe if it was kept "leaner" at less than 1/2, the lighter load would contribute to more miles per gallon. There's a station between home and work where I could gas-up if need be.

Alot of time is spent concentrating on methods for more substantial gains (over 1-2mpg), so these little "nit-picky" ones often will be overlooked.

just my .02.
:)

:cool: I found that keeping the key out of the ignition is the best way to save on gas. Although the driving experience is hampered a bit...just sitting in my RL is satisfaction enough!!! :D

Has anyone with a scangauge experimented with the active use of coasting? I have another vehicle with an extremely accurate mpg display. If I don't touch it after resetting at fillup, it will consistently be within 0.1 mpg of the calculated mpg at the next fillup. I have been taking this vehicle out of gear going downhill and it seems to increase overall fuel economy, albeit only about 5%. This issue, especially for me, has too many variables for my normal driving experiences to reach definitive conclusions.

For the RL, I have found the rpms should be kept as close to 2k as possible. Although I really hate to admit it, driving 60mph is, as others have posted, a way to save fuel. I have a 11 mile one way commute that is posted 55mph the whole way and is heavily patrolled. Slowing down to 58mph (just less than 2k rpms) really has helped. That's the good news. The bad news is how abysmal my fuel economy would be if I didn't!

Has anyone with a scangauge experimented with the active use of coasting?
For the RL, I have found the rpms should be kept as close to 2k as possible.

Geotech, I hadn't seen that the RL needs to maintain 2k RPMs. Does that mean you don't take it out of gear and coast from time to time? I've done that for years with my '03 Accord. Should it NOT be done with the RL??
Tom

Geotech, I hadn't seen that the RL needs to maintain 2k RPMs. Does that mean you don't take it out of gear and coast from time to time? I've done that for years with my '03 Accord. Should it NOT be done with the RL??
Tom
No, I have been taking the vehicle out of gear to coast downhill. I was wondering what the "freight" is on re-engaging the tranny and then going up hill on let's say saddle back type hills. I think since it downshifts so easily on even a minor positive grade that coasting downhill or not really doesn't change the uphill fuel economy. On my other vehicle with the mpg computer, coasting makes a quantifiable difference over just letting off on the pedal and/or allowing cruise to do that for you, especially if you accelerate during the negative grade run. Will this technique give you law enforcement immunity for doing your part for energy conservation? ;) Oh and yes, there really are hills in Kansas. :p (you all know Kansas, it rhymes with "NCAA Men's National Basketball Champions") :D

For you Nancy's out there, don't let your RL warm up for several minutes, especially unoccupied, that's just an invitation. Just get in and go! The RL heats up pretty fast.

I can't believe how many cars I see, even when the temp is about 30 degrees that are sitting there warming up.

If the drive thru has more than two cars, I go in. No sense idling there either.

For you Nancy's out there, don't let your RL warm up for several minutes, especially unoccupied, that's just an invitation. Just get in and go! The RL heats up pretty fast.

I can't believe how many cars I see, even when the temp is about 30 degrees that are sitting there warming up.

If the drive thru has more than two cars, I go in. No sense idling there either.
Yea, just jump in, slug and go!

Starting slow after the traffic light turns green saves you some gas. When I see people going 0-35 mph in 3 seconds...

I lost some weight to help with gas milage;) ..... Every 500 lbs of added weight is a lose of 1 mpg....

geotech,

An mpg killer but worth it - navigating victory parade traffic heading out of Lawrence! :D

geotech,

An mpg killer but worth it - navigating victory parade traffic heading out of Lawrence! :D
Wish I could have been there! Glad you were able to attend. Looked like a tremendous turnout and parade on the news. Proud Hawks Wear Blue.

Thanks to everyone who contributed info for this thread. I've tried to give credit for each person's comments. Looks like the list is complete, since no one has added to it in a while.

The loooong list below ("Gas Saving Tips") has been compiled from recommendations from forum members and suggestions I found on several different websites. Hope all this is helpful.

