The Gorgeous CEO: Driving Tips - By Consumer Reports

Fuel Saving Driving Tips

Helpful advice on how to get the most mileage out of your vehicle.

How you drive your vehicle can have a big impact on fuel economy. That's the key finding of recent real-world fuel-economy tests performed by Consumer Reports' auto engineers. On the highway, driving smoothly and steadily and not carrying items on top of the vehicle are two of the most significant factors. In slower, city-driving conditions, driving with the engine warmed up and driving non aggressively made the greatest difference.

A series of tests conducted on two vehicles: a 2005 Toyota Camry sedan with a four-cylinder engine and automatic transmission and a V8-powered 2005 Mercury Mountaineer mid size SUV. They tested the effects of driving aggressively; carrying a car-top storage box; driving at faster and slower speeds on the highway; and driving with a cold engine, under inflated tires, a dirty air cleaner, and with the air conditioning running.

DRIVING TIPS THAT MAKE THE MOST DIFFERENCE

Minimize driving with a cold engine. Engines run most efficiently when they're warm. In their city-driving tests, making multiple short trips and starting the engine from cold reduced fuel economy for both the sedan and SUV.

Engines also produce more pollution and wear faster when they're cold. To minimize cold-engine driving, avoid making a lot of separate short trips with a cold engine. Instead, combine short trips into one so that the engine stays warm.

Drive smoothly. Avoid hard acceleration and braking whenever possible.

The harder you accelerate, the more fuel you use. Unnecessarily hard braking wastes the fuel you use to get up to speed. Drive smoothly and anticipate the movement of traffic. Use your brakes as little as possible, since every time you hit the brakes you are wasting fuel. Once up to speed on the highway, maintain a steady pace in top gear. Smooth acceleration, cornering, and braking not only save fuel but also extend the life of the engine, transmission, brakes, and tires.

Reduce unnecessary drag. At highway speeds, more than 50 percent of engine power goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag. Don't add to that drag by carrying things on top of your vehicle when you don't have to. Even driving with empty racks on the car reduces its fuel economy.

Slow down. Aerodynamic drag exponentially increases on the highway the faster you drive.

Driving at 75 mph instead of 65 reduced the Camry's gas mileage from 35 mpg to 30. For the Mountaineer, fuel economy fell from 21 mpg to 18. Slowing down to 55 mph improved the gas mileage by similar margins: The Camry improved to 40 mpg and the Mountaineer to 24 mpg.

IMPORTANT DRIVING TIPS THAT HAVE LITTLE EFFECT ON FUEL ECONOMY

Keep tires inflated. Tests show that driving on moderately under inflated tires is more of a safety concern than a fuel-economy issue. Tests was conducted on the two cars and they set the pressure in all four tires to 10 psi below that recommended by the automaker. This reduced highway fuel economy slightly, by about 1 mpg for the Camry and by a much smaller margin for the Mountaineer.

But more importantly, under inflated tires provide much less grip for turning and stopping and run much hotter. Overheated tires wear faster and can lead to a blowout. Check the pressure of your vehicle's tires at least once a month, when the tires are cold.

Also check the tires before and after long road trips. The recommended tire pressure is found on a label inside the car—usually in a doorjamb, inside the glove-box lid, or inside the fuel-filler lid.

Keep your air filter clean. According to their tests, driving with a dirty air filter in modern engines doesn't have a significant impact on fuel economy, as it did with older engines. While fuel economy didn't change, however, power output did. Both cars accelerated much more slowly with a dirty air cleaner. They drove both vehicles with their air cleaners restricted and found little difference in gas mileage with either engine. That's because modern engines use computers to precisely control the air/fuel ratio, depending on the amount of air coming in through the filter. Reducing airflow, therefore, caused the engines to automatically reduce the amount of fuel being used.

USING AIR CONDITIONING VS. OPENING THE WINDOWS

Air conditioning places more load on the engine, which can affect fuel economy. But some auto journalists say that opening the windows at highway speeds can affect fuel economy even more by disrupting the vehicle's aerodynamics. In their tests they found that neither makes enough of a difference in fuel economy to worry about. Using air conditioning while driving at 65 mph reduced gas mileage in both vehicles by about 1 mpg-it might make more of a difference if you drive faster. The effect of opening the windows at 65 mph was not even measurable. Because air conditioning can help keep you comfortable and alert and because most modern cars use it, they suggest that the small trade-off in fuel economy for increased safety is worthwhile.

DON'T USE PREMIUM FUEL UNNECESSARILY

If your car specifies regular fuel, don't buy premium under the mistaken belief that your engine will run better. Most cars are designed to run just fine on regular gasoline. Furthermore, many cars that recommend premium fuel also run well on regular. Check your owner's manual to find out if your engine is designed to handle either grade. Think twice about using the more expensive gas even if your owner's manual suggests "for optimum performance use premium."

It was found that the differences aren't perceivable during normal driving. However, if your car "pings" or knocks with lower grade fuel, buy premium.

PAYING FOR PREMIUM GAS CAN BE A WASTE OF MONEY

Many people use premium gasoline in the belief that it's better for engines than regular. That can be a costly mistake, especially during times of high fuel prices. Most cars are designed to run just fine on regular gasoline. Octane grades don't represent a "good, better, best" choice; they simply measure the resistance of fuel to knocking or pinging, a condition in which gasoline burns uncontrollably in the engine's combustion chambers. Knocking and pinging can damage an engine.

While high-octane formulations resist knocking better than lower octanes, most engines are designed to take regular gas, which has an octane rating of about 87. Engines requiring premium gas are typically the more powerful ones found in sports and luxury vehicles. Those engines use a very high compression ratio, making them more vulnerable to knocking, so recommended fuels have octane ratings of 91 or higher. Using premium gas in an engine designed to run on regular doesn't improve performance. It has been found that the differences aren't perceivable during normal driving.

Some engines for which premium gasoline is recommended can run on regular without problems. That's because the engine's knock-sensor system detects the presence of uncontrolled burning in the chambers. When it does, the engine's computer-control system retards engine timing, eliminating the knock but slightly reducing power. If you don't mind giving up some performance, you can run these engines on less-expensive regular gasoline. To check whether your engine is capable of running on regular gas, read your owner's manual or ask your dealership's service department. However, if your car "pings" or knocks with lower grade fuel, buy premium

Need advices on cars and how to get the best from your ride? Ask the expert here.

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Favourite Cars . . .

Volvo and Subaru seemed to be the "in" car in Singapore now. Everywhere, on the roads, in multi-storey car parks, or even by the roadside, there's bound to be a Volvo S60 2.0T or a Subaru Legacy 2.0R in sight. As more and more Singaporeans have higher purchasing power, they tend to afford better car makes. Even BMW and Mercedes seemed to be a thing of the past.

Here are a few sexy cars that never fail to make me drool :

NEWCOMER :

2008 AUDI R8

On Sale Date : Fall 2007 Body Style : 2-Door Coupe Category : Sports Cars Drive train : All-wheel drive Engine : 4.2-liter, 420-hp V8 Estimated Price : US$100,000 - US$120,000

Luxury Car :

2007 Aston Martin DB9