With today’s absurd gasoline prices, it’s more important than ever to know what kind of fuel mileage your vehicle is getting. I’ve had people tell me that they intend to sell their truck and buy a car to save on gas. Funny thing is that when I ask about what kind of mileage they’re getting on the truck, they never seem to know.
Here’s how you calculate your vehicle’s fuel mielage:
1. Fill your tank at the usual gas station using a medium fill rate – set the handle if you can, or else hold it so that the pump is not running as fast or as slow as it can. Once it stops, don’t try to top off the tank.
2. Get a receipt.
3. Write the pump number and your current mileage on back of the receipt. Cross through the number of gallons of gas purchased (not important), and store it safely in the glove compartment.
4. Drive until you use at least half of the tank.
5. Visit the same gas station.
6. Remove the receipt from the glove box and refill the tank at the same pump number, using the same moderate fill rate.
7. Write down your current mileage.
8. When the tank is full, get another receipt.
9. Subtract one mileage figure from the other to determine how many miles you’ve driven. Then divide that number by the number of gallons of gas you bought on the second receipt.
The result is your miles per gallon rating. Typically after using a half tank of gas, you’ll probably have driven about 150 miles. Depending on your vehicle and driving habits, you may have purchased from 5 to 10 gallons of gas giving you from 15 to 30 mpg.
Do the math before you consider changing vehicles to reduce your gas bill. If you trade a vehicle that’s worth less than you owe, you will have to save many gallons of gas just to break even. If the replacement vehicle is uncomfortable or doesn’t fit your needs, you may not be better off.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Save Money on Gas - Try Regular Unleaded Instead of Premium
There was a news story this week about the feasibility of running a vehicle which specifies using Premium fuel on Regular Unleaded. The vehicle in question was a Mercedes Benz and an import specialist adamantly opposed the idea citing consequences from poor fuel mileage to sever internal engine damage.
If you drive a GM vehicle that recommends using Premium Grade fuel, you definitely want to check your owner’s manual. It may just say something like this:
If your vehicle has the 6.2L V8 engine (VIN Code W), use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane rating of 91 or higher. You can also use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher, but your vehicle’s acceleration could be slightly reduced, and you might notice a slight audible knocking noise, commonly referred to as spark knock. If the octane is less than 87, you might notice a heavy knocking noise when you drive. If this occurs, use a gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could damage the engine.
This is a quote from the 2008 Corvette owner’s manual. If any car were to “require” premium fuel, it would certainly be GM’s performance flagship. In all fairness, on the Z06 7.0 liter optional engine, it suggests using regular grade only in an “emergency.”
Years ago, my GM service representative put it to me this way; certain GM models carry performance expectations. It order for those vehicles to achieve those expectations they require Premium fuel to get the very last bit of horsepower to the ground.
So, unless you regularly run flat-out on the Autobahn, check your owner’s manual and see if you can save .20 - .40 per gallon on gasoline.
If you drive a GM vehicle that recommends using Premium Grade fuel, you definitely want to check your owner’s manual. It may just say something like this:
If your vehicle has the 6.2L V8 engine (VIN Code W), use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane rating of 91 or higher. You can also use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher, but your vehicle’s acceleration could be slightly reduced, and you might notice a slight audible knocking noise, commonly referred to as spark knock. If the octane is less than 87, you might notice a heavy knocking noise when you drive. If this occurs, use a gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could damage the engine.
This is a quote from the 2008 Corvette owner’s manual. If any car were to “require” premium fuel, it would certainly be GM’s performance flagship. In all fairness, on the Z06 7.0 liter optional engine, it suggests using regular grade only in an “emergency.”
Years ago, my GM service representative put it to me this way; certain GM models carry performance expectations. It order for those vehicles to achieve those expectations they require Premium fuel to get the very last bit of horsepower to the ground.
So, unless you regularly run flat-out on the Autobahn, check your owner’s manual and see if you can save .20 - .40 per gallon on gasoline.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Engine Oil – There’s more to it than you think.
Most owner’s manuals will recommend that the engine oil be checked at each gas fill-up. If your vehicle has over 100,000 miles you may need to check it more often. Similarly, a fairly new vehicle could run the entire oil change interval without using any oil. Of course leaking oil is another story. I check my engine oil tire pressures and various other fluids and lights once a month.
Owner’s manuals always have an illustration of where the dipstick is and what the indicators on the stick refer to. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to check the oil level on a warm engine after it has been off for a few minutes. Some engines can require up to 20 minutes for all the oil that has been pumped up to the top of the engine to drain all the way back down to the oil pan. Next locate and remove the dipstick, don’t bother trying to read it yet, just wipe it with a clean rag and push it back into the dipstick tube. Now pull it back out and read the oil level. The reason for the duplicity is due to the fact that oil splashes around inside the engine all the time. The initial reading would have measured the splash level not the actual reserve level. It’s usually pretty easy to see the level indicated on the stick and most dipsticks have hash marks, like a bunch of x’s, to show the normal operating range. Others may have notches cut out of the edge to indicate the low and high range of the scale.
