Gas Saving Article - REALLY GOOD!! - United Bimmer Community

**johnnyklude** · 07-12-2006, 12:04 AM

Ok so ive pretty much heard all the common sense as well as lousy gas saving tips. but this one was really interesting, and it answered pretty much all my questions.

i like it alot! so just sharing the 'green'.

http://www.cargens.com

witeshark · 07-12-2006, 12:12 AM

Marines? Well ONE thread will do, nice thought

**Numark318i** · 07-12-2006, 12:22 AM

intresting. i like it.

**Chris** · 07-12-2006, 12:36 AM

Quote:

The dumbest thing you can do is rush to a stop. If you think about it, then you will realize that all that built up speed must be suppressed quickly; you will use gas to go faster just so you can use more gas than usual to brake harder and stop. Not only that, you will wear down your brakes and go into bankruptcy with habits like these

More gas than usual to stop? WTF.

**Hoppy** · 07-12-2006, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisdoesntknow

More gas than usual to stop? WTF.

meaning, if you have 100 feet between stop signs, why speed up real fast then slow down real fast. just let the car idle there ( as long as your not holding up traffic)

imagine if you were on foot. running from one point to another. why SPRINT there, when you can walk there. when you drive standard i think you learn theses things better. why shift to 3rd? just roll with the clutch in. up shift on the flats and let her (just over) idle along.

i gotta say great read, knew it all alread and can get 28mpg highway in my 1985 3.5 I6 doing 70+ ( 30+mpg at 55-60 according to the obc for what ever little that actualy is) essentialt this article is trying to say.

energy is neither created nor destroyed, mearly transfered. if you spend X amount of energy to get to 60mph, only to have to come to a complete stop and wait, why not spend a fraction fo X to get to 30 and roll to the stop sign. always keep the car moving. look ahead. look for lights, expect if they are going to be red or green when u get there. if need be slow down BEFORE the light so that you may be able to roll through in 2nd gear instead of having to stop then start again in 1st. anticipate having to pass a car. my dad is the worse he will pull up behind a car, wait, then pull to the left lane and pass. if the distance between you and another car is closing, then you are moving faster than him. try to get to the left lan long in advance so you dont burden your car with the excelleration to pass

a constant motion is your friend. try to time stop lights, passes, and yeild signs. gravity is you friend, gain speed on the down hills, to use on the up hill. its free speed cause mother earth is paying for it!

**da_bull** · 07-12-2006, 05:21 AM

Quote:

While sitting at a red light, put your car into neutral and take your foot off the brakes, unless you’re on an incline. Surprisingly this will save gas because your car doesn’t have to put that extra oomph into holding the brakes for you, it will also give your brake discs a longer life.

I have a problem with this quote.

1) Most cars have a faster idle in neutral than in gear therfore using more gas.
2) Vacuum and fluid hold your brakes not gas.
3) If your completely stopped, your brake pads arent being wore down, theyve done their wear-down coming to the stop.

The rest of the article is a good read, I like the challenge of bettering your gas mileage with the next tank. That would keep you more aware of the fuel compsumption you are using.

My two cents...

**doughboyea** · 07-12-2006, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by da_bull

The rest of the article is a good read, I like the challenge of bettering your gas mileage with the next tank. That would keep you more aware of the fuel compsumption you are using.

I've been doing that all along, ever since I got my E46. Since there is a computerized display of my MPG, I try to see how accurate it is and also try to beat whatever I got the previous tank (just as mentioned in the article).

BTW, the computer on my car is off by 2MPG, where it would read 28, I would calculate 26MPG. The most that it has ever displayed is ~34MPG.

Dough

**Dudesky** · 07-12-2006, 08:18 AM

I might disagree with the statement that cruise control hurts your fuel economy

**doughboyea** · 07-12-2006, 09:47 AM

^ Yea... thier reasoning is that it uses electricity so it draws on the engine to work harder... but so does the power steering... ? OHOH and so do the power seats... can't forget that one... haha.

The only real point against the cruise control is that you don't have the ability to adjust the pedal when ascending a hill and you can't gain speed going downhill without having to turn it off or electronically adjusting the set limit, but then, that just makes using the cruise control stupid.

Dough

witeshark · 07-12-2006, 10:18 AM

Right, and I read that cruise control helps because manual control means that most people vary the speed up and down more which is wasteful

**doughboyea** · 07-12-2006, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by witeshark

Right, and I read that cruise control helps because manual control means that most people vary the speed up and down more which is wasteful

Not if you let off going uphill and use gravity to accelerate downhill.

**Dudesky** · 07-12-2006, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doughboyea

The only real point against the cruise control is that you don't have the ability to adjust the pedal when ascending a hill and you can't gain speed going downhill without having to turn it off or electronically adjusting the set limit, but then, that just makes using the cruise control stupid.

Aw doooode, you got this wrong, brotha.

With CC engaged, you can fully manipulate the gas pedal to increase speed, whether up or downhill, without having to disengage it. Once you let off the pedal, the CC will revert back to whatever speed you had it set to. Also, CC maintains the set speed constantly, regardless of uphill or downhill. This means it pulls on the throttle going uphill, and lets go of the throttle going downhill. You can also adjust the set speed on-the-fly through the lever; you can actually use the lever to speed up or slow down, instead of the gas pedal.

**celsdogg** · 07-12-2006, 10:54 AM

^^^ i do that all the time in the E30.

with the CC set, you can press the gas pedal and there will be no resistance until you take up all the slack on the throttle cable. then i can pull open the throttle more to speed up.

i do it when i set the cc on the highway, and then i need to get over to pass someone who is going slower than what my cc is set to. then once i pass them and get over again, i let go of the pedal.

i also notice the CC letting off the throttle too, when going downhill. when i look at the MPG meter the needle is way past 40mpg, then when the CC reapplies the the gas, then it goes back to about 25mpg.

i thought the E36 and E46 might have had newer setups tho, different from the simplistic E30 design.

just my two cents

**doughboyea** · 07-12-2006, 10:55 AM

Yes yes, I know you can press it, but that's not what I was saying. I know it can revert back. What I was getting at was with the cruise control engaged, and you don't touch it, it will use more gas to go uphill and not take advantage of the downhill slope. You have to play with the pedal to get what you want, which doesn't makes sence. It's just like the cruise control wasn't even there...

Quote:

Originally Posted by celsdogg

i also notice the CC letting off the throttle too, when going downhill. when i look at the MPG meter the needle is way past 40mpg, then when the CC reapplies the the gas, then it goes back to about 25mpg.

It's doing that to maintain the speed... it could care less of the MPG rating. When going uphill it will apply more gas. In my case, the gauge reads something like 10mpg. If my speed changed while going down hill in a positive direction, then with that momentum built up, cruising uphill will draw less fuel.

Dough

**CAPiTUL** · 07-12-2006, 11:56 AM

You shouldn't sit at a light with your car in neutral. I couldn't tell you if it saves anything worth while in gas, or not. What I can tell you is that it just isn't SAFE.

If you get rear ended your car has the ability to roll forward (or backward if hit head on). With the clutch engaged, the car will come to a hault.

Through my experiences driving from NY to FL and back, MANY times - cruise control has always increased my gas mileage.