Getting the best fuel economy possible

Getting the best fuel economy possible out of your vehicle is important but it looks like it will become even more important in the next few years. This is a topic that I like to discuss although I have to be very careful because the government is very sensitive about this subject.

In order to keep myself out of trouble I try to stick to writing articles about getting the maximum amount of fuel economy from your vehicle that falls within the guidelines of what the manufacturer advertises. In other words if the car-maker states that your vehicle will get 23 highway and 17 mpg in the city there is no reason not to shoot for that goal.

One of the biggest reasons that someone will not be able to achieve the advertised fuel economy ratings is because of their driving habits. Driving habits that focus on achieving the best fuel economy from your vehicle has received a nickname called hypermiling. I have written a complete page on this subject on my other website. You can view this article from this next link that talks about hypermiling techniques.

For me I have been interested in this topic since 1984. It was at this time I had an automotive instructor that liked to play with and modify carburetors. He would try and get the best possible fuel economy out of the over-sized gas hog vehicles that where pretty much the industry standard back in the early to mid-80s.

This particular automotive instructor will remain nameless because he was extremely paranoid about sharing his results of increasing fuel economy from any given vehicle. He believed in most of the conspiracy theories that were circulating at the time and feared for his well-being.

Before I move on I would like to share with you that he had some radical ideas about the jets used in the carburetor and was also intrigued by heating the fuel using a heater element in the base plate gasket. His results where interesting to say the least. Also interesting was at around this same time in automotive history, fuel injection became more widely used and carburetors where abandoned.

The first thing that you need to find out is what kind of gas mileage is your vehicle capable of. These advertised ratings from your vehicle manufacturer are usually extremely accurate. The reason for this is because the government keeps an eye on these advertised fuel economy numbers. If a company was to claim that their vehicle received 35 miles to the gallon and it actually only did 20 than this could be considered false advertising.

It is for this reason that I personally feel that the advertised fuel economy ratings are extremely achievable. After you find out what your vehicle is capable of you will need to measure the actual miles per gallon that your vehicle gets in both City and highway driving conditions. Getting the best fuel economy possible can not be achieved without measurements and data collection.

If you find that your results are lower than the advertised specifications then you should try to take action. I have written several pages to assist you in diagnosing your problems and help you increase fuel economy. Although a lot of this information may be things that you already know they may not be things that you practice on a daily basis.

A common problem that can lead to poor fuel economy would be a vehicle that is not running correctly. The online auto repair.net website has a lot of information to help you diagnose and solve automotive performance problems. If you are in a hurry and would like to ask an expert about your particular situation this next link will take you to the car repair help section. For more of the latest articles posted to the blog this next link will take you back to the blog home page from this page about getting the best fuel economy possible.