Gas Saving Tips

1. Keep the revs at 2500 or below...in ANY gear.

2. Use the cruise control whenever possible.

3. If you're going to cruise at 45 mph, speed up to 48 or so, and let the tranny shift into a higher gear. You'll see the tach drop. Then you can slow down to 42 or so without the tranny shifting down again.

4. Install a bed cover. Should save you about 1 mpg on the highway.

5. Ethanol reduces your mpg by about 15-20%.

6. Drink Jack Daniel's. It helps you forget about gas mileage.

7. I've noticed that the A/C compressor seems to run even when it's cold out. I push the button to turn it off when I don't need it. I can't say for sure, but I’ve got to believe this saves gas. (Bruce)

8. Be careful with the Cruise control... if the terrain you're driving is hilly and transcends quite a bit, I find it most fuel efficient to tickle the throttle and work through the hills yourself, rather than letting the cruise control down shift and waste gas every time it kicks down a gear to move up the hills (at least the long stretches of hill on the highways). (Stackedape)

9. Don't allow your truck to idle for extended periods of time.
Watching the display on my Scangauge during idling, the Ridgeline evidently burns enough gas to decrease mpg by .1mpg [point one mpg] for every ten seconds of idle time.
This loss adds up with extended warm-up periods during cold weather, extended cabin-cooling with AC blasting during hot weather, while parked and waiting for passengers, drive-thru's, loading of the bed at store loading zones, and also sitting and enjoying your sound system. (Pug)

10. Try to "keep it light". Unload all the stuff you don't need to have in your truck. There's no need to have that 150lb box full of tools in your truck if you're not going to be using them on a daily basis, and for your wallet's sake, keep your bed, trunk, and rear cabin clear of unnecessary items. The weight adds-up quickly.

Being that my daily commute to and from work is only 12 miles, I've often wondered if keeping my gas tank over 3/4 full is such a good idea. Maybe if it was kept "leaner" at less than 1/2, the lighter load would contribute to more miles per gallon. There's a station between home and work where I could gas-up if need be. Alot of time is spent concentrating on methods for more substantial gains (over 1-2mpg), so these little "nit-picky" ones often will be overlooked. (Pug)

11. I lost some weight to help with gas mileage. Every 500 lbs of added weight is a loss of one mpg. (xridgelinex)

12. Don't let your RL warm up for several minutes, especially unoccupied, that's just an invitation. Just get in and go! The RL heats up pretty fast. I can't believe how many cars I see, even when the temp is about 30 degrees, that are sitting there warming up.

If the drive thru has more than two cars, I go in. No sense idling there either. (wrenrj1)

13. Put your seat belt on, THEN start your engine. Amazing how many people do this in reverse order, wasting gas with the truck idling while they put their seat belt on.

14. You can increase gas mileage up to 10% just by changing your air filter, according to the EPA's FuelEconomy.com site. Change your auto's air filter at least every six months.

15. Inflate your tires properly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates one-in-four cars and one-in-three light trucks and SUVs has one or more tires under-inflated by 8 pounds per square inch (psi) or more. The EPA estimates that for every 1 psi of under-inflation, fuel economy drops by 0.4%. That's not much, but if the tires are under-inflated by 8 pounds, that's a 3.2% drop in fuel economy. About 1.2 billion gallons of fuel are wasted annually due to under-inflated tires, the NHTSA estimated in 2005.

16. Don't start and stop engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the gas amount equivalent to when you start the engine.

17. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Keep in mind - gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to "volume of measurement".

18. Avoid filling gas tank to top. Overfilling results in sloshing over and out of tank. Never fill gas tank past the first "click" of fuel nozzle, if nozzle is automatic.

19. Keep windows closed when traveling at highway speeds. Open windows cause air drag, reducing your mileage by 10%.

20. Think ahead when approaching hills. If you accelerate, do it before you reach the hill, not while you're on it.

21. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas.

Thanks to everyone who contributed info for this thread. I've tried to give credit for each person's comments. Looks like the list is complete, since no one has added to it in a while.

