Increase Gas Mileage
Tips & Tactics

Reducing Your Car’s Emissions

There’s no way around it – cars pollute. They produce a number of emissions and greenhouse gasses that pollute the air and may contribute to climate change. But let’s be realistic – not everyone has the money or the inclination to run right out and buy an all-electric car or a hybrid. Still, there are a few simple changes you can make to reduce your car’s emissions – and maybe even save some money in the process.

Let’s start with how often you drive. When you can, combine trips and always plan the most efficient route you can when driving your car. Not only is this more fuel efficient, but it reduces the amount of pollution your car produces. When you can, use alternative modes of transportation like walking, riding a bike, carpooling, or using public transportation. And, as much as you can, avoid letting your car sit and idle for more than 30 seconds.

Most people don’t know that you don’t need to let your car idle to warm up during cold weather. Modern engines are designed to warm up as they’re driven. In addition, using the air conditioning during hot months causes the engine to work harder and produce more emissions. Whenever possible, roll the windows down and avoid using the air conditioner altogether.

Also, keep your car well maintained. Many areas require emissions inspections, but even if your area doesn’t, you can still have your car inspected and repair any deficiencies. When you choose gasoline for your car, choose a fuel that burns cleanly or, if you have the option to switch to alternative fuels, do so.

You can also reduce the emissions your car produces by accelerating gradually and maintaining a moderate speed. The more smoothly you drive – minimizing accelerations and decelerations and maintaining a constant, moderate speed – the fewer emissions your car will produce. Most cars have what’s called a “sweet spot,” – this is the spot in your car’s highest gear that uses the least amount of gas to maintain speed. If you drive an automatic, watch for when your car shifts into its highest gear and the rpms begin to level off – this is your sweet spot. Of course, driving in the sweet spot isn’t always possible, as it may be at a higher speed than allowed on most roads. Do keep this in mind for highway driving, however.

Another way to reduce your car’s emissions is to go right to the source – your gas tank. A gas cap that fits well prevents gas from escaping into the air. Not only do escaping gas fumes pollute the air, they also mean poor fuel efficiency for you and can be seriously dangerous. If you suspect your gas cap doesn’t fit as well as it should, purchase a new one. These are available relatively inexpensively at most auto parts stores.

Speaking of gas, use the type of gasoline the manufacturer specifies for your car. Purchasing a higher octane product generally won’t help your car perform better, nor will it increase your mileage. Choosing a higher octane gas won’t lower your emissions either – it’s just more money flying out the window for you.

How LED Lighting Can Help Your Car Be Greener

When it comes to the problem of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, who would have thought that one possible solution could be as simple as changing a light bulb? However, most cars use incandescent lights – especially in their headlights and taillights. The problem with incandescent lights is that they’re very inefficient – far more of their energy consumption produces heat, not light.

On the other hand, light emitting diodes (LEDs) use almost all of the energy they consume to produce light, not heat. This means you can get the same light output from an LED as from an incandescent light for about 85 percent less energy. When you draw less energy from your engine, it doesn’t have to work as hard and, therefore, produces fewer emissions. Whatever its color, an LED light can, in fact, be very green.

LEDs also last longer than incandescent lights. They don’t contain harmful gases or chemicals, unlike some other types of lights. But it’s their energy savings that are their biggest selling point for the automotive industry. If you were to switch your car to LEDs, you’d likely notice an increase in your mileage. Your greenhouse gas emissions would also decrease, although that’s not something that you’d readily see. However, think of the impact that could make over all of the cars on the road today.

In fact, LEDs aren’t just being used in car’s interiors, but also for headlights, signal lights and tail lights. Many car owners actually prefer LED headlights because they’re brighter and last longer than other bulbs – not to mention, they’re far more durable. LED lights are also more resistant to shock, making them especially useful for vehicles used for uneven or rough terrain.

And because they consume less energy, LEDs are especially useful in the case of hybrid or electric cars. Since less energy is needed for lighting, more energy is available for use in keeping the car running. In other words, LEDs can help a hybrid or electric car to go farther on a single battery charge.

