Ford Motor Company has some ideas on how to increase fuel economy by up to 25 percent. (Perhaps they could start with making trucks and SUV’s that do better than 15 mpg.)
Here is a list of their noteworthy suggestions:
Accelerate smoothly and brake gradually. Change lead foot to light foot.
Maintain a proper engine tune-up to keep vehicles running efficiently. Keep the wheels aligned. Wheels that are fighting each other waste fuel.
Keep tires properly inflated to the recommended pressureâ€â€this alone can reduce the average amount of fuel use by 3-4 percent.
Time studies show that fast starts, weaving in and out of traffic, accelerating to and from a stop light doesn’t save much time, wastes fuel and wears out some of the car components like brakes and tires faster.
Don’t leave car idlingâ€â€today’s engines don’t need to be warmed up. Prolonged idling creates excess emissions and wastes fuel.
Don’t drive at higher speeds with windows wide open. It increases the aerodynamic drag on the highway and lowers fuel economy.
Minimize use of air conditioning. Use the vent setting as much as possible.
Remove excess weight. Unnecessary weight (unneeded items in the trunk for example) makes the engine work harder and consumes more fuel.
Consider parking instead of using “drive-up” lanes.
Consider walking or bicycling for short distances.
Use a high-quality fuel with the lowest appropriate octane rating. Check the owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommendation. There is no benefit to using premium gas in a vehicle calibrated for regular
‘Minimize use of air conditioning’ makes sense to one and all.
Comments :
By Sushil. April 14th, 2008 at 9:00 amThis message is a representation of creativity in a practical way as its asks that the car air conditioning be used in the maximum way possible. This may seem childish and immature, but its a fun adventure. This will in no way decrease the fuel efficiency.
Try using your cruise control as much as possible. I see a lot of people going slow then fast(off and on the throttle, no steady speed). Give it a try it really works!
By leif. January 4th, 2008 at 12:57 amAlso, make sure that your Ford vehicle has gas caps that are working properly. Check if they are not damaged, loose, or just plain missing. This kind of inattention has caused vehicles to lose that much precious gas? Aside from gas caps, your vehicle should also have clean and usable spark plugs. If they are already worn out, replace them. When a dirty spark plug misfires, it actually wastes fuel.
By Chuck Smith. May 10th, 2006 at 9:54 pmDarn good post Wesley. I figured you’d go all into “The housewife that writes for Comsumer Reports” mode and tell us even more stupid stuff, but you gave very good info of which very few people are aware.
For the record, GM engines are and have generally always been far more efficient than Ford. The aerodynamics of the Vette are just an added bonus. Not to mention, GM’s mileage ratings are seldom as high as real world numbers, whereas Fords are usually lower than their ratings.
4th gen F-bodies (including the last two I’ve had) will hit 30mpg on the highway, low 20’s in the city when properly maintained. The LS1 is slightly less efficient in highway mode than the LT1 and has slightly lower numbers.
By mike. May 2nd, 2006 at 4:30 pmI live i Sweden, gas is $6 USD a Gallon.
What people do not realise is that gas is not the big cost when you own a newer car.
For example, if you buy a new Volvo V70 2.4 in Sweden (the most common car in Sweden and ceaper than a V6 Mustang) the total cost for owning that car is $1.10 USD a mile including insurance, tax, service costs, loss of value and fuel. If that car makes 30 mile a gallon or 40 miles a gallon does not affect the over all cost of owning the car buy more than $0.05 USD a mile, or 4.5%.
The problem is that you see the cost of fuel every time you fill your car up and have to pay about $100 USD for one tank of gas.
But if you lose $13.000 USD in 3 years just in loss of value does not seem that bad……….
I have a 16 years old Volvo as a daily driver and my total cost for owning that car is about $0.43 USD a mile in spite of the milage beeing 23 miles a gallon.
Instead of buying a new car I put my money in my ´66 Mustang or ´62 Ranchero and does not care about fuel cost!
By Magnus. April 30th, 2006 at 9:00 amTrue that the Corvette has better areodynamics than the Mustang, but I also remember (correct me if I’m worng) that the last gen F-Body got the same mileage as the Corvette. In addition, look at the Silverado. The 1500 w/ the 6.0L Vortec Max gets the same mileage as the 5.4L 2V engine from the F150 from 02 and the new 3V version is only slightly better (by 1-2 mpg). How is it that Chevy can get the same mileage out of a 6.0L engine compared to the smaller 5.4L engine from Ford? I think Ford needs to spend more time on analyzing the efficency of their engines and finding out why their 5.4L is marginally better than Chevy’s 6.0.
By bassman97. April 25th, 2006 at 8:38 amAlso, another good tip to save mileage is to drive a car equiped w/ a manual trans.
[…] Ford offers tips on increasing fuel economy.Ford Muscle, CA - 20 hours agoFord Motor Company has some ideas on how to increase fuel economy by up to 25 percent. (Perhaps they could start with making trucks and SUV s that do better … […]
By Ford Trucks » Ford Trucks - Ford offers tips on increasing fuel economy.. April 25th, 2006 at 5:17 amIt’s not a surprise that not hot-rodding your car everywhere you go will increase mileage - but what many people don’t realize that can save them a lot of gas is simply the way that they drive.
