I had the opportunity to catch up on some of the shows I enjoy today... and one of them was Trucks on the Spike Powerblock. The episode today had a segment about fuel economy... and getting better economy.
It was an interesting segment to watch. And it showed something VERY important. Not just about fuel economy, but about many things we do...
The subject vehicle was a full-size, V-8 powered, 4wd, loaded American pick-up... a Chevy. EPA city rated at about 15mpg, we aren't talking about a Prius here. For the test, they laid out a route and ran a baseline. The route included highway, city and rural driving. Coming in at 18.4 miles on the single gallon of gas for the route, that wasn't terrible.
The first test was to try a software/hardware solution. They used a piece of equipment from a respected manufacturer. Running the same route, the truck got about 18.8 miles out of the gallon. Pulling an extra 8 miles out of a 20 gallon tank isn't exatly going to change your world.
And then they utilized another product... This one is from a company called Bully Dog, and it is called the Watchdog. They didn't undo the previous modification, but instead took the driving cues from the Watchdog's Coaching program. The result was kind of surprising. A gallon of gas took the truck 22.4 miles. Now, getting an extra 75 miles out of a 20 gallon tank of gas WILL change your world.
The thing that changed was the driver's habits. And that is the bottom line... the most important piece of hardware in the car for increasing fuel mileage is the driver. And the most important piece of software is... the driver.
There are some things that you can do to increase the efficiency of your car...
- Run the proper tire pressure
- Keep your car in good tune
- Change the oil regularly at the proper interval
- Make sure you have a clean air filter
But, there are some things that you can do that will have an even more drastic effect...
- Smoothly accelerate from a stop
- Avoid using the brakes when possible
- Drive at a smooth, consistent speed
- Roll up to stops using as little brakes as possible
- Steer smoothly
So, while the Watchdog is $300... and I think it would pay off for a lot of people... remember that driving smoothly and efficiently is free! In faxct, it is better than free... it puts money in your pocket.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
I'd love to hear from you...
Lane, I've tried and tried to teach my boys those practices--not only does it improve your gas mileage, saving you a lot of money but, it saves having to replace your brakes so often. Great info!
Have a great week...
Debe - It is easy... and free... and pays you money. And we can still have the power when we want it.