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Getting more mileage out of less

Sunday, March 25, 2012

As gasoline prices inch up and in some places exceed $4 a gallon we're all trying to eke out as much mileage as we can from our vehicles.

I heard that using high-test gas improved your distance per gallon and thought I'd try it. The difference was interesting, very interesting.

Before I reveal what my results were, let me tell you what the esteemed little circle of experts I've been consulting with is telling me about ways to get the most distance at the lowest cost. There's a lot of information about this everywhere, some good and some worthless — if not downright wrong.

My best sources of information have been mechanics, one in particular who I trust with my own vehicle, a 2006 Nissan Frontier pickup.

Here's the scoop:

There's no magic wand when it comes to gasoline powered locomotion. It's really all about the kind of vehicle you have and how you treat it.

I have a neighbor who commutes, in good weather, on a moped. He gets 80 or so miles per gallon.

Not many of us are willing to be hanging on to a little modified go-cart to get to work, but he's saving tons of money.

So is my co-worker who bought himself a tiny Fiat we refer to as the "bubble car" and gets about 40 miles per gallon.

Then there are those who can afford hybrid gas/electric vehicles.

For the rest of us, the octane level of gas we buy can make a useful difference, says my mechanic. It depends on the vehicle and the price of gas, which can vary dramatically among grades.

I paid almost 20-cents more per gallon for high-octane mix during my test driving, for example.

The only way to tell if it is worth it is to fill up and drive several times with different gas grades, then compare.

There are other measures we can take. A big one is tire pressure.

Keep them inflated to the recommended specs on the driver's door panel, says my mechanic.

Aerodynamics and weight also are big deals. This is why the best mileage I ever got was in an early 1960s model Volkswagen Beetle that was shaped like its namesake and was so light it was scary in a stiff wind.

I think I was getting more than 30 miles per gallon back then. Of course gas was under 50 cents a gallon so who cared.

Air flow can affect mileage significantly. Anything you can remove from the vehicle that traps air will help. Roof racks and flags on the antenna can go. Maybe even the antenna.

In pickup trucks, there's an ongoing debate about the back bed. When the tailgate is up, it traps air and cuts mileage, many drivers contend. This is why you see beds covered and tailgates removed, replaced with nets or just kept down.

My mechanic likes bed covers. He claims to add a mile per gallon to his pickup with one, and has tracked it extensively. I believe him.

Furthermore, jettison any extra weight to save mileage, say the experts. This is usually easy since most of us keep all kinds of useless stuff in trunks and other storage nooks that we think will one day prove useful. It usually isn't worth the ride.

Then there's maintenance. The best mileage is gained when your vehicle's sparkplugs are clean, gapped properly and firing in perfect harmony.

Getting back to airflow, my experts agree that tailgating has benefits, especially if the vehicle in front of you is big such as a tractor-trailer. You get a significant mileage boost if you get close enough to be within the front vehicle's air draft. An odd thing is you both may benefit because your being there cuts the air flow from swirling up under the back of the front vehicle and pulling on it. Isn't this odd?

It's just academic because you should not do this, for obvious reasons.

You'll likely end up in an accident because you have no reaction time if the front vehicle has to stop. And, tailgating is annoying not to mention probably going to get you a ticket.

Now back to my experiment with high-test gas. Surprise. I actually got 20.47 miles to the gallon with regular compared to 19.45 miles with high test. So I paid more for less. You know what I'm going to be pumping.

Jeremiah Turner can be reached at jturner