Fortunately, switching over to LEDs doesn’t have to be difficult. Some vendors offer LEDs that can be used in the same fixtures as the current incandescent lights. This allows owners to upgrade their lights without having to pay for costly shop repairs. In addition, new cars are expected to begin using LEDs almost exclusively, so you may already have these enhancements without even knowing it.

In addition, LEDs are available in different colors, including white, red and blue, as well as in infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. It’s easy to choose a color that looks great on your car – all while saving money and reducing emissions.

Finally, despite their ability to help cars be greener, blue LEDs have the capability of contributing to light pollution. While this isn’t an issue with cars at this point, it’s no doubt something that designers will want to keep in mind as more and more LED technology is used in the auto manufacturing process.

Five Reasons To Keep Track Of Your Gas Mileage

Keeping track of your gas mileage is an important task with gas prices rising and families looking for ways to save money in this challenging economy. It may seem like a tiresome task, but there are a number of good reasons to track of your gas mileage.

It can save you money
By tracking your gas mileage, you can alter your driving habits to increase fuel efficiency and save money. Doing things like driving less aggressively, using your cruise control more, heeding the posted speed limit, reducing the use of your air conditioning, and reducing the amount of time your car idles all help to increase your gas mileage and save you cash.

It can alert you to problems with your tires
Properly inflated tires reduce rolling resistance on the road and increase gas mileage for your car. Other problems with your tires like excessive wear can also decrease gas mileage. If your tires are out of balance they can affect your gas mileage negatively too. If you see a drop in the miles per gallon your car is getting, it may be time to rotate your tires, get new ones, or have your tires’ balance adjusted.

It can tell you that you are using the wrong oil for your car
Using the manufacturers recommended blend of motor oil will allow your vehicle to get better gas mileage. Different types of motor oil have different operating temperatures and viscosity ratings, which affects your engine’s performance. Dirty oil filters that need to be changed also negatively affect your engine’s performance and gas mileage. You don’t necessarily have to purchase the most expensive brand of oil at the quick change place, either. Just pay attention to the grade of oil that your owner’s manual suggests and use it whenever you get an oil change.

It can alert you to problems with your engine
If your car is getting fewer miles per gallon than it should, you might need a tune up. An improperly tuned car can reduce gas mileage by up to 20 percent. Bad spark plugs, a malfunctioning fuel system or broken emission controls can also add to your gas costs and damage your vehicle.

It can be a signal that it is time to buy a new car
If you have done everything you can to get your car into tip top shape and your gas mileage is still not as good as you had hoped, your car may have serious problems and may be nearing the end of its useful lifespan. Buying a car that gets 5-10 additional miles per gallon in fuel efficiency can save you thousands of dollars in gasoline over the course of a year of commuting to and from your place of employment. Purchasing a high efficiency automobile or hybrid could save you a lot of money on gas in the long run. If your car isn’t giving you the best gas mileage it can, it’s probably time to start shopping for a new one.

Proposed Fuel Efficiency Standards – Will They Affect You?

Gas is becoming increasingly more expensive. It wasn’t that long ago that regular gas climbed to more than $4.00 a gallon, and gas prices are now slowly inching up again. With this in mind, and because petroleum products are a finite resource, the Obama administration has proposed new fuel efficiency standards. We all like the idea of better gas mileage so that we get more for our money, but what do the proposed fuel efficiency standards really mean for you?

To give you an idea of what exactly we’re talking about, the Transportation Department wants manufacturers to get to an overall fleet average of 35.5 mpg by 2016. There are some other specifics – passenger cars have to hit 39 mpg and light trucks should hit 30 mpg if these standards are adopted. To illustrate just how big a job this is, there are only six cars that are on sale right now that offer an estimated mpg of 35.5.

First, these new standards likely mean smaller cars. This is a simple matter of mathematics – a smaller lighter car is a more fuel efficient car. This may be a dramatic change for Americans who still like their roomy automobiles. What’s worse, from a consumer’s point of view, is that these new smaller cars may cost more than $1,000.00 more than trucks or SUVs, even though they are smaller.