The loooong list below ("Gas Saving Tips") has been compiled from recommendations from forum members and suggestions I found on several different websites. Hope all this is helpful.

Gas Saving Tips

1. Keep the revs at 2500 or below...in ANY gear.

2. Use the cruise control whenever possible.

3. If you're going to cruise at 45 mph, speed up to 48 or so, and let the tranny shift into a higher gear. You'll see the tach drop. Then you can slow down to 42 or so without the tranny shifting down again.

4. Install a bed cover. Should save you about 1 mpg on the highway.

5. Ethanol reduces your mpg by about 15-20%.

6. Drink Jack Daniel's. It helps you forget about gas mileage.

7. I've noticed that the A/C compressor seems to run even when it's cold out. I push the button to turn it off when I don't need it. I can't say for sure, but I’ve got to believe this saves gas. (Bruce)

8. Be careful with the Cruise control... if the terrain you're driving is hilly and transcends quite a bit, I find it most fuel efficient to tickle the throttle and work through the hills yourself, rather than letting the cruise control down shift and waste gas every time it kicks down a gear to move up the hills (at least the long stretches of hill on the highways). (Stackedape)

9. Don't allow your truck to idle for extended periods of time.
Watching the display on my Scangauge during idling, the Ridgeline evidently burns enough gas to decrease mpg by .1mpg [point one mpg] for every ten seconds of idle time.
This loss adds up with extended warm-up periods during cold weather, extended cabin-cooling with AC blasting during hot weather, while parked and waiting for passengers, drive-thru's, loading of the bed at store loading zones, and also sitting and enjoying your sound system. (Pug)

10. Try to "keep it light". Unload all the stuff you don't need to have in your truck. There's no need to have that 150lb box full of tools in your truck if you're not going to be using them on a daily basis, and for your wallet's sake, keep your bed, trunk, and rear cabin clear of unnecessary items. The weight adds-up quickly.

Being that my daily commute to and from work is only 12 miles, I've often wondered if keeping my gas tank over 3/4 full is such a good idea. Maybe if it was kept "leaner" at less than 1/2, the lighter load would contribute to more miles per gallon. There's a station between home and work where I could gas-up if need be. Alot of time is spent concentrating on methods for more substantial gains (over 1-2mpg), so these little "nit-picky" ones often will be overlooked. (Pug)

11. I lost some weight to help with gas mileage. Every 500 lbs of added weight is a loss of one mpg. (xridgelinex)

12. Don't let your RL warm up for several minutes, especially unoccupied, that's just an invitation. Just get in and go! The RL heats up pretty fast. I can't believe how many cars I see, even when the temp is about 30 degrees, that are sitting there warming up.

If the drive thru has more than two cars, I go in. No sense idling there either. (wrenrj1)

13. Put your seat belt on, THEN start your engine. Amazing how many people do this in reverse order, wasting gas with the truck idling while they put their seat belt on.

14. You can increase gas mileage up to 10% just by changing your air filter, according to the EPA's FuelEconomy.com site. Change your auto's air filter at least every six months.

15. Inflate your tires properly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates one-in-four cars and one-in-three light trucks and SUVs has one or more tires under-inflated by 8 pounds per square inch (psi) or more. The EPA estimates that for every 1 psi of under-inflation, fuel economy drops by 0.4%. That's not much, but if the tires are under-inflated by 8 pounds, that's a 3.2% drop in fuel economy. About 1.2 billion gallons of fuel are wasted annually due to under-inflated tires, the NHTSA estimated in 2005.

16. Don't start and stop engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the gas amount equivalent to when you start the engine.

17. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Keep in mind - gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to "volume of measurement".

18. Avoid filling gas tank to top. Overfilling results in sloshing over and out of tank. Never fill gas tank past the first "click" of fuel nozzle, if nozzle is automatic.

19. Keep windows closed when traveling at highway speeds. Open windows cause air drag, reducing your mileage by 10%.

20. Think ahead when approaching hills. If you accelerate, do it before you reach the hill, not while you're on it.

21. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas.I'll add one more to your long list. WALK!

