w****t
发帖数: 1849 | 1 1. Avoid “jack-rabbit” starts; accelerate gently—Accelerating the mass of
a car uses more fuel than any other facet of driving; imagine there’s a
raw egg between your right foot and the accelerator pedal which you don’t
want to break.
Slow down—Not necessarily a lot, but how about actually following the
speed limit? Typically, the faster you go, the higher the aerodynamic and
drivetrain friction losses, so it takes more fuel to maintain a higher speed
. Remember however, that traveling slower than the flow of traffic can cause
a safety hazard. You may want to even consider driving in one of the “
slower” lanes on the freeway, and let more-aggressive drivers waste their
own fuel in the “fast” lane.
2. Anticipate slow or stopped traffic ahead—When you see stopped or slow
traffic, or a red light at an intersection ahead, take your foot off of the
accelerator early and coast to a stop. There is no time savings attained by
zooming up to the light and then having to slam on the brakes. Cars use very
little fuel when coasting, and if you are driving a hybrid, they will
generally recharge the battery to further improve mileage. You may actually
find that if you coast up to a red street light, it will turn green by the
time you get there and you won’t need to stop at all.
3. No warm up needed—There is no need to let a modern car (vintage 1980s
and newer) warm up, or to race the engine upon start up. Follow the starting
instructions specified in your vehicle owner’s manual. Generally, it will
instruct you to start the car, put it in gear, and go without having to wait
and waste fuel warming up the engine.
4. Use the air conditioner sparingly—and only when necessary. Air
conditioning reduces fuel economy by placing an extra load on the engine.
This is more critical for older cars (1970s vintage and older) since newer
models generally have higher-efficiency air conditioning systems. However,
we would not want you to be too uncomfortable, so here is our recommendation
slowly (under about 45 mph), but close them and turn on the air conditioner
at higher speeds. Driving with the windows open can increase the
aerodynamic drag, and this effect increases proportionately with speed.
5. Vehicle maintenance—Keep your vehicle maintained according to the
manufacturer’s service schedule (that can be found in the owner’s manual).
Regular oil and filter changes, plus other services will keep everything
running smoothly, prolong the life of your vehicle, and save you gas in the
process. The manufacturer will also recommend other, more comprehensive
services at certain intervals. Spark plugs can now last as long as 100,000
miles on many new vehicles. Simple things like keeping your tires properly
inflated and your vehicle aligned will not only save you up to two percent
on gas for every pound they were under-inflated, but also prolong the life
of your tires and improve safety, ride, and handling. Track your fuel
economy; if it drops suddenly, have the cause determined and corrected.
6. Vehicle selection—Many families have more than one vehicle, so select
the one that meets the task at hand and don’t automatically jump into your
“battle cruiser” when the more fuel-efficient sedan will do. Consider
renting a fuel-efficient model for vacations and long trips to save on fuel
costs. Conversely, consider renting that full-size truck instead of buying
it if you only need its capabilities occasionally. Put the wear and tear on
the rental and save your daily driver.
7. “Get the junk out of your trunk”—Reducing the extra weight you carry
can save up to two percent fuel economy for every 100 lbs. you remove,
depending on the weight of the vehicle. Also lose the roof rack, since
carrying things on a roof rack increases aerodynamic drag and reduces fuel
economy year–round (no matter how cool the ski rack looks.)
8. Plan your route and combine trips—Simply combining shopping trips and
avoiding excessive idling (by parking and going into the fast food place or
bank instead of using the drive through) will save gas, and the walking may
improve your health. Choose a shopping center where you can park and walk to
most of the stores you need. Also look at your work schedule; can you shift
your working hours to avoid bumper to bumper traffic? Is carpooling an
option? Both can save you gas and reduce vehicle wear.
9. Gasoline—See your owner’s manual for the recommended grade of fuel for
your vehicle. If it says “regular unleaded gasoline” is recommended,
using anything else is a waste of money; if it says “premium required” you
should use it for proper vehicle operation. However, when your manual says
mid-grade or premium “recommended,” read carefully; sometimes it indicates
you can use regular unleaded to save money, but you may experience reduced
power and/or a small reduction in fuel economy. Keep your eye open for low
fuel prices, but don’t waste gas driving to a distant filling station to
save a few cents per gallon.
10. Hypermiling—During the summer of 2008 when gas prices set record highs
, a subculture phenomenon called “hypermiling” appeared. This practice
uses extreme and often unsafe methods (above and beyond those described here
) of obtaining extremely high mpg. These methods include: drafting heavy-
duty trucks by following them very closely (this is very dangerous—don’t
do this), allowing vehicle speed to drop to near zero as you approach the
crest of an upgrade or hill, and then shutting off the engine and coasting
down the hill (this is also not safe, since you have no power steering and
limited, if any power brakes), ignoring red lights/stop signs (which is
illegal and very dangerous), or driving through residential neighborhoods to
avoid having to stop (which is unsafe as well as annoying for the residents
of the neighborhoods.) | I*D
发帖数: 40035 | | w****t
发帖数: 1849 | | l**4
发帖数: 853 | 4 warm up not needed?
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【在 w****t 的大作中提到】
: 1. Avoid “jack-rabbit” starts; accelerate gently—Accelerating the mass of
: a car uses more fuel than any other facet of driving; imagine there’s a
: raw egg between your right foot and the accelerator pedal which you don’t
: want to break.
: Slow down—Not necessarily a lot, but how about actually following the
: speed limit? Typically, the faster you go, the higher the aerodynamic and
: drivetrain friction losses, so it takes more fuel to maintain a higher speed
: . Remember however, that traveling slower than the flow of traffic can cause
: a safety hazard. You may want to even consider driving in one of the “
: slower” lanes on the freeway, and let more-aggressive drivers waste their
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