Energy & Gas Saving Tips And Ideas

This thread is for any ideas someone may have that could save us on home energy or vehicle fuel. It will cover new products home or auto fuel cells, solar, wind, hydrogen or ?
Lets keep the contents in here to things that are available now, or things we can do now.

This thread may get pinned.

I'll start with the family vehicle.

Lets face it, we all want to get the best mileage, especially at todays gas prices. I do not know what you people are paying in the UK, Austrailia or?, but I am sure it is even higher than here in the U.S..

Saving gas can be done in a number of ways and depending on what kind of vehicle you drive, will depend on what that savings will be.

How You Drive
This is the one of the biggest factors when it comes to gas usage.
Do Not...do jackrabbit starts from a stop.
Do Not...do full throttle accelerations.
Do Not...throttle until the last second, only to slam on the brakes.
Drive slower.
Us older folks know this as common sense, but we were all young once and some of us still have bad driving habits.
Slow accelerations from a stop or moving into traffic will greatly reduce the usage of gas, as will slowing up well before as stop.
I tested this with my Ford Aspire. It is a manual. I started coasting up to stop signs, down hills and slow accelerated to highway speed. My mileage jumped by almost 8mpg!
Slower speeds will conserve gas as well, but there is a point of too slow and you start using more gas again.
For my vehicle, I found that 47-53mph is ideal.

Reducing Friction
This will help also, although it will not have as great an impact.
A good friction reducing engine additive can help. I have tested and used many that do work. Some work better than others so be careful what you buy. The same additives that are used in the engine usually also can be used in the manual transaxle or rear differential
Additives for friction reduction is now available for automatic transmissions as well. Be very careful and be sure that what you use says it will work with automatics, or you may do more harm than good.
Friction reducing grease is available for the chassie and wheel bearings.
If you are not mechanically inclined you can purchase the stuff and have your mechanic apply it.
Friction also is a factor on the exterior of the vehicle.
Keep you vehicle well cleaned and waxed with the slipperiest wax you can get. This will allow easier air flow around your vehicle.
There are products that will cause rain to bead up and blow off your windshield. I found this reduces wind drag as well.

Other Factors
I found that keeping 40 pounds of pressure in my tires bumped up my fuel economy by 2-3mpg.
Be sure your front suspension is well aligned and your shocks/struts are in good shape.
Be sure your catalytic converter is not getting plugged, as that will rob you of your fuel economy. Often the smell of rotten eggs is a sign of it. Get it checked to be sure.
Be sure your brakes are adjuster properly. A faulty or dragging brake can effect steering and greatly reduce your fuel mileage.
Open windows increase wind drag. Do not open them if you do not have to.
Use as little electricity as possible. Lights, blower, radio, etc. will increase the demand from your alternator and increase drag on your engine.
Keep your engine tuned up and in good condition.Change your plugs when recommended, distributor cap wires, air cleaner, oil etc.
Do not let your vehicle idle any more than is needed.
Insulate the exterior part of your oxygen sensor. This bumped my mileage up but was small, about 1 mpg.

Other Gas Saving Items & Gadgets

Special or High Tech Plugs
This can help as I have tried a number of them.
The types and brands vary: simple copper core, platinum, split fires, iridiums, E3s, Pulse plugs and the list goes on.
I tested the E3s and found they were better than the platinums or slpit fires. I saw an add about Pulse plugs, on the net.
They were over 25$ each...wow. But when I tested them on a precisely controlled test, they delivered almost 4mpg better than the new set of E3s.
This is all I use now.

Magnets
I read and heard the hype as some of you have, so I tried it and did a scientific test run to compare...I got Zilch.
If they do work, they certainly do not work on the Mazda 4 cylinder , in my Ford Aspire.
In my opinion...it is a waste of money.

Gas Saving Pills
I bought into a program and ended up with several bottles of the stuff.
Do they work...?
Well, not in my Ford Aspire.
I did try them in my Chrysler Town & Country and got about a 3mpg increase. So they work in some, but not in others, why....dunno.

Turbine inserts
I bought one off Ebay.
I tested it under several driving conditions and found it did absolutely...NOTHING.
In my opinion...another waste of money.

Acetone
I first used this stuff a couple of years ago after reading about it on the net.
I added 2oz. per 10 gallons of gas. My mileage jumped by about 3-5mpg.
Be careful not to use too much. This does take away the natural lubrication gas has for your fuel pump and other components.
2oz. per 10 gallons of gas, is the recomended limit.
I used it for 2 years and still using it.

Hydrogen Kits
I bought an HAFC kit.
Hoping to finish the installation soon.
Hydrogen kits promise to save lots of gas by supplementing Hydrogen.
Do they work?
Well, I have talked to several people that have them and got mixed responses.
I found it mostly depended on what kind of system they bought or made.
Any system to work well will need a brain-box to communicate with the on board computer to tell to compensate for the added hydrogen, else there is little to no gain noticed.
When everything is working like it should gains can be as high as 300%!!
Do your research before you buy or build one.


Well thats it for now.
If I can think of anything else I'll add it later and I look forward to your input.

SAFE DRIVING EVERYONE
Peace
S-D

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