Summary: spelling and punctuation
[[Image:SpeedLimit.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by Teo/[http://www.flickr.com/photos/teo/27349033/ flickr]/CC]]
Does the thought of $4 per gallon of gas give you indigestion? If that sounds bad, what about when it hits five bucks? It's only a matter of time. We've got you covered when it comes to [http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_More_Than_40_Miles_Per_Gallon_Without_a_Hybrid hypermiling] and we outlined [http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Save_Gas_When_You_Drive the basics] a few years ago, but with the specter of $4 gas seemingly giving everyone in the country the jitters, it's worth revisiting the subject of saving gas.
Buy a [http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/01/nhtsa-closes-chevrolet-volt-investigation/ Volt]. Just kidding. Buying a new car is cheating.
This time, we'll leave hypermiling aside (not all commuters have the opportunity ? or the cajones ? to slip in a a few feet behind a barreling 18-wheeler to take advantage of its slipstream), revisit the key tried and true concepts, apply some geeky new options and come up with a strategy that ordinary drivers who own 5-year-old vehicles can use to reduce the impact of that $4 figure on their wallets.
==Vehicle Basics==
Time for a quick review of vehicle basics. Fuel consumption is largely a case of cause and effect. You do something and fuel economy either increases or decreases. Some variables are out of your control. For example, if you drive a minivan the basic body shape has an aerodynamic penalty that increases fuel consumption compared to a car with a lower drag coefficient. You can't do much about that unless you trade in the van. That being said, there are ways you can tweak any vehicle's characteristics to make it more fuel efficient.
* The higher the rolling resistance, the higher the fuel consumption penalty, so choose narrow tires where possible and keep them inflated to the maximum level recommended by the tire manufacturer. (Doing so will result in a harsher ride than if you use the car manufacturer's suggestion, but one that's more fuel efficient.) Under-inflated tires are dangerous and can increase fuel consumption by up to 25 percent.
[[Image:MPGChart.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo from the [http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml U.S. Department of Energy]]]
* The more weight you have to move around, the more gas you burn. Go through your car and get rid of any excess junk you're carrying around. If you live in Michigan, there's no need to be carrying golf clubs in the trunk year round. There is a fuel economy penalty of roughly 2 percent for every 100 pounds of stuff carried in a vehicle.
* You can't change the body shape, but you can reduce drag to boost fuel economy. Is your vehicle equipped with a roof rack you seldom use? Consider removing it. Like to parade around town with a flag stuck to the antenna proclaiming your love for the Yankees? Removing it not only reduces wind resistance, it may save your vehicle from an egging. You can always replace it with a bumper sticker ? that won't have any impact on your fuel economy. A special bulletin for you pickup truck owners who drive with the rear tailgate down or remove it altogether: Not only are you not reducing drag, you're actually increasing it. If you're going for better aerodynamics, install a cap that covers the entire bed instead.
* Keep it tuned up. A properly tuned vehicle operates more efficiently.
==Driver Behaviour==
Your driving habits can have a significant effect on fuel economy and this is something that you can easily modify.
* Avoid the drive-thru and idling. Edmunds (known for its car expertise) tested this issue and found that in real-life scenarios, turning off the engine to prevent idling for more than a minute resulted in [http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/we-test-the-tips.html fuel savings of up to 19 percent]. On a related note, avoid driving in rush hour when possible.
* If your vehicle is equipped with cruise control and you're on the highway, use it.
* Avoid aggressive driving. If you're going to squeal away from stoplights, hammer it to the next corner and jam on the brakes at the last possible instant, you are going to pay a significant fuel economy penalty. How significant? The good folks at Edmunds ran tests comparing driving like a maniac to driving more reasonably (not so pokey as to induce fist shaking from other drivers) and came up with impressive savings of between 31 percent and 37 percent. Wow. Forget all the rest of this stuff and just quit driving like you're auditioning for ''The Fast and the Furious 7''.
* Drive at the posted speed limit. While most vehicles hit a sweet spot for fuel economy between 35 mph and 55 mph, things rapidly go downhill as you increase your speed. There's a reason the national speed limit used to be 55 mph and it wasn't safety ? look up the 1970s energy crisis and the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act of 1974.
==Hack Your Drive==
One of the coolest new options available to the gadget geek or general smartphone slinger looking to save a few bucks at the pump is apps. Smartphones are equipped with a GPS, which immediately opens possibilities and with half a million or so apps available through Apple's App Store alone, there's a pretty good chance that every niche possible has been covered off. So we have apps that check for cheap gas, apps that steer you away from fuel-sucking traffic jams and apps that help you to maximize the efficiency of your route. Here are just a few of the more popular fuel saving offerings to get you started.