I'll add one more to your long list. WALK!

^^:D , Does a good coat of wax count? I could never do 60mph on the freeway. Those people usually creat accidents. And believe it or not I get better mpg's doing 70mph than 65mph.

I question the cruise control advice first given by Tom.

I only question it because I distinctly remember in an episode of Top Gear a couple seasons ago, Jeremy Clarkson is trying to make this really long road trip on one tank of gas and the on-board computer calculated far better gas mileage when he was not using Cruise and modulated the throttle manually. I've always felt cruise is best for achieving higher MPG, but that episode threw me a curve ball!

Has anyone experimented with MPG with a Scanguage using Cruise for say a 50 miles stint, whenever possible, then trying to manually maintain the same speed for same distance? That would be pretty fun to see.

Awesome idea for a thread! :cool:

EDIT: link to autoBlog's thread with the Top Gear video linked: Video: Top Gear attempts 800 miles on a single tank - Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/12/video-top-gear-attempts-800-miles-on-a-single-tank/)

I question the cruise control advice first given by Tom.

I only question it because I distinctly remember in an episode of Top Gear a couple seasons ago, Jeremy Clarkson is trying to make this really long road trip on one tank of gas and the on-board computer calculated far better gas mileage when he was not using Cruise and modulated the throttle manually. I've always felt cruise is best for achieving higher MPG, but that episode threw me a curve ball!

Has anyone experimented with MPG with a Scanguage using Cruise for say a 50 miles stint, whenever possible, then trying to manually maintain the same speed for same distance? That would be pretty fun to see.

Awesome idea for a thread! :cool:

EDIT: link to autoBlog's thread with the Top Gear video linked: Video: Top Gear attempts 800 miles on a single tank - Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/12/video-top-gear-attempts-800-miles-on-a-single-tank/)

General, I also wondered if using the cruise control really does save gas. In checking on this, I ran across an article on Edmunds.com in which they did several tests to determine what things really do increase gas mileage. Using cruise control was one of the things they tested. Here are their results........

Test #3 Use Cruise Control

Result: Surprisingly effective way to save gas

Cold Hard Facts: Up to 14% savings, average savings of 7 percent

Recommendation: If you've got it, use it.

But one note....mountain driving is different. Here's the quote from Edmunds.com.... "if you are in a mountainous area you should turn off cruise. It will try to keep you up to the speed you've set and will use a lot of extra gas downshifting to lower gears to accomplish this."

Here's the link to the entire Edmunds.com article if anyone wants to check it out.... We Test the Tips (http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/106842/article.html#test3)

For the RL, I have found the rpms should be kept as close to 2k as possible.

I've found that I can maintain about 65 mph on flat ground at just under 2000 rpm. I can get about 72 mph at just over 2000 rpm. Unless I'm going over 75, it won't bump over 3 grand on a downshift (grade logic).

Just my http://www.djeaux.com/images/chaos/twocents.gif, but I differ a little from Tcape about cruise: I've thought for several years (through two Odysseys & the Ridgeline) that "grade logic" does not help fuel economy very much & quite possibly hurts it by constantly putting engine revs out of the driver's control. In hilly or rolling terrain, cruise control is a bad thing anyway, but even on a mildly rolling I-state, the Honda grade logic system just sucks gas. On flat ground in light traffic, the cruise is great. But when grade logic starts kicking in on mild inclines on the edge of the Mississippi Delta, I frankly don't see the "logic" in it...

$3.39/gallon here in Upper Margaritaville. 61 centavos more & as much as I love it, the Ridgeline is going to join my gallery of "formerly owned vehicles," even if I take a loss on it :(

I've found that I can maintain about 65 mph on flat ground at just under 2000 rpm. I can get about 72 mph at just over 2000 rpm. Unless I'm going over 75, it won't bump over 3 grand on a downshift (grade logic).

