Fuel prices down here in Oz are approaching the $2 per liter mark. I decided that that was more than enough, dusted off the old bike, and started riding in to work. Found out it takes pretty much the same amount of time because on my bike Im not stuck in the morning traffic. Mind, I also have no protection from the elements, so when it hails - as it did this morning, its not exactly pleasant
So yeah, fuel prices have definitely had an effect. Im also contemplating converting my car to autogas, since the government is offering a nice $3K rebate.
I find it funny that some people believe gas prices will actually go back down eventually.
Pops on
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TL DRNot at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered Userregular
edited June 2008
I've noticed that the car market is insane. I assume things will level out in 6 months, but people suddenly realized "wait, $4 x a 50-gallon tank = no more slim jims and beer!" and as a result, every 4 cylinder manual I've looked at has been about $1.5k over blue book.
I eventually settled on this for $4400, which is reported to have gotten 37-41 mpg new. (Aside question: anyone want to look at the pics of that car and tell me what that circular air filter looking thing is supposed to do? thanks)
I've also been taking the bus to school, and thankfully my uni has an arrangement where students ride for free. When I was car shopping, I really tried to find an old Mercedes or VW diesel to run on veggie oil, since it seems the most feasible way to save a load of money. Might even pick up a small diesel pickup to tool with, and I'd imagine there's good money to be made converting people's cars if I really wanted.
TL DR on
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Casually HardcoreOnce an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered Userregular
edited June 2008
That circular air filter thing is there to make a lot of noises.
It could help air flow, but the heat from the engine would neglect any benefits of having increased air flow. If anything you should get a CAI.
Casually Hardcore on
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TL DRNot at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered Userregular
Eh, I'm not holding my breath, but it's not without precident. How expensive did gas get in the late 70's during the shortage?
The situation is a little different and we don't have Russia buying political favors with cheap gas this time around.
I suggest blaming China/India. Those bastards trying to act like real people!
Well, according to Wiki, prices were a still a bit more expensive (in current dollars) than they are now. You're right though, the situation and cause of the rising prices were different than they are now. Hence, why I'm not holding my breath.
Has yet to affect me since I've never owned a car, and my only major driving is when I'm home borrowing my parent's vehicle (which is for a week or so twice a year). I just get around by walking or taking the subway/bus/streetcar here in Toronto.
That said, ironically we have been driving a little more lately because my girlfriend and I joined autoshare a couple of months ago . . . but we don't actually have to pay for gas, just their hourly rates - which are still pretty reasonable. Still not a whole lot - a trip or two a month.
But as a 24 year old male, the cost of insurance alone scared me off of owning a car or driving long ago. Long before gas prices were such an issue at least (though it supposedly improves when you hit 25).
Andrew_Jay on
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Casually HardcoreOnce an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered Userregular
edited June 2008
CAI = cold air intake? What does that do to fuel economy?
Well essentially you engine is a air pump. The easier it is for it to pump air, the more efficient it is. A lot of engine modification can help fuel economy, but all the mods in the world wont help you if you insist to treat every stop light as a 0-60-0 race. I wouldnt worry too much about modding an engine for max fuel mileage; instead I would do things like replace the fuel filter and relearning how to drive.
I noticed a motor-scooter for sale at a local dealer and it's been on my mind. It's around $1900 and gets about 100 miles to the gallon I'm told, with a top speed of around 55 mph.
I'm really tempted, but I'm still unsure... I've only been really driving for a little under a year.
Does anyone have like, a list of detailed ways to improve your mpg?
It's hard in an automatic but I'm guessing there are some things I could be doing that I'm not
Here's what I can think of
- Light on the acceleration: don't stomp your foot down, accelerate slowly
- Coast in neutral on downhills
- Use engine braking (like downshifting) when going down hills
- Don't leave the car running when it isn't necessary (i.e. stopped for a long wait on a road with construction, just running into the store for a sec, etc)
- Drive between 55-65 instead of 70+ when on long highway drives
- Drive slower in general
Claims 110-250 miles per purchased gallon depending on season.
Did he really have to wear the Bluetooth headset throughout that entire video? Also, I'd question the viability of vegetable oil powered cars amongst a large group.
Driving slower in general will not improve your mileage. Most engines are optimized to hit their peak efficiency at highway speeds. For Japanese cars this tends to be around 100km/h (it's there universal speed limit).
The car will use less fuel if you go slower, but it's not a linear decrease. Hence, on a highway, drive the highway speed on cruise control.
