On Wednesday, April 19, 2006, at 09:19 AM, Scott Cowle wrote:
> I'm sure most of you know this but my way of fighting gas prices is to
> make sure that my driving is such that I use as much of the kinetic
> energy that the engine creates as possible, especially in city
> driving, and I find I can stretch my gas mileage tremendously by
> taking my truck out of gear well ahead of anticpated stops
Don't do this if your power brakes run on engine vacuum! Also don't do
this if you drive a "big" truck -- semi or whatever. The DOT doesn't
allow coasting -- it'll get you a ticket if you get caught -- idling
engines might not have enough power for the power steering and might
not keep the air brake reservoir at full pressure.
> , and accelerating up to a constant speed quickly, but not excessively
> and then holding the truck at a steady speed.
Push the "resume" button on your cruise control -- it'll do this for
you. I've worked with my truck driver employees that are used to
gasoline engines -- when driving a diesel they should work their way up
through the gears as quickly as possible and use the fuel to increase
speed of the vehicle.
> This means that the energy the engine creates is being used to move
> the vehicle and is not being turned into heat in the brakes.
Or the many friction interfaces inside the drivetrain.
> The vehicle lasts longer too and I save my speed trials for my
> Duster. I learned this from reading about the Mobil gas mileage
> challenges of the sixties-which Chrysler often won because they paid
> very close attention to how they were driving. Using these simple tips
> I can easily exceed the EPA ratings for my truck and car. It does not
> solve the high prices but I get more out of what I buy. Scott
Jon Wennerberg
Seldom Seen Slim Land Speed Racing
Marquette, Michigan
(that's 'way up north)
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