===[http://www.goecospeed.com/demo.html EcoSpeed]===
[[Image:EcoSpeed.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo from [http://www.goecospeed.com/ GoEcoSpeed.com]]]
Reviewed by our own [http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/ecospeed-app-saves-30-on-gas-with-clever-routing/ Gadget Lab], [http://www.goecospeed.com/demo.html eco:Speed] (currently available as a developer trial with iOS; Android and Windows Phone versions on their way) is a two-component app that claims to cut gas use by up to 30 percent. The first part plots the most efficient route for your destination in Google Maps, taking factors like local traffic conditions, number of stop signs and vehicle fuel consumption into account. It then displays feedback based on your driving style while getting there, based on your desired fuel economy savings. (Green light is good, naturally.)
===[http://www.bottlerocketapps.com/apps/fuelfinder/ Fuel Finder]===
This $2.99 iOS app could pay for itself on your first fill-up. Based on GPS (or your ZIP code), [http://www.bottlerocketapps.com/apps/fuelfinder/ Fuel Finder] searches gas stations within a defined radius to find the one currently advertising the lowest price, along with distance, directions and drive time to get there. Also shows services available (ATM, car wash, food) and lets you know if they sell diesel. You know, in case you drive a diesel.
===[http://www.waze.com/download/ Wayze]===
Available for iOS, Android, Windows Mobile (and even BlackBerry), [http://www.waze.com/download/ Wayze] is a free app that leverages the power of social media (and your GPS) to plot your optimal route and change it on the fly based on real-time reports of traffic jams, accidents and other fuel-burning obstacles.
==Hack Your Ride==
If you drive a vehicle built within the past 20 years, it will be equipped with a ECU* (or engine control unit), a box that monitors inputs from various engine sensors in real time, then controls functions such as engine idle, air-fuel mix and ignition timing. The ECU consists of hardware (microprocessors and sensors), plus software. And software can be hacked. By default, manufacturers program a vehicle's ECU to provide what they consider to be optimal settings for their average customer, balancing factors like acceleration and pollution controls against fuel economy. Gearheads have been hacking the software on their ECUs for years to coax better performance out of their vehicle without having to invest in expensive aftermarket upgrades. The same thing can be done in reverse ? hacking the ECU to maximize fuel economy at the cost of performance.
Reprogramming a car's ECU is not for the faint of heart. You'll need to find a mechanic (or enthusiast) who know how to do it, or for the do-it-yourselfers, expect to shell out at least a few hundred bucks in specialized equipment such as a pocket programmer. Have a look [http://www.thirdgen.org/promintro here] for all the gory details.
If you want to delve into the specifics for hacking a ECU/ECM, there are user groups out there for virtually every make and model of vehicle. You'd be best to check out the one specific to your car. Here's one for [http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/ecm-ecu-tuning/ Nissan] and another for [http://www.benzworld.org/forums/benzworld-help/1371348-mercedes-re-coding-reprogramming-bosch-ecu.html Mercedes].
Warning: hacking your ride by reprogramming or replacing its ECU could void your warranty.
*also referred to as a ECM (engine control module).
==What's the Best Strategy for Saving Gas?==
Going to extremes to save some fuel (like hacking your car's onboard computer) may appeal to the geek in you, and driving around with half a tank of gas instead of filling up to cut weight is going to add up to a few bucks over the course of a year, but when it comes down to a cost/benefit analysis there are a few measures that give you the biggest bang for the buck. With relatively little effort, it is entirely feasible to cut your fuel consumption by 30, 40 or even 50 percent. If you do nothing else, employ a strategy that features these five measures:
# Keep your tires to filled up. At the least to the car manufacturer's maximum pressure and ideally to the tire manufacturer's maximum. Really, how much effort does this take?
# Keep the vehicle tuned up properly. You'll save gas, but as an added benefit a well-maintained vehicle lasts longer. If you get an extra year or two of life out of your wheels, the savings compared to buying a new car would buy an entire tanker truck full of gas. Literally. (The average price of a new car is roughly $30,000 while a 9,000 gallon gasoline tanker truck carries $36,000 worth of gas at $4 per gallon.)
# Avoid the drive-thru, don't idle, and avoid driving in rush hour when possible.
# Stick to the speed limit and avoid the jackrabbit starts. Basically, study how a typical cab is driven and do the opposite. Driving conservatively may not be a rush, but counting the money you can save on gas during the year sure can be.
# Use your smartphone. Using apps to maximize your efficiency, combine errands, avoid traffic jams and locate the best gas price is cheap and easy. The money you save could even be used to justify the purchase of the next iPhone.
