As fuel prices rise, some speedometer needles fall

As other cars zipped by at 70 mph or more, Mike Papin and his wife, Joann, kept rolling along just below the 65 mph limit as they made their way from their winter home in Florida to a summer place in Vermont .

[liner]

I can see using the internet to find the lowest priced gas, but putting less gas in the tank instead of filling it? What does that do, other than not laying out as much money.

[gilmore]

liner wrote:

I can see using the internet to find the lowest priced gas, but putting less gas in the tank instead of filling it? What does that do, other than not laying out as much money.

It reduces the weight of the vehicle and therefore less gas to get the vehicle moving from a dead stop. It can make a difference in start and stop traffic. Pilots do this all the time, i.e., consider the weight of fuel in determining passenger weight, baggage weight, flight time, landing weight, etc.

[GM in Logan Square]

Putting less gas in the vehicle has almost immeasurable effects on increasing mileage ratings. For every 100 pounds of weight a car carries, gas mileage typcially decreases by around 1-2% or so.

[Studio A]

Want to get everyone to decrease their speed at the same time? Here's a fun project:

The minimum speed limit allowable on most interstate highways is 40 MPH. If you're under that consistently, you risk getting pulled over.

So -- recruit 4 big 18-wheelers with trailers to get on the same interstate at the same time. Over the course of several miles, have the drivers of all 4 maneuver so they are side by side, taking up all 4 lanes on the highway.

Then have those truck slow down to 45 MPH, all at the same time, while they are running abreast. Want to see pandemonium? Watch impatient car drivers ride the shoulder to maneuver around the trucks, even though the trucks are running well within the legal speed limit (maximum or minimum).

Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

[Frank]

I slowed down to 60 MPH a couple of weeks ago on the interstate and my avg mileage increased about 2 gallons. I stay in the right lane and don't care who goes around me, it's not a race.

[NIKI in NN]

Studio A wrote:

Want to get everyone to decrease their speed at the same time? Here's a fun project:
The minimum speed limit allowable on most interstate highways is 40 MPH. If you're under that consistently, you risk getting pulled over.
So -- recruit 4 big 18-wheelers with trailers to get on the same interstate at the same time. Over the course of several miles, have the drivers of all 4 maneuver so they are side by side, taking up all 4 lanes on the highway.
Then have those truck slow down to 45 MPH, all at the same time, while they are running abreast. Want to see pandemonium? Watch impatient car drivers ride the shoulder to maneuver around the trucks, even though the trucks are running well within the legal speed limit (maximum or minimum).
Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

LMAO

[Schumey]

If there's a consensus of drivers willing to slow down on the highway, please, please, PLEASE move over into the right lane!!

[Mike]

A couple of months ago, as a test, I set my cruise control from 55 to 60 m.p.h. on a roundtrip drive from Chicago to Toledo. I averaged nearly 32 miles per gallon, driving a 1998 Toyota Avalon that has over 230,000 miles. Just driving the speed limit works.

[Brandon]

I've gone both 55 and 75 on the freeway and have seen no noticeable change in fuel economy. What I do notice is the vast difference between stop and go traffic and highway driving regardless of speed. Slowing down is silly to worry about when we need other things to save fuel. Things like signals that are timed to keep traffic moving, lane discipline on the freeway to keep the traffic flow smoother.

If we could maximize the time our vehicles are using highway mileage ratehr than city mileage, we'd save a lot more fuel than if we just simply slowed down. In some cases, the spread can be as much as 10mpg.

[Brandon]

Studio A wrote:

Want to get everyone to decrease their speed at the same time? Here's a fun project:
The minimum speed limit allowable on most interstate highways is 40 MPH. If you're under that consistently, you risk getting pulled over.
So -- recruit 4 big 18-wheelers with trailers to get on the same interstate at the same time. Over the course of several miles, have the drivers of all 4 maneuver so they are side by side, taking up all 4 lanes on the highway.
Then have those truck slow down to 45 MPH, all at the same time, while they are running abreast. Want to see pandemonium? Watch impatient car drivers ride the shoulder to maneuver around the trucks, even though the trucks are running well within the legal speed limit (maximum or minimum).
Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

No, it'd be illegal, and the drivers should be ticketed for obstructing traffic.

