Holdup at the Pumps

Posted Friday, March 28, 2008, at 1:30 PM

Well, for sure, the Iraq War "isn't about oil." Or if it IS, we sure aren't getting any breaks at the pumps. But while we're waiting for Hillary, Obama and McCain to fix it all for us, there are things we CAN do to get a little more mileage out of our cars.

My wife and I drive old cars. Not because we can't afford payments on a new one, but we've got this "thing" for real steel, and chrome rather than pin-striping. Our old 66 T-Bird for example, only gets around 16 MPG, but I figure for the price of a new Saturn, I can put a LOT of gas in that old Thunderbird, ride in COMFORT, have room in the trunk for suitcases, tools, and a FULL SIZED SPARE, not some little "donut." And it LOOKS like a T-Bird, not some soapdish shaped Nissan.

Anyway.......when your stable is made up of old Mustangs, Oldsmobiles and such, you learn ways to get as much gas mileage out of them as you can, and I was doing that LONG before any "fuel shortages." What I have to offer here, will help you a little, no matter WHAT you're driving.

First of all, use the GOOD fuel. "Uncle Joe's gas-for-less" might be a nickel a gallon cheaper than a major brand, but that only comes out to a dollar savings in a 20-gallon tank, which most cars don't have anymore. With Shell, Texaco, Standard, Sinclair etc, you get the detergents and additives.......your engine runs cleaner and you get better gas mileage because that fuel is burning better.

"But I've seen major brand tankers make deliveries at Uncle Joe's"

Yep, so have I. But it's not as good. My late Uncle Dean used to drive fuel tankers, and he's told me there are residual quantities near the bottoms of the great holding tanks that major brands prefer NOT to use in their own pumps, but can still make a few dollars selling it to the minor chains.............oh, it burns in your engine, but it's not as clean as it SHOULD be, and the few cents a gallon you might save today, can come back to haunt you tomorrow at the repair shop. Like motor oil, not all gasolines are alike.

Tire pressure. Few people ever think about this, "If they ain't flat, we're good to go." An underinflated tire "sags" a little more at the bottom, which puts more tire surface on the road. Makes for a better ride perhaps, but it also puts more drag against your engine. Most passenger car tires call for an average air pressure of 32 PSI. Not true in every case, but most. Anyway, the manufacturer stamps it on your tires, so there's never any confusion. That's 32 pounds COLD. After you've driven around for a while this morning, heat builds up and your pressure can easily go to 35 or 36. Depending on different points of your day, this is range where they should be.

I've known guys who service their tires around 36 PSI in the cool of the morning, knowing a trip to Boise will build pressure to 40 or so. With not-so-much surface drag, their gas mileage increases. This is certainly true, but the car will ride a little rougher, you'll get uneven tire wear, but worst of all, if the road gets wet or slick, your car won't handle as well as it usually does, 'cause there ain't as much "shoe leather" on the path, as they say.

Tune ups.............goes without saying. Pays good dividends.

Give it time to warm up in the morning before shooting right out of the driveway. A warm engine burns gas more efficiently. You aren't "wasting money" letting it idle. Engines use very little fuel at idle because they aren't pulling a load yet, and besides, proper oil warmup is very very good for piston rings and engine bearings.

In town, "time the lights' when traffic allows. If you can slow down when you see that red light way up ahead, you might still be rolling at 20 when it turns green again, and then require only a "tap" on the pedal to ease on through the intersection. I'd like to have a dollar for everytime I've seen some idiot roar by me KNOWING FULL WELL he's gonna have to stop for the light that JUST TURNED RED, and we both saw it a block away. If I've timed it right, I'll be doing the little pedal "tap", while HE will have to launch from a dead stop, which requires more gas.........not to mention his added brake pad wear because he waited for the last 100 feet to "slam them on,"...............Idiot.

On the highway. 60 to 65 is plenty. Most cars get their best gas mileage around 60. The speed limit is 75 because...............it's 75. But, I've done a LOT of long distance driving over the years, in cars of all types and sizes, and have found 60-65 to be the magic number for my "wallet."

It's a matter of wind resistance. Prove it to yourself.....got a speedometer that reads up to 110 or 120?

At 60, your pedal is only about one third to one half of the way to the floor. Mathematically, your car ought to be capable of 140 or 150, right?

Try it.

As you eclipse 80...going for 90 and more, the gas pedal becomes harder and the numbers are rising at a much SLOWER pace. The WIND RESISTANCE you're now encountering is really making that engine work hard. Lots of fuel going through those injectors, or that carburetor, and you're not gaining a whole lot for what you're "spending."

Every now and then, I still hear somebody say......."Hey man, I get better gas mileage at 80 than I do at 60."

I gotta figure he believes in the Easter Bunny too.

As a rule, the right lane on any Interstate is the one to be in. First off, you've got no business in the left lane unless you're passing someone, and secondly, if you had an emergency, you don't have to cut over 2 lanes of traffic to pull off the road.

There is usually a lot more rubber imbedded in the right lane from all of the truck traffic, which is less abrasive to your tires, than driving on bare asphalt. This leads me to believe that tire wear should be a little lighter in that right lane, although I have nothing to base that on.

"King Richard" Petty, the greatest stock car driver who ever strapped into one, was KNOWN for running that "high line" at the top of the track (or RIGHT LANE to us}. On an oval shaped track, the outside lane was the "long way around," making the inside groove more appealing. But Richard knew that the "shorter route" was also a sharper turn and you couldn't go into it at full throttle. You had to back off a bit, than step on it again, EVERY turn! On the outside, you could keep the RPM's up at a steady pace, which was not only a bit easier on the engine, but by running steadier, you could get a few more laps out of your fuel tank as well; which has decided many a NASCAR race. (ask Darrell Waltrip about his 1989 Daytona 500 Win. He was running on "fumes" when he crossed the line!)

Richard also knew that if he blew a tire, up in that "right lane," he would most likely only "scrape" the guard rail, rather than be flung into it, should he be mixed up in traffic when it happened.

It's the same, out on the interstate. If you should have a problem with your car, that "shoulder" is usually right there for you, IF, you're in the right lane to begin with.

Less likely to miss a turnoff too, which brings up a bitter subject. If you drive into Boise often enough and are, say, headed to the Mall via the connector, you'll often see some nitwit blow around you, well over the speed limit, just so he can cut in front of you and shoot off on the Vista or Orchard exit that he didn't plan ahead for, only to burn another 500 miles off his brake linings, stopping for the red light at the overpass, he had to KNOW he wasn't gonna make!

When I see those 1A plates, I've gotta figure he LIVES there, and should certainly know his way around town well enough to have been in the exit lane to begin with.

THIS, incidently, is the reason for the majority of sudden freeway slowdowns.........you know..........the ones that speed up again and as you go, you see no accidents and can't figure out what happened. It was the old "Vista" trick. Some guy cutting over 2 lanes of traffic at the last minute, sparking a chain reaction of brakes for the next 2 miles back.