Does the thought of $4 per gallon of gas give you indigestion? If that sounds bad, what about when it hits five bucks? It's only a matter of time. We've got you covered when it comes to [http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_More_Than_40_Miles_Per_Gallon_Without_a_Hybrid hypermiling] and we outlined [http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Save_Gas_When_You_Drive the basics] a few years ago, but with the specter of $4 gas seemingly giving everyone in the country the jitters, it's worth revisiting the subject of saving gas.
Buy a [http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/01/nhtsa-closes-chevrolet-volt-investigation/ Volt]. Just kidding. Buying a new car is cheating.
This time, we'll leave hypermiling aside (not all commuters have the opportunity ? or the cajones ? to slip in a a few feet behind a barreling 18-wheeler to take advantage of its slipstream), revisit the key tried and true concepts, apply some geeky new options and come up with a strategy that ordinary drivers who own 5-year-old vehicles can use to reduce the impact of that $4 figure on their wallets.
==Vehicle Basics==
Time for a quick review of vehicle basics. Fuel consumption is largely a case of cause and effect. You do something and fuel economy either increases or decreases. Some variables are out of your control. For example, if you drive a minivan the basic body shape has an aerodynamic penalty that increases fuel consumption compared to a car with a lower drag coefficient. You can't do much about that unless you trade in the van. That being said, there are ways you can tweak any vehicle's characteristics to make it more fuel efficient.
* The higher the rolling resistance, the higher the fuel consumption penalty, so choose narrow tires where possible and keep them inflated to the maximum level recommended by the tire manufacturer. (Doing so will result in a harsher ride than if you use the car manufacturer's suggestion, but one that's more fuel efficient.) Under-inflated tires are dangerous and can increase fuel consumption by up to 25 percent.
[[Image:MPGChart.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo from the [http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml U.S. Department of Energy]]]
* The more weight you have to move around, the more gas you burn. Go through your car and get rid of any excess junk you're carrying around. If you live in Michigan, there's no need to be carrying golf clubs in the trunk year round. There is a fuel economy penalty of roughly 2 percent for every 100 pounds of stuff carried in a vehicle.
* You can't change the body shape, but you can reduce drag to boost fuel economy. Is your vehicle equipped with a roof rack you seldom use? Consider removing it. Like to parade around town with a flag stuck to the antenna proclaiming your love for the Yankees? Removing it not only reduces wind resistance, it may save your vehicle from an egging. You can always replace it with a bumper sticker ? that won't have any impact on your fuel economy. A special bulletin for you pickup truck owners who drive with the rear tailgate down or remove it altogether: Not only are you not reducing drag, you're actually increasing it. If you're going for better aerodynamics, install a cap that covers the entire bed instead.
* Keep it tuned up. A properly tuned vehicle operates more efficiently.
==Driver Behaviour==
Your driving habits can have a significant effect on fuel economy and this is something that you can easily modify.
* Avoid the drive-thru and idling. Edmunds (known for its car expertise) tested this issue and found that in real-life scenarios, turning off the engine to prevent idling for more than a minute resulted in [http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/we-test-the-tips.html fuel savings of up to 19 percent]. On a related note, avoid driving in rush hour when possible.
* If your vehicle is equipped with cruise control and you're on the highway, use it.
* Avoid aggressive driving. If you're going to squeal away from stoplights, hammer it to the next corner and jam on the brakes at the last possible instant, you are going to pay a significant fuel economy penalty. How significant? The good folks at Edmunds ran tests comparing driving like a maniac to driving more reasonably (not so pokey as to induce fist shaking from other drivers) and came up with impressive savings of between 31 percent and 37 percent. Wow. Forget all the rest of this stuff and just quit driving like you're auditioning for ''The Fast and the Furious 7''.
* Drive at the posted speed limit. While most vehicles hit a sweet spot for fuel economy between 35 mph and 55 mph, things rapidly go downhill as you increase your speed. There's a reason the national speed limit used to be 55 mph and it wasn't safety ? look up the 1970s energy crisis and the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act of 1974.
==Hack Your Drive==
One of the coolest new options available to the gadget geek or general smartphone slinger looking to save a few bucks at the pump is apps. Smartphones are equipped with a GPS, which immediately opens possibilities and with half a million or so apps available through Apple's App Store alone, there's a pretty good chance that every niche possible has been covered off. So we have apps that check for cheap gas, apps that steer you away from fuel-sucking traffic jams and apps that help you to maximize the efficiency of your route. Here are just a few of the more popular fuel saving offerings to get you started.