Does anyone have like, a list of detailed ways to improve your mpg?
It's hard in an automatic but I'm guessing there are some things I could be doing that I'm not
Here's what I can think of
- Light on the acceleration: don't stomp your foot down, accelerate slowly
- Coast in neutral on downhills
- Use engine braking (like downshifting) when going down hills
- Don't leave the car running when it isn't necessary (i.e. stopped for a long wait on a road with construction, just running into the store for a sec, etc)
- Drive between 55-65 instead of 70+ when on long highway drives
- Drive slower in general
So anyone have anything else?
Get rid of excess weight. How often do you need that crap in the back of your car? Stop hauling it around.
Proper tire inflation is good. Recommended tire inflation is for a balance of comfort and efficiency. Inflating tires to the max recommended level will give you a slightly bumpier ride, in exchange for more efficiency.
A clean air filter.
Open the windows instead of using AC, unless you get on the freeway. There comes a point when the drag from having your windows down is worse than the energy to run the AC. According to Mythbusters, this point is at about 50 MPH.
Cruise control, if you have it, or a very steady foot on the gas pedal. Feathering on and off the gas is worse for efficiency.
jmdbcool on
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TL DRNot at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered Userregular
Claims 110-250 miles per purchased gallon depending on season.
Did he really have to wear the Bluetooth headset throughout that entire video? Also, I'd question the viability of vegetable oil powered cars amongst a large group.
What do you mean? That a huge demand would increase the demand for veg oil to the point where it's no longer available for free?
-Coast to red lights
-Don't speed in town. A lot of places, if you do the speed limit or slightly below, you can hit it green after green.
-In general, try to drive like you have no brakes.
Driving slower in general will not improve your mileage. Most engines are optimized to hit their peak efficiency at highway speeds. For Japanese cars this tends to be around 100km/h (it's there universal speed limit).
The car will use less fuel if you go slower, but it's not a linear decrease. Hence, on a highway, drive the highway speed on cruise control.
Constant speed is your best bet. It's mostly constantly slowing down and accelerating that's going to kill your gas millage.
The guys who floors it for 20 feet and stops short at every stop sign is the one getting 4 mpg
I noticed a motor-scooter for sale at a local dealer and it's been on my mind. It's around $1900 and gets about 100 miles to the gallon I'm told, with a top speed of around 55 mph.
I'm really tempted, but I'm still unsure... I've only been really driving for a little under a year.
If you do any driving on a highway you'll want something a bit bigger then a scooter.
The way they've been selling due to gas prices, I'm expecting a rash of deaths and other lesser accidents before long. Most models just don't have the legs to safely handle highways, and aren't big or loud enough to be seen by the monday AM commuter.
For off highway driving though, to the store or whatever a scooter would probably do fine.
Driving slower in general will not improve your mileage. Most engines are optimized to hit their peak efficiency at highway speeds. For Japanese cars this tends to be around 100km/h (it's there universal speed limit).
The car will use less fuel if you go slower, but it's not a linear decrease. Hence, on a highway, drive the highway speed on cruise control.
Constant speed is your best bet. It's mostly constantly slowing down and accelerating that's going to kill your gas millage.
The guys who floors it for 20 feet and stops short at every stop sign is the one getting 4 mpg
Yeah hence driving slower when driving about town means you have less acceleration to get to your cruisin' speed. I mean I used to just go 10ish over the limit out of habit, now I really try to keep from doing that "accelerate to maximum speed that won't get me pulled over!" thing.
Though I totally agree using cruise control and travelling at speed limit speeds is the way to go when you're driving on highways
All of my friends live about 20 minutes from my house, and so petrol is becoming a huge deal for me. I used to live off a $10 fill-up, and it would get me a quarter tank. Now when I'm on empty $10 gets me barely above the E. But I'll be damned if I'm spending any more money, so I'm just driving less, and consequently seeing my friends less.
Which sucks, but I'm not going to expect them to all drive to my place when they're clustering together in the northern suburbs.
I work in a town that's about seven miles from where I live, and I'm going to start riding my bike there instead. Gotta get my bike tuned up first, hopefully I can do that within the next two paychecks....
The price of gas here $~1.44L ($5.44 per gallon) is what caused me to say fuck it I'm walking to work.
It's about a 25 minute walk each way but I can listen to the ipod and get some exercise so I don't mind.
We have also decided to get a Honda Fit to replace our old ass beater car as the fit qualifies for the efficiency rebates.
