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My friend's innovative approach to gas prices. As everyone knows, you must be pro-active to save money when filling up the old clunker at the gas pump. I'm way in front of the pack on increasing my gas mileage. Here's what I'm doing to save money: I only fill up my gas tank early in the morning (4:15 AM) since the gas is cooler at that time of the day while stored in the underground tank and it's more condensed so I get more gas per gallon. Next week I may start around 3:15 AM for more savings. I'm really dedicated to this, every morning I set the alarm for Nancy to get up and drive to Sheetz. I increased the air pressure in my tires to 48 psi which reduces the "rolling resistance" of my vehicle and I'm sure that I'm getting an additional .7 MPG improvement. The down size is yesterday, I ran over a dime and I can tell you whether it was "heads or tails" since the ride is much stiffer now. I waxed my car with "Nuwax" which reduced the air resistance due to this new silicon miracle wax, this new "slippery" surface probably increased my gas mileage another .5 MPG. I took out all extra weight in my vehicle including my spare tire which probably weighs 29 lbs. Why pay to haul extra weight which uses more gas. I also took out my jumper cables which I never used during the past 14 years for an additional savings of 3/4 lbs. I'm sure both of these weight savings has increased my gas mileage another .2 MPG. Did you know that if you remove the "power steering" belt from the engine, you can save a lot, why bog down the engine to keep this pump running 100% of the time when you only need this option when turning corners. Also. it helps to invest in those special driving gloves that prevent "blisters" on the hands because it a lot harder when driving in the city with all the "stupid" turns to get to the highway's. Nancy won't drive my truck anymore which is more saving but I've increased my mileage by 0.9 MPG. I switched to synthetic oil, since it takes less power from the oil pump. This oil only costs $6.95 per quart VS $1.98 for regular oil, but the engine works less and this certainly has increased my mileage another .6 MPG. My total savings so far is 2.9 MPG. The best savings occurred when I switched to the special spark plugs that I ordered from "Ben Dover Automotive Parts", these special plugs only cost $13.95 each but guarantee an additional 5 MPG increase due to the exotic Zirconium electrodes that have multiple firing points to prevent mis-firing. The test results we're conducted and confirmed by their renowned laboratory located in Haiti. I've removed the catalytic converter from the exhaust system which serves no other purpose than restricts the exhaust gas and causes the engine to work harder. This simple task can be performed in your garage with a hacksaw and extra tail pipe to fill the gap between the muffler and tail pipe. I thought about taking of the muffler too, but I didn't want to go overboard on this saving project. Also, the cops are too numerous in this part of the country and frown on these modifications. This has increased my mileage another 0.5 MPG. I purchased one of those "turbo" fans that are installed in the intake manifold of the air intake, this speeds up the incoming air necessary for combustion, this special retro-fit item only costs 3 equal payments of $39.00 for 3 months, but the savings are enormous. They claim another 7 MPG increase which now has totaled 15.4 miles improvement not counting the first item about condensed fuel. I also ordered the "fuel miser" pellets that you drop into the gas tank on every fill-up. It takes only 2 of these for every fill-up and it coats the pistons and cylinder walls with a 'micro-finish" that reduces heat buildup in the engine. The fuel-miser pills come in a small bottle that contains 20 pills or enough for 10 fill-ups for $69.00 a bottle. Part of the purchase cost's is donated to an orphanage in South Philly which makes me feel good, I like the fact that this money is staying close to home. They claim that these fuel miser pills will increase gas mileage 20%. So now I'm getting 37.4 Miles per gallon, another 20% amounts to an additional 7.48 Miles Per Gallon Increase which now totals 44.88 miles per gallon. I have this wasted space behind my seat in the PU. I went to the Dollar General and purchased 65 helium balloons and stuffed them behind the seat. This actually reduced the weight of my truck since the balloons want to raise up in the air but are trapped so it lightens the overall truck weight. Make sense now. I figure that my truck weighs 2670 lbs. with a full tank of gas, the volume of the truck (length X width X Height) equals 335 CU Feet. The space behind my seats is 8 CU Feet therefore 8/335=.0238 X 2670 lbs. = 63.76 lbs. lighter with helium balloons. This must save another .4 MPG. Since the engine is working less and generating less heat, there no need to have a thermostat in the cooling system, so I took that out too. This "water restrictions" robs the engine of power trying to force water past a closed thermostat. Another potential savings for the average guy. I thought about taking the belts off the AC but I looked and I didn't have one, but you guys can take advantage of this extra savings. It's estimated that this could save a lot of gas..... I read about 1st gear uses more fuel, so now I only use 3rd, 4th and Overdrive. I think a lot of people following me through town appreciate my efforts to save gas. You would be surprised how many strangers honk their horns at Red Lights in appreciation of my efforts. I'll keep you posted on other energy savings as they are developed. If you have any good tips, please share. TinCan's blog | login to post comments
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