===[http://www.goecospeed.com/demo.html EcoSpeed]===
[[Image:EcoSpeed.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo from [http://www.goecospeed.com/ GoEcoSpeed.com]]]
Reviewed by our own [http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/ecospeed-app-saves-30-on-gas-with-clever-routing/ Gadget Lab], [http://www.goecospeed.com/demo.html eco:Speed] (currently available as a developer trial with iOS; Android and Windows Phone versions on their way) is a two-component app that claims to cut gas use by up to 30 percent. The first part plots the most efficient route for your destination in Google Maps, taking factors like local traffic conditions, number of stop signs and vehicle fuel consumption into account. It then displays feedback based on your driving style while getting there, based on your desired fuel economy savings. (Green light is good, naturally.)
===[http://www.bottlerocketapps.com/apps/fuelfinder/ Fuel Finder]===
This $2.99 iOS app could pay for itself on your first fill-up. Based on GPS (or your ZIP code), [http://www.bottlerocketapps.com/apps/fuelfinder/ Fuel Finder] searches gas stations within a defined radius to find the one currently advertising the lowest price, along with distance, directions and drive time to get there. Also shows services available (ATM, car wash, food) and lets you know if they sell diesel. You know, in case you drive a diesel.
===[http://www.waze.com/download/ Wayze]===
Available for iOS, Android, Windows Mobile (and even BlackBerry), [http://www.waze.com/download/ Wayze] is a free app that leverages the power of social media (and your GPS) to plot your optimal route and change it on the fly based on real-time reports of traffic jams, accidents and other fuel-burning obstacles.
==Hack Your Ride==
If you drive a vehicle built within the past 20 years, it will be equipped with a ECU* (or engine control unit), a box that monitors inputs from various engine sensors in real time, then controls functions such as engine idle, air-fuel mix and ignition timing. The ECU consists of hardware (microprocessors and sensors), plus software. And software can be hacked. By default, manufacturers program a vehicle's ECU to provide what they consider to be optimal settings for their average customer, balancing factors like acceleration and pollution controls against fuel economy. Gearheads have been hacking the software on their ECUs for years to coax better performance out of their vehicle without having to invest in expensive aftermarket upgrades. The same thing can be done in reverse ? hacking the ECU to maximize fuel economy at the cost of performance.
Reprogramming a car's ECU is not for the faint of heart. You'll need to find a mechanic (or enthusiast) who know how to do it, or for the do-it-yourselfers, expect to shell out at least a few hundred bucks in specialized equipment such as a pocket programmer. Have a look [http://www.thirdgen.org/promintro here] for all the gory details.
If you want to delve into the specifics for hacking a ECU/ECM, there are user groups out there for virtually every make and model of vehicle. You'd be best to check out the one specific to your car. Here's one for [http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/ecm-ecu-tuning/ Nissan] and another for [http://www.benzworld.org/forums/benzworld-help/1371348-mercedes-re-coding-reprogramming-bosch-ecu.html Mercedes].
Warning: hacking your ride by reprogramming or replacing its ECU could void your warranty.
*also referred to as a ECM (engine control module).
==What's the Best Strategy for Saving Gas?==
Going to extremes to save some fuel (like hacking your car's onboard computer) may appeal to the geek in you, and driving around with half a tank of gas instead of filling up to cut weight is going to add up to a few bucks over the course of a year, but when it comes down to a cost/benefit analysis there are a few measures that give you the biggest bang for the buck. With relatively little effort, it is entirely feasible to cut your fuel consumption by 30, 40 or even 50 percent. If you do nothing else, employ a strategy that features these five measures:
# Keep your tires to filled up. At the least to the car manufacturer's maximum pressure and ideally to the tire manufacturer's maximum. Really, how much effort does this take?
# Keep the vehicle tuned up properly. You'll save gas, but as an added benefit a well-maintained vehicle lasts longer. If you get an extra year or two of life out of your wheels, the savings compared to buying a new car would buy an entire tanker truck full of gas. Literally. (The average price of a new car is roughly $30,000 while a 9,000 gallon gasoline tanker truck carries $36,000 worth of gas at $4 per gallon.)
# Avoid the drive-thru, don't idle, and avoid driving in rush hour when possible.
# Stick to the speed limit and avoid the jackrabbit starts. Basically, study how a typical cab is driven and do the opposite. Driving conservatively may not be a rush, but counting the money you can save on gas during the year sure can be.
# Use your smartphone. Using apps to maximize your efficiency, combine errands, avoid traffic jams and locate the best gas price is cheap and easy. The money you save could even be used to justify the purchase of the next iPhone.
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/hMF5r7VuDFs/Get_Your_Car_to_Optimally_Sip_Texas_Tea
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