What lengths do you go to to save on gas? (if any?)

[silverstar1025]

yeah lol he doesnt care

lol I bet he is used to it though. I am sure he gets lots of funny looks when he is stopped at a red light and people are looking.

 

[nefertiti]

While I'm all for evironmental awareness and stuff, there might not be a phrase in current events that annoys me more than "going green."

 

[cindylou]

I spend a TON of money on gas. about 440 a month average.

thats both me and my DH. We both have Hemi's and he has 4wheel drive.
i have a car that has a gas saver mode and can run on 4cylinders sometimes but I have to be going around 55mph to get that - and when I do its about 21-31 miles per gallon

the rest of the time its around 13 miles per gallon. sux.

there is not much i can do to save gas except not drive places - I am supposed to go to a wedding in Arkansas this weekend but probably wont go because it would cost a fortune to drive there unless i try and drive 55 mph all the way down there. lol. too short of a distance to fly

 

[velvett]

While I'm all for evironmental awareness and stuff, there might not be a phrase in current events that annoys me more than "going green."

I just had this conversation last night.

It's ironic that there's "go green" shoved down your throat a lot lately and yet every time the electric car resurfaces it gets squashed, drowned and erased as quickly as it appeared.

Hmmmmmmm

And by whom do you think that is?

Green building does make a lot of sense and these buildings are incredibly energy efficient (not to mention the tax credits) but the hypocrisy is very often a big hard pill to swallow.

 

[Lumberg]

I just plan my trips for work and personal errands to all be on the same route. It's like a game to me to see how few trips I can make and how many stops I can make on that one trip.

That's awesome. I have an active mind too, whenever I can focus it on something that at least remotely benefits me, that's a win. My current game is clearly tinkering with the car for better gas mileage. Like Smurfy said, I could do worse.

The force due to aerodynamic drag is proportional to the square of the velocity v, the Coefficient of Drag Cd, and the total frontal surface area A.

So I am trying to reduce CdA. The increase in frontal area A is more than offset by the decrease in Cd, resulting in an overall decrease in CdA. Thus for a given velocity, the total aerodynamic drag is reduced, resulting in greater efficiency.

This is because the underside and wheels of a car contribute a vast amount of drag.

I will probably tweak the current design by raising the center of the air dam to allow some amount of air beneath the car while smoothing the airflow beneath the car. I will also try blocking airflow to the tires in a more sophisticated way.

My main concern now is what to do with the incredible amount of turbulence created by the wheels (lowering the car is one good option) and the fact that the airflow over the rear window is not attached.

 

[pappad]

I don't do anything! FLOOR IT!!!!

 

[RottenWillow]

People complain about gas prices, but I've yet to meet anyone other than me and my fiance who's willing to really do anything to reduce their own consumption of it. I started posting about my Jetta "greasecar" in '05 on the Internet and telling all my RL friends and acquaintances about it, but no one's even investigated it, much less actually gotten one themselves. How about at least give up your F-150 extended cab or your Yukon for something that burns less gasoline?


Prices keep going up and people keep complaining, but I see no change in the amount of 5,000lb full size trucks and SUV's idling in the drive-throughs of McDonalds. 9 out of 10 of these behemoths I see on the roads have just one little head sitting behind the wheel, and are hauling nothing heavier than a pocketbook, or a few bags of groceries. The way I see it is if you choose to drive a large, heavy vehicle, then you abdicate your right to bitch about gas prices.

 

[Mr. dB]

I just had this conversation last night.

It's ironic that there's "go green" shoved down your throat a lot lately and yet every time the electric car resurfaces it gets squashed, drowned and erased as quickly as it appeared.

Hmmmmmmm

And by whom do you think that is?

Electric cars still aren't "there" yet.

Chevy will have the "Volt" soon, a plug-in hybrid. It'll run as a full-electric or with assist from the gasoline engine, which accepts multiple fuel types. But the projected retail price is $40K, and at they they'll still be losing money on every one.

 

[Raptorex]

Let me be the first to say "this is just plain fucking stupid and it looks stupid"

Love ya

 

[Mr. dB]

My main concern now is what to do with the incredible amount of turbulence created by the wheels (lowering the car is one good option) and the fact that the airflow over the rear window is not attached.

Narrow tires would help. What would be the 80-series equivalent to give the same rolling circumference as your present tires? Maybe you could fit the 135/80x15 tires from a Citroen 2CV. That is, if someone makes 4x15 rims to fit a Camry.