Aridhol on
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syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Productsregular
edited June 2008
I moved because of gas prices.
I now live in an apartment that costs a hundred bucks more a month, but is a 1/4 mile from work, an 1/8 mile from the grocery store. I went from a tank of gas a week to a tank and a half a month.
syndalis on
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I went to fill up today, 60L @ $1.69 P/L wasn't exactly kind on the wallet. But how is it changing my behaviour? I've found that in any situation where public transport is realistic, I'll opt for it.
Which sucks, but I'm not going to expect them to all drive to my place when they're clustering together in the northern suburbs.
I used to have a girlfriend that lived very north and I live slightly south, I spent so many hours on the freeway during that relationship. Damn if it would even work these days.
I now live in an apartment that costs a hundred bucks more a month, but is a 1/4 mile from work, an 1/8 mile from the grocery store. I went from a tank of gas a week to a tank and a half a month.
We are moving in the fall as well - I haven't had less than a 45 minute commute for years with the exception of a stint working from home. It will be a nice relief. My wife just finished her teaching degree so we're just seeing where she gets a job and planning our move from there. We're hoping to trim my drive from 45 minutes to closer to 20 or so.
Lindsay Lohan on
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Triple BBastard of the NorthMARegistered Userregular
edited June 2008
Balls. I have a 65 minute commute each way, Monday through Friday. I get 20 mpg in my old Toyo. I have to fill up my tank every 3 days.
I'm moving to an apartment about half a mile from my base. I'd like to get a bike, but with the hills here it's not exactly helpful. I also have to wear a ridiculously high maintenance uniform instead of camo like all the other branches so I'll need a solution to keeping it clean while I ride too.
Have you got a locker room in your building or the like? My husband bikes in 2 days a week (we're about 7 miles from base). What he does is to drop off a couple of uniforms over the weekend or on Monday, then he wears workout clothes on the way in and showers / changes when he gets there.
Originally, he did it for the exercise, but it's awfully nice on the gas bill as well.
I live fairly close to both work places but work wonky scheduales where it is not smart to walk. (very early or late at night) I also when working to 7-Eleven and not the hospital have to carry a rather large deposit and I don't like have 10+ grand on me while walking. Also with my husbands schedule our timings with the daughters school can be rather tight. Now I have a 94 Dodge Spirit and while not the smallest car (3litre V6) I can get about 400kms out of a full tank before the feed me light goes ondriving around town. When driving highway (coquihalla and 101 for you other BC ers) It goes up to 550kms.
However all this has me considering a Honda Jazz scooter seriously. Since Powell River has no real high way and is quite spread along the coast this is a great alternative since I never did well biking on hills. And at 49 cc's it falls under the cc limit to be requierd to have a motorcycle liscence. I am also considering getting my full class 6 and "borrowing" my fathers old 450 Nighthawk. Plus my daughter loves being a bike passenger and I want to be as cool in her eyes as her grandfather is! I hear ya on the friends living stupid distances away. I have one friend that lives in our part of town and all the others are up the coast.
Our transit system sucks here they recently started haveing a couple busses out later than 7pm and earlier than 8 am.
-Coast to red lights
-In general, try to drive like you have no brakes.
Pretty much this.
When you apply the brakes of your car, you are turning the energy that is propelling your car forward into friction generated heat between your brake pads and rotors. The energy that is pushing your car came from gasoline. In essence, when you apply your brakes, you are turning gasoline directly into heat - wasting it entirely.
The more you can keep from using your brakes, the more of the gasoline you're burning is being used purely to generate forward motion, and less to create heat in your brake system. Don't zoom up to 50mph between red lights when 35 would have gotten you there just the same. If there is a red light or a braking car up ahead, your foot should be off the pedal. Why keep burning gas to get closer to something you'll coast up to nearly as quickly anyway?
Obviously don't drive dangerously and brake when you need to, but accelerating more slowly to slower top speeds, and getting off the gas pedal earlier can make a big difference.
This kind of driving is the only change I've been able to make to my driving habits. I commute about 23 miles each way every day to work. The town I actually live in is so small there is no grocery store or shopping destinations whatsoever, aside from a Casey's gas station. If I am going anywhere to buy anything, it is a minimum 10-15 mile drive to reach civilization. Public transport and biking isn't an option for me.
I started driving using some of the guidelines above and my '04 Focus went from getting ~400 miles per 12 gallon tank to ~500.
