EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Off Topic > The Billiards Room
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-01-11, 11:22 AM   #1
Higgy
The Gardener
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Manitoba - Canada
Posts: 492
Thanks: 17
Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Default Driving an Automatic

Hey all. Now that I purchased my Rav4, I need some input into driving an automatic more economically. I started shifting it to neutral to glide towards lights, and I don't punch it when the light turns green. Any recommendations?

Higgy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-11, 12:04 PM   #2
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Using the brakes as little as possible is a great start, so is slowing down a bit.

ER's sister website, EcoModder is much more suited to answer your question. I suggest a visit.

Here is a list of driving techniques you can use:

100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-11, 12:05 PM   #3
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default

Get a ScanGuage2 and you can see if you are doing the right or wrong thing..



My 6-speed AT does pretty good.. (2009 Ford Escape 2.5L)
I just have to keep speed down and it does very well.

On a flat road, it can get about 40 MPG at 40 MPH..
The AFE displayed was the average fuel efficiency for that trip (on US-95).

If I'm going fast, or going down a hill and let my foot off the gas,
the engine will go into fuel-cut-off mode. But staying under the speed limit
does the most for saving fuel.
Second on the list is keeping some good pressure in the tires.
It makes for a bumpy ride sometimes, but a little extra PSI helps
with MPG & handling.

For me, messing around with advanced Hypermiling techniques isn't going to save a lot more fuel..

If what we see on the news is true, we will all be saving more soon.
Because we will be cutting way back on the miles we drive.
My guess is $6 by the end of August. I'll revise that if things change,
and we can jump out of the hand-basket.

Last edited by Xringer; 03-01-11 at 01:19 PM..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-11, 08:35 AM   #4
benpope
Helper EcoRenovator
 
benpope's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Little Rock, AR
Posts: 95
Thanks: 16
Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xringer View Post
If what we see on the news is true, we will all be saving more soon.
Because we will be cutting way back on the miles we drive.
My guess is $6 by the end of August. I'll revise that if things change,
and we can jump out of the hand-basket.
God help us who have to drive a lot! I just put the calculator to my commute and I'm commuting about 360 miles a week plus an extra 20 miles of "discretionary" driving. Fortunately I traded in my small truck for a used Prius, so it is only 9 gallons of gas. Still, at $6/gal it would be $55 per week. Time to start looking for a job closer to home...
benpope is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-11, 12:58 PM   #5
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default

If I get some hours in this year, I hope it's during the summer.
Because the Lab is within bike riding distance. (5.2 miles)

I had some many nuisance medical problems in 2010, I only logged about 6 hours of work.
Maybe I'll be better this year.. Get some moola to pay for some of the PV stuff I've been buying..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-11, 08:59 PM   #6
hotwire
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 21
Thanks: 4
Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Default

I really like my ScanGauge2, it's helped me understand how my driving habits affect my mpg.
hotwire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-11, 06:55 PM   #7
Angmaar
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

The best way to save gas is to not use the brakes. This means leaving a larger buffer between you and the car in front and taking turns a bit faster. Also try learning when the car shifts into a higher gear. For example my car gets better MPG at 43MPH (~50MPG) compared to 40MPG (~35MPG) because the transmission shifts into a higher gear.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-11, 12:59 AM   #8
strider3700
Master EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Vancouver Island BC
Posts: 745
Thanks: 23
Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts
Default

scanguageII works fine on a stick. the car just needs to be new enough. 96 and newer in most cases. my 97 F350 is classified as a heavy duty and didn't need to have the computer system the rest of the 96 on vehicles have.
strider3700 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-11, 09:52 PM   #9
munter
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 15
Thanks: 0
Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Default

I like Angmaar's answer. Your driving technique will have a big impact on your fuel economy. Anticipating well in advance when you will need to change speed will allow you to roll through situations where other, less obeservant drivers would come to a stop and then need to accelerate back up to speed.
I'm not sure of the merits of taking it out of gear. Some modern cars will go into a fuel saving mode where they consume very little/no fuel on the over-run so it might not be worth the effort to shift.
Other suggestions would be increase tyre pressure, remove unnecessary weight and remove any external protrusions like roof racks, spot lights or aerials. Ecomodder has vastly more on these topics.
munter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-11, 07:12 AM   #10
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default

Yeah, when I'm coasting down a hill, already over the speed-limit,
and the SG2 is displaying 120+ MPG, I know that it's so close
to fuel cut-off, why mess around shifting to 'N', when I really
need to give all my attention to driving (and watching for radar traps).

Anyways, my car is still running okay at 5,200 miles. It's two years old this month.
I think I've burned around 200 gallons of fuel so far.

Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:16 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design