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Get the Facts Do Your Part

Guide: Drive Better

Steps to get it done:

Check out this guide, and get motivated
We don't expect people to go out tomorrow and replace their vehicles with more efficient ones. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything to improve the efficiency of your driving.
Step 1: Keep track of your mpg
See what your mileage is for a couple of average fill-ups. You can know for sure by filling the car up and zeroing the trip odometer then filling up again and dividing the mileage on the trip odometer by the number of gallons you put in. Do this a couple times to get a good idea of what your baseline is.
Step 2: Try taking advantage of better driving techniques for 2 fillups
Better driving means performing any regular maintenance on your car (don't forget to check tire pressures), removing any heavy unnecessary objects from the vehicle (still have the bags of sand in there from winter?), and accelerating smoothly. It also involves cutting your speed on the highway a bit. When driving around town, don't accelerate to a red light (the more you use your brake, the more energy you are wasting). Other techniques include using your A/C less, planning your trips to minimize stops, and turning off the engine instead of idling (new cars are very efficient at starting up, here's a good article on it).
Step 3: Check your mileage again
Continue to track mileage to see what the changes are doing to your mileage.
Step 4: Continue using these practices and tracking your mileage
Make the behaviors (and mileage improvements) permanent. Continue to try get better and consistently raise your mileage. This is an ongoing thing, but once you feel like you've made a significant improvement, you can check off the guide.
Start this Guide!

Comments

Sam Fladung June 8, 2009
Does using the AC less actually help if you compensate by opening the windows? This would create extra drag by distorting the aerodynamics. Not sure how this would balance.
Jeff Gunther June 9, 2009
So the initial point in the guide was to deal with slightly higher temperatures, for example, you could run your A/C until the car cools and then turn just the circulating fan on rather than running the A/C full blast all the time. You bring up a good point, however.

The A/C vs. windows down issue is something that is under a lot of debate, and as with most things, it depends. There is a speed at which it is better to have the windows up and A/C on. What that speed is depends on wind speed and direction, size and shape of your car, the outside temperature, and a number of other issues. As a general rule, on the highway, you're better off with the windows up and A/C on and around town, windows down with the A/C off is better.

But experiment. This guide is all about lowering your mileage, so try different things and see what works best.
Kaitlyn Van Arsdell June 9, 2009
also useful = parking in the shade or in a garage

In high school my siblings and I always checked to see who was using the most gas, and my parents got the worst mileage -- great, smooth, slow drivers, but they keep the AC and heat on constantly instead of switching it on for a few minutes when they become uncomfortable. I'm a terrible driver but get decent mileage because I don't like the AC blasting in my face. Also open the windows instead of using AC when driving in-town.
Steven Skoczen July 10, 2009
Update to Jeff's comment - we covered this in the Windows down vs A/C Sustainability Showdown, and windows-down was always the better option.
Micaela July 21, 2009
Using one of the ever-dorky light reflectors actually helps quite a bit too.
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