I drive just as much as I did before, I just bitch about it more. Gas prices as a way of getting people to drive less is horseshit. It's just about bleeding money from the taxpayer by taxing something that it's incredibly difficult to avoid buying.
Does anyone have like, a list of detailed ways to improve your mpg?
It's hard in an automatic but I'm guessing there are some things I could be doing that I'm not
Here's what I can think of
- Light on the acceleration: don't stomp your foot down, accelerate slowly
- Coast in neutral on downhills
- Use engine braking (like downshifting) when going down hills
- Don't leave the car running when it isn't necessary (i.e. stopped for a long wait on a road with construction, just running into the store for a sec, etc)
- Drive between 55-65 instead of 70+ when on long highway drives
- Drive slower in general
So anyone have anything else?
I mostly drive a manual-transmission vehicle with a tachometer (VW Jetta). My gut instinct says keeping the tach as low as possible should increase mpg, but I've got no data to back that up, only a very vague understanding of how an engine works.
This thread I imagine (well to me at least) is hilarious to us Europeans. In the UK at the moment it costs about £25-£40 to fill a tank. That approximates about $50-$80.
There has been a noticable increase in the amount of people growing their own food and using public transport in even greater numbers.
Posts
So yeah, fuel prices have definitely had an effect. Im also contemplating converting my car to autogas, since the government is offering a nice $3K rebate.
I eventually settled on this for $4400, which is reported to have gotten 37-41 mpg new. (Aside question: anyone want to look at the pics of that car and tell me what that circular air filter looking thing is supposed to do? thanks)
I've also been taking the bus to school, and thankfully my uni has an arrangement where students ride for free. When I was car shopping, I really tried to find an old Mercedes or VW diesel to run on veggie oil, since it seems the most feasible way to save a load of money. Might even pick up a small diesel pickup to tool with, and I'd imagine there's good money to be made converting people's cars if I really wanted.
It could help air flow, but the heat from the engine would neglect any benefits of having increased air flow. If anything you should get a CAI.
Ahh, in that case it's working really well.
CAI = cold air intake? What does that do to fuel economy?
Eh, I'm not holding my breath, but it's not without precident. How expensive did gas get in the late 70's during the shortage?
I suggest blaming China/India. Those bastards trying to act like real people!
Well, according to Wiki, prices were a still a bit more expensive (in current dollars) than they are now. You're right though, the situation and cause of the rising prices were different than they are now. Hence, why I'm not holding my breath.
Claims 110-250 miles per purchased gallon depending on season.
That said, ironically we have been driving a little more lately because my girlfriend and I joined autoshare a couple of months ago . . . but we don't actually have to pay for gas, just their hourly rates - which are still pretty reasonable. Still not a whole lot - a trip or two a month.
But as a 24 year old male, the cost of insurance alone scared me off of owning a car or driving long ago. Long before gas prices were such an issue at least (though it supposedly improves when you hit 25).
Well essentially you engine is a air pump. The easier it is for it to pump air, the more efficient it is. A lot of engine modification can help fuel economy, but all the mods in the world wont help you if you insist to treat every stop light as a 0-60-0 race. I wouldnt worry too much about modding an engine for max fuel mileage; instead I would do things like replace the fuel filter and relearning how to drive.
So no, I havn't changed. I just demanded a raise and got it.
My commute to work is only about 15 minutes, but aside from an initial jaunt on a highway, it's stop and go city traffic all the way.
My car had been averaging about 20 mpg, but by shifting earlier to keep my RPM's down I've gotten it up to around 27-28 mpg.
I'm really tempted, but I'm still unsure... I've only been really driving for a little under a year.
It's hard in an automatic but I'm guessing there are some things I could be doing that I'm not
Here's what I can think of
- Light on the acceleration: don't stomp your foot down, accelerate slowly
- Coast in neutral on downhills
- Use engine braking (like downshifting) when going down hills
- Don't leave the car running when it isn't necessary (i.e. stopped for a long wait on a road with construction, just running into the store for a sec, etc)
- Drive between 55-65 instead of 70+ when on long highway drives
- Drive slower in general
So anyone have anything else?
Did he really have to wear the Bluetooth headset throughout that entire video? Also, I'd question the viability of vegetable oil powered cars amongst a large group.
The car will use less fuel if you go slower, but it's not a linear decrease. Hence, on a highway, drive the highway speed on cruise control.
What do you mean? That a huge demand would increase the demand for veg oil to the point where it's no longer available for free?