[Schumey]

Studio A wrote:

Want to get everyone to decrease their speed at the same time? Here's a fun project:
The minimum speed limit allowable on most interstate highways is 40 MPH. If you're under that consistently, you risk getting pulled over.
So -- recruit 4 big 18-wheelers with trailers to get on the same interstate at the same time. Over the course of several miles, have the drivers of all 4 maneuver so they are side by side, taking up all 4 lanes on the highway.
Then have those truck slow down to 45 MPH, all at the same time, while they are running abreast. Want to see pandemonium? Watch impatient car drivers ride the shoulder to maneuver around the trucks, even though the trucks are running well within the legal speed limit (maximum or minimum).
Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

The trucks may be within the speed limit, but the driver of the truck in the left lane should get a ticket for illegally driving in the left lane.

[Schumey]

If you're really interested in saving gas while driving on the highway, "draft" off of an 18 wheeler. This is done by tucking your car right up to the rear bumper of the truck, which reduces aerodynamic drag on the vehicle and ultimately saves fuel.

Drafting is performed in auto racing all the time.

[Joey K]

The government should order all drive-thru's closed. I bet we'd save lotsa gas doing that.

Problem is...seems "supply and demand" doesn't hold true anymore. We have cut back bigtime but the price keeps going up anyway. we're gettin screwed royal!

[Studio A]

Schumey wrote:

If you're really interested in saving gas while driving on the highway, "draft" off of an 18 wheeler. This is done by tucking your car right up to the rear bumper of the truck, which reduces aerodynamic drag on the vehicle and ultimately saves fuel.
Drafting is performed in auto racing all the time.

Oh, yeah, by all means, do that. The truck drivers will love you for it. They'll show their love for you by slowing down suddenly when they think you're not paying attention. Sure, sure, do that...if you want to die.

[Studio A]

Schumey wrote:

<quoted text>
The trucks may be within the speed limit, but the driver of the truck in the left lane should get a ticket for illegally driving in the left lane.

Only when such notice is posted.:-)

[Stendy]

Brandon wrote:

<quoted text>
No, it'd be illegal, and the drivers should be ticketed for obstructing traffic.

Spoken as an individual who would be the most likely to illegally pass one of the trucks on the shoulder to get around them. But not before you got flaming mad.

Road rage much? LOL

[Thomas]

liner wrote:

I can see using the internet to find the lowest priced gas, but putting less gas in the tank instead of filling it? What does that do, other than not laying out as much money.

In a jet that carries thousands of gallons of fuel this would save you some money because you would not be carrying as much weight. In a car the reduction is weight by several pounds is insignificant.

[CincoDose]

Schumey wrote:

<quoted text>
The trucks may be within the speed limit, but the driver of the truck in the left lane should get a ticket for illegally driving in the left lane.

Okay, so do it with four cars, then. Sheesh, lets get technical about it.

[DCL]

Thomas wrote:

In a jet that carries thousands of gallons of fuel this would save you some money because you would not be carrying as much weight. In a car the reduction is weight by several pounds is insignificant.

Also I would figure that any savings garnered by that practice would be offset by the likelihood of gas being even costlier the next time one visits the pump. Of course that is also the case for those who top off their tanks, but it would seem that putting less gas in per fillup would still mean more frequent visits to the gas station than for those who put in more. At least for most vehicles on the road today.

[Winona]

Unfortunately, I'm not seeing this trend myself. I take city roads from Aurora to Palatine on my commute, and in the past couple months, I've changed my habits from a little over the speed limit to right at it. I set my cruise at the speed limit, and am constantly passed, and occasionally even honked at or gestured at obscenely by said passers. I have seen my mileage improve on my 2007 Honda CR-V from about 26.5 mpg to 29 mpg, but part of that could be the summer mix of gasoline, too. I'd love to see other drivers slow down along with me, but leadfoots will be leadfoots.