However, smaller, lighter cars aren’t the only way manufacturers are trying to meet these goals – electric cars and hybrids are in the pipelines of every major manufacturer. Besides this, companies are looking at clean diesel cars, with the Volkswagen Jetta TDI being a pioneer in this market. In the immediate future, there are also extended-range electric plug-ins that will rely on a rechargeable battery for short trips and have a combination of gas power and electric motors for longer journeys.

Other developments in clean diesels, which will use technology that filters out particulate matter, are another approach. Overall, these cars will offer better fuel economy than the traditional diesel engines, along with other benefits for consumers and the environment.

But as per usual government efficiency, many of the details of the proposed standards haven’t been worked out yet. Still to be answered is how the electric cars will be figured into the fleet average. Given that an electric car uses no gasoline, would a single electric model that no one is buying lower the overall fleet average to a point where the entire company is within the set standard? Or will some manufacturers look to alternative fuels like biodiesel to meet their standards? But isn’t that just swapping one problem for another? No one knows yet, and no one is saying anything official on the subject.

But however fuel efficiency standards are imposed – whether by governmental mandate or through shifting consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles – it’s clear that something needs to give. Even if families can afford to pump their giant SUVs full of $4.00/gallon + gasoline, should other citizens suffer increased smog and emissions for their enjoyment? Should soldiers risk their lives every day to protect a resource we place an exorbitant demand on? There’s no right or wrong answers to these questions – but it’s clear that they will need to be address in the next few years.

Can a Car Really Run on Used Cooking Oil?

Can a car really run on used cooking oil? The short answer to that question is yes, although the long answer is a little more involved.

Everyone’s searching for a better fuel for our cars. Gasoline is expensive, not renewable, produces carbon emissions and keeps us tied to countries we’d rather not be beholden to. One possible answer is a fuel known as biodiesel. Biodiesel is a type of fuel that results when you run used cooking oil through a filter and then through a process called transesterification. The resulting fuel is a biodiesel that can be used in most diesel engines.

For the most part, you can’t just pour used cooking oil into your car’s gas tank and expect it to run. Standard internal combustion engines just can’t manage with that type of fuel. Diesel engines, on the other hand, can run on biodiesel without any additional changes. In addition, with a few conversions, a diesel engine can run off used cooking oil without having to process it into biodiesel.

Actually, the first diesel engines designed by Rudolf Diesel used peanut oil as their fuel source – they weren’t converted to a petroleum based diesel fuel until the 1920s, when gasoline and other petroleum products gained prominence in the automotive industry. In the 1970s, alternative fuels became a topic of conversation, particularly among those in the newly emerging environmental movement.

Used vegetable cooking oil can be found at a number of locations. While you can certainly use used cooking from your own home, you may not be able to produce used oil in sufficient quantities. A better source would be a restaurant, a commercial or industrial cafeteria or a food processing plant. While most businesses such as those listed above have contracts with waste management companies to dispose of their used oil, they’re usually amenable to entering into an agreement that will allow you to collect used cooking oil for use in your car. But all oils aren’t created equal – those in the environmental field consider the golden yellow used vegetable oil produced by Chinese restaurants to be especially valuable.

If you’re interested in converting your diesel automobile to run on used cooking oil, you’ll need to buy a conversion kit. The conversion kit allows you to establish a second fuel storage tank for the used vegetable oil, which must be heated before it can be used. The traditional diesel – or biodiesel – tank must remain. This fuel will be used to start the car and to flush the used vegetable oil out of the fuel line before the car is turned off. Technically, these conversion kits violate federal emissions laws – however, these laws aren’t usually strictly enforced.

Alternative fuel sources are definitely needed, and used cooking oil is one possibility. However, given the amount of resources used to produce the vegetables used to create cooking oil, it remains to be seen whether the use of used cooking oil – whether or not it’s processed into biodiesel – remains feasible. It is, at present, a nice way to recycle, but whether it would work on a large scale is yet to be determined.