Car Tips wrote:
> 5 Tips On Making Your Car More Fuel Efficient
>
> With gas prices sky high most individuals who drive are interested in
> ways they can make their car more fuel efficient and save as much money
> as possible. While there are no fuel saving tips that will keep your car
> full of gas without filling up, there are some tips that really can help
> you save money on fuel over the long run. All of these tips focus on
> making your car more fuel efficient.
>
> Fuel Efficiency Tip #1 Drive When You Crank Up This might seem obvious,
> but as soon as you crank up your car you should drive off. However, many
> people crank up and leave the car idling for a while. Instead of this,
> when you crank up drive off and only keep your car running when it is
> absolutely necessary.

This is the problem with totally focusing on one aspect of something and
acting like there are no other considerations at all - IOW gas mileage
is not *everything* and it's foolish to sacrifice everything else for
that. While 10 minute warmup idles are wasteful, it is probably better
to give your engine at least a few seconds of run time before loading
it. Besides giving the oil a chance to redistribute itself in all the
interstices that need lubrication, keep in mind that motor oil's
lubricating properties are nowhere near optimal until it gets up to
about 160-170¡ãF - so - yes - don't let it idle until it's fully up to
temperature, but to minimize wear, until the temperature gage is a good
way towards fully settled out, drive very conservatively, i.e., put
minimum load on the engine - definitely no WOT accelerating, etc.

Also, transmission fluid needs to pump thru the tranny for a few seconds
for its correct operation and protection.

So - let the engine idle for at least 10 seconds before putting it in
gear and driving off, and then drive it gingerly until the engine is
close to full operating temperature.

> Fuel Efficiency Tip #2 Don't Ride the Break Many drivers hit the break
> more often than is necessary. Additionally there are quite a few drivers
> that slow down for a braking car when they could easily switch lanes.
> Not riding the break can increase your fuel efficiency by up to 30%, so
> this is a great tip you should follow.

It's 'BRAKE' not 'BREAK'. For some strange reason you did spell it
correctly one time in the verbal adjective form.

For best fuel economy, less wear and tear on the brakes, and accident
avoidance, leave extra distance between you and preceding traffic (and
if your paying attention, it may also help avoid getting rear ended if
you leave yourself room to accelerate or maneuver out of the way).
Anticipate slow downs and stop lights to minimize use of the "breaks".

--
Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')