Years ago most cars used a 10W/40 motor oil. Today there is 5W/20 and I’ve even seen a 0W/20. What these numbers indicate is the viscosity of the oil. Viscosity is a resistance to flow and it’s measured by timing how long it takes for a specific quantity of oil to flow through a fixed opening (like sand in an hour glass). The thicker it is, the higher the viscosity. Honey may have a viscosity of about 80 where water is probably about 5. The fact that there are two viscosities in 5W/30 oil indicates a multi-grade oil. This means that when the engine is cold, such as in the winter, the oil will act like a 5 weight oil allowing the engine to turn over easily and warm up quickly. When the temperatures increase, the oil is designed to perform like a 30 weight oil. It will sustain the heat and strain, keeping everything lubricated and cool. Do not mix oil grades! It’s OK to mix brands, but always use the same grade engine oil if you have to add.
Most engine oil is petroleum based but there are synthetic oils that have been developed to offer better protection than conventional. If your vehicle requires synthetic oil – use it. If not, then it’s up to you to decide if the additional cost is worth the benefit.
Do not mix synthetic oil with conventional, petroleum based oil.
Engine oil has three responsibilities, lubricating, cleaning and cooling the engine. Engine oil starts out a translucent golden color – not unlike honey. By the time it’s due to be changed it may be dark brown or even black. This does not indicate a problem. The color change is a result of the detergent in the oil removing carbon from inside the engine. Hard working engines, like diesels and small 4 cylinder models tend to accumulate more carbon and dirty the oil quicker.
As in the case of gasoline, there are many different manufacturers of engine oil. Some have more detergents, claim to be more heat tolerant or have better adhesion. Regardless of the type of oil you use, always verify that it has approval from the API or Automotive Petroleum Institute by checking for a starburst symbol on the bottle.
Owner’s manuals always have an illustration of where the dipstick is and what the indicators on the stick refer to. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to check the oil level on a warm engine after it has been off for a few minutes. Some engines can require up to 20 minutes for all the oil that has been pumped up to the top of the engine to drain all the way back down to the oil pan. Next locate and remove the dipstick, don’t bother trying to read it yet, just wipe it with a clean rag and push it back into the dipstick tube. Now pull it back out and read the oil level. The reason for the duplicity is due to the fact that oil splashes around inside the engine all the time. The initial reading would have measured the splash level not the actual reserve level. It’s usually pretty easy to see the level indicated on the stick and most dipsticks have hash marks, like a bunch of x’s, to show the normal operating range. Others may have notches cut out of the edge to indicate the low and high range of the scale.
Years ago most cars used a 10W/40 motor oil. Today there is 5W/20 and I’ve even seen a 0W/20. What these numbers indicate is the viscosity of the oil. Viscosity is a resistance to flow and it’s measured by timing how long it takes for a specific quantity of oil to flow through a fixed opening (like sand in an hour glass). The thicker it is, the higher the viscosity. Honey may have a viscosity of about 80 where water is probably about 5. The fact that there are two viscosities in 5W/30 oil indicates a multi-grade oil. This means that when the engine is cold, such as in the winter, the oil will act like a 5 weight oil allowing the engine to turn over easily and warm up quickly. When the temperatures increase, the oil is designed to perform like a 30 weight oil. It will sustain the heat and strain, keeping everything lubricated and cool. Do not mix oil grades! It’s OK to mix brands, but always use the same grade engine oil if you have to add.
Most engine oil is petroleum based but there are synthetic oils that have been developed to offer better protection than conventional. If your vehicle requires synthetic oil – use it. If not, then it’s up to you to decide if the additional cost is worth the benefit.
Do not mix synthetic oil with conventional, petroleum based oil.
Engine oil has three responsibilities, lubricating, cleaning and cooling the engine. Engine oil starts out a translucent golden color – not unlike honey. By the time it’s due to be changed it may be dark brown or even black. This does not indicate a problem. The color change is a result of the detergent in the oil removing carbon from inside the engine. Hard working engines, like diesels and small 4 cylinder models tend to accumulate more carbon and dirty the oil quicker.
As in the case of gasoline, there are many different manufacturers of engine oil. Some have more detergents, claim to be more heat tolerant or have better adhesion. Regardless of the type of oil you use, always verify that it has approval from the API or Automotive Petroleum Institute by checking for a starburst symbol on the bottle.
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