-Don't speed in town. A lot of places, if you do the speed limit or slightly below, you can hit it green after green.
-In general, try to drive like you have no brakes.
Constant speed is your best bet. It's mostly constantly slowing down and accelerating that's going to kill your gas millage.
The guys who floors it for 20 feet and stops short at every stop sign is the one getting 4 mpg
The way they've been selling due to gas prices, I'm expecting a rash of deaths and other lesser accidents before long. Most models just don't have the legs to safely handle highways, and aren't big or loud enough to be seen by the monday AM commuter.
For off highway driving though, to the store or whatever a scooter would probably do fine.
Yeah hence driving slower when driving about town means you have less acceleration to get to your cruisin' speed. I mean I used to just go 10ish over the limit out of habit, now I really try to keep from doing that "accelerate to maximum speed that won't get me pulled over!" thing.
Though I totally agree using cruise control and travelling at speed limit speeds is the way to go when you're driving on highways
Which sucks, but I'm not going to expect them to all drive to my place when they're clustering together in the northern suburbs.
It's about a 25 minute walk each way but I can listen to the ipod and get some exercise so I don't mind.
We have also decided to get a Honda Fit to replace our old ass beater car as the fit qualifies for the efficiency rebates.
I now live in an apartment that costs a hundred bucks more a month, but is a 1/4 mile from work, an 1/8 mile from the grocery store. I went from a tank of gas a week to a tank and a half a month.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I went to fill up today, 60L @ $1.69 P/L wasn't exactly kind on the wallet. But how is it changing my behaviour? I've found that in any situation where public transport is realistic, I'll opt for it.
But that's it really.
I used to have a girlfriend that lived very north and I live slightly south, I spent so many hours on the freeway during that relationship. Damn if it would even work these days.
We are moving in the fall as well - I haven't had less than a 45 minute commute for years with the exception of a stint working from home. It will be a nice relief. My wife just finished her teaching degree so we're just seeing where she gets a job and planning our move from there. We're hoping to trim my drive from 45 minutes to closer to 20 or so.
Have you got a locker room in your building or the like? My husband bikes in 2 days a week (we're about 7 miles from base). What he does is to drop off a couple of uniforms over the weekend or on Monday, then he wears workout clothes on the way in and showers / changes when he gets there.
Originally, he did it for the exercise, but it's awfully nice on the gas bill as well.
However all this has me considering a Honda Jazz scooter seriously. Since Powell River has no real high way and is quite spread along the coast this is a great alternative since I never did well biking on hills. And at 49 cc's it falls under the cc limit to be requierd to have a motorcycle liscence. I am also considering getting my full class 6 and "borrowing" my fathers old 450 Nighthawk. Plus my daughter loves being a bike passenger and I want to be as cool in her eyes as her grandfather is! I hear ya on the friends living stupid distances away. I have one friend that lives in our part of town and all the others are up the coast.
Our transit system sucks here they recently started haveing a couple busses out later than 7pm and earlier than 8 am.
Pretty much this.
When you apply the brakes of your car, you are turning the energy that is propelling your car forward into friction generated heat between your brake pads and rotors. The energy that is pushing your car came from gasoline. In essence, when you apply your brakes, you are turning gasoline directly into heat - wasting it entirely.
The more you can keep from using your brakes, the more of the gasoline you're burning is being used purely to generate forward motion, and less to create heat in your brake system. Don't zoom up to 50mph between red lights when 35 would have gotten you there just the same. If there is a red light or a braking car up ahead, your foot should be off the pedal. Why keep burning gas to get closer to something you'll coast up to nearly as quickly anyway?
Obviously don't drive dangerously and brake when you need to, but accelerating more slowly to slower top speeds, and getting off the gas pedal earlier can make a big difference.
This kind of driving is the only change I've been able to make to my driving habits. I commute about 23 miles each way every day to work. The town I actually live in is so small there is no grocery store or shopping destinations whatsoever, aside from a Casey's gas station. If I am going anywhere to buy anything, it is a minimum 10-15 mile drive to reach civilization. Public transport and biking isn't an option for me.
I started driving using some of the guidelines above and my '04 Focus went from getting ~400 miles per 12 gallon tank to ~500.
I mostly drive a manual-transmission vehicle with a tachometer (VW Jetta). My gut instinct says keeping the tach as low as possible should increase mpg, but I've got no data to back that up, only a very vague understanding of how an engine works.
There has been a noticable increase in the amount of people growing their own food and using public transport in even greater numbers.