If you do a lot of highway mileage, keeping a 6-10 car length distance between you and the car in front of you can be one of the most beneficial things you can do. Why? Because if there is a chain of cars running off of each others bumpers, you are constantly on and off of the gas pedal - modulating it to keep you that 15 feet off of the person in front’s bumper.
If you back off a little bit, you’ll be able to gradually reduce your speed, simply by pulling off the pedal a little, not letting off completely - the space gives you a buffer. You get a little closer by accident, you can let the speed bleed off gradually.
The more gradual the change in throttle position, even if it is at a constant speed instead of acceleration from a light, the less fuel the engine has to give to compensate for the sudden opening.
Also, read the terrain while driving. Make sure you are going a little bit faster as you approach a hill - it will take less gas to maintain the speed limit as you can let some of the speed slowly bleed off as you climb the hill - by the same token, let the incline do the work as you top the hill - let off the gas to maintain your speed.
Use the hills against each other - if you are safe from radar, allow the hill to build the speed of the car - do not change your foot position on the gas pedal, and use that added momentum to climb the next hill and slow back down to the limit.
Cruise control can very often waste gas in areas with even mild hills - they are not willing to go 5 under the speed limit just long enough to reach the top of the hill and then overaccelerate you as you descend. They do a much better job of keeping you from going faster as your mind wanders on long trips, but if at all possible, make every effort to maintain a given speed, using as gradual changes in speed and throttle position as possible - you can read hills and apply gas in advance to the hill - cruise control has to notice a significant decrease in speed to do the same, at which point you must accelerate back to the set speed, in addition to climbing the incline of the hill.
Most of the things that Ford has recommended are things that only clueless people wouldn’t realize - if you have the pedal to the floor to get through a light only to stop at the next, you are wasting fuel. Excessive idling wastes fuel, as does running the AC - modern systems are much better but they still can hit the mileage by a good 3-4 MPG or more. Cracking the windows and opening the vents to get circulation is much less taxing on the engine than turning both the compressor and working the alternator to power the clutch (and possibly the cooling fan.)
Sun roofs are a great asset, if you can simply extend them enough to create circulation with the vent and cracked windows. In fact, an open sunroof generates much less drag than an open window if it is the glass-in-roof design.
Tire pressure is also very important, I’ve noticed gains of 2 MPG simply by raising my tire pressure 3psi to the correct level.
Of course, keeping fresh fluids in the car and running as light a viscosity oil as is possible in all parts of your vehicle can give better mileage, as well as keeping the air filter clean and installing a low-restriction or at least new element. Air splitters, dams, and belly pans can all increase mileage - and many of the new cars have all of those.
The new Mustang is hardly an aerodynamic design, the Corvette is incredibly more so. The coefficient of drag (Cd) of the new Corvette is .28, which is very low. I was unable to find numbers on the new Mustang, but the Cd is most likely close to earlier models, at .35-.4. Thats at least a 20-25% increase in drag just going down the road - and remember drag increases with the square of the speed. If there is a 20% difference in mileage, it would stand to reason that it could very well be from drag alone.
Overall, body styling has gone retro, but as a result has lowered the aerodynamics of cars - the vette has no vertical faces, no openings like the Mustang, and theres no way to avoid that with classic styling.
To get back to the point, driving less aggressively and allowing those speed demon drivers to pass you and, gasp, possibly take YOUR place, could net you a substantial increase in mileage.
By Wesley. April 25th, 2006 at 12:17 amThis to-do list is nice, I hope it helps lower gas prices for Ford’s consumers. But it isn’t just the Ford Mustang that isn’t as efficient as it should be; all of Ford’s fleet gets the worst average gas mileage of any other automaker. Ford should be a symbol of innovation instead of a symbol of marketing.
And most importantly, Ford shouldn’t think that by offering tips to customers that they’re off the hook for their own responsibility. When it comes to oil addiction, Ford is definitely hooked and needs help.
By jenniferkrill. April 24th, 2006 at 1:57 pmJust a guess, but I’d say the Corvett gets better mileage because it’s more aerodynamic and lighter, not because the engine is more efficent.
By Motrhed. April 24th, 2006 at 12:03 pmIt is interesting how they say to avoid using AC and open windows to avoid sticking to the seats when in the summer, the vent setting is like a heater. I also remember a Myth Busters episode in which they proved that AC consumes more gas then having the windows open (this was done at 45 mph). Also, not warming up the car can even reduce mileage since this past winter, I did better in terms of mileage when my car was warmed up for at least 5 minutes. I think what Ford should do instead of making suggestions is to take action. How is it that the Corvette, with a bigger engine and less efficiant valvetrain, can get better mileage than the Mustang? What Ford should do find out why their engines aren’t as efficiant as a Chevy engine.
By bassman97. April 24th, 2006 at 10:42 am