Just my http://www.djeaux.com/images/chaos/twocents.gif, but I differ a little from Tcape about cruise: I've thought for several years (through two Odysseys & the Ridgeline) that "grade logic" does not help fuel economy very much & quite possibly hurts it by constantly putting engine revs out of the driver's control. In hilly or rolling terrain, cruise control is a bad thing anyway, but even on a mildly rolling I-state, the Honda grade logic system just sucks gas. On flat ground in light traffic, the cruise is great. But when grade logic starts kicking in on mild inclines on the edge of the Mississippi Delta, I frankly don't see the "logic" in it...

$3.39/gallon here in Upper Margaritaville. 61 centavos more & as much as I love it, the Ridgeline is going to join my gallery of "formerly owned vehicles," even if I take a loss on it :(
OK, so what is the difference between "grade logic" and not having enough torque for its weight to keep the tranny locked at 2k rpm on a slight positive grade? :confused:

My average mileage used to be consistently be in the 15.1-15.4 range. Not great, but most of my time is spent crawling in rush hour on my 8 mile commute to and from work.

I decided to see what a difference it would make if I simply drove less aggressively. Now, I used to race motorcycles so speed is in my blood, and I drive fast (80 when possible), take off fairly quickly, and brake very quickly. For three tanks of gas now all I did was accelerate normally, pretty much do the speed limit (60 in a 55, and the posted speed limit where its 60 or 65) and try not to be on the gas so much heading up to a stop.

For two tanks now I have gone 300 miles and consistently gotten about 16.6. Thats about an 8-10% jump simply by driving less aggressively, which I was pretty thrilled with.

Well, I've just had my first fill up from a full tank on my new Ridge! At a little over 400 miles on the odometer, I got 20.8 mpg on about 178 miles of driving. This is about 50% suburban stop and go and 50% highway. Of course, that's only one fillup so we'll have to wait and see how the mileage averages out over several tanks of gas. Nonetheless, it was much better than I expected. I've followed most all of the gas saving tips mentioned on this thread to get there.

One tip I'll add, and I think it is crucial toward getting great gas mileage: look way down the road (1/4 to 1/2 mile) at the upcoming stoplights and when you see them turn red, let up off the gas and let the vehicle coast up to the red light. Ideally you'll coast to a stop just as you get to the light without applying the brakes (of course, it never works out that way but it's worth shooting for). Typically I am coasting at 25 mph or less just before getting to the light, at which time I apply the brakes to stop. Of course, you need to be aware of the traffic in front of and behind you, but you get the idea. There will also be occasions when they turn red just before you get there and you have to hit the brakes hard to stop! We're talking averages here.

I squeeze 38 to 42 mpg out of my Saturn SL using techniques like this and they seem to work with the Ridge as well, at least so far! Those of you in strictly city driving may not be able to do this as well, but for those of us in suburbia, give it a shot! It really works...

Cheers,
Wolverine

stay home, walk, or ride a bicycle ...

Has anyone tried a new chip?
http://slrmotorsports.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=338
Promises(estimates) 3-6 more MPG for only....$69.99
Would this void any warranties?

I drive about 50 miles R/T back and forth to work. The traffic can be pretty heavy in Northern Virginia and the lights are long. I have 12k on the Ridge. Here are my tips ...

Try and stay below 2500 rpm when accelerating and no hard braking.

Run your tires (OEM) at 35 PSI.

When you get stuck at those long lights (usually anywhere from 1 - 3 minutes or longer) or get caught in some kind of jam due to another car having an accident, turn the Ridge off if you can safely do it. Watch the cars around you and you can tell when your turn to go is coming up.

I average pretty close to 17 MPG combined. Exactly what my Tacoma used to get dn it was 2 wheel drive.

PS: Don't use the cruise unless the road is absolutely flat, which is near inpossible in Virginia. :D

I'm going to plug in the compressor again....or trade in the LTX M/S for some softer tires. I don't like the hard ride so I dropped to 30psi and lost 2mpg, then went up to 33psi and gained it back. Maybe I'll bounce around at 35psi for a tank and see if I get another couple MPG so I can top my 19.75 best!