How to get the best gas mileage?

I'm driving from Orlando to New York City and back in early August.
I'm planning on attaching a magnetic fuel saver to the incoming fuel
line, hopefully getting 5 mpg more on the highway.

What else should I do to save gas and money for this trip? I own a 99
Saturn SL1 with 54,000 miles. Please recommend brands for
additives/cleaners. Thanks!

-Joey

 

Return the "fuel saver" there is $10 right there. You also don't need
any type of gas additive if you use a high detergent gasoline which
most if not all have in use today.

While you are up here get a copy of Consumer Reports and read up on
those so called "fuel savers" it will save you a load of money by
reading the magazine.

Elector

PS. I also own a 99 SL1 with 54,000 miles on it and it runs like a
top.

 

(1) Get a refund on the magnetic fuel saver.

(2) Keep your speed down. My own experiments revealed a decrease in
gas mileage of 2.5 mpg for every 5.0 mph increase in speed.

(3) Routinely check for proper tire inflation.

(4) Some time ago, I would have also recommended driving more at
night so that you could limit use of the air conditioner,
assuming you have one. Nowadays, it's not immediately
obvious that the load produced by the air conditioner is
significantly higher than the load produced by the headlights.

 

Changes the plugs
Change the wires if you haven't already
Change the gas filter
Change the air filter
Change the oil and filter if it's anywhere near due (won't help with gas
mileage but an oil change will probably be overdue after a round trip from
Orlando to NYC)
Change the transmission fluid and filter (that might not help much with gas
mileage either but I think it's recommended around 50,000 miles)
Ditto on flushing the radiator - it's hot up here.

ron
94 SL-1 108,000 miles
~ 35 mpg highway

 

A 4-wheel alignment wouldn't hurt.
Consider getting them all spin balanced if they're in good shape, considered
new tires if they're getting old.

Running the AC fan at the lowest speed you can stand will save gas but
probably not enough to notice.

ron

 

(2) Keep your speed down. My own experiments revealed a decrease in

The DOHC motor does have a sweet spot though. The best mileage my '94 SC2
can achieve is when I can stay a steady speed between 80 and 85 mph. I've
driven an entire tank at this constant speed on the highway without stopping
or slowing down much and got between 36 and 40 mpg. This was with the air
conditioning on also. I was pretty darn surprised because this goes against
conventional wisdom - but hey, it's a Saturn and it's a little different
anyway.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]

 

A couple of tips:

1. use balding tires (less rubber flexing so less rolling resistance)
2. over-inflate your tires (I use 32 PSI cold)
3. use lighter synthetic oil (5W...)
4. try a can of magic mystery oil in your gas
5. put a block of wood under your gas pedal to limit travel and drive
around in an empty parking lot. Get used to using no more than 1/3 of
pedal travel (ie. don't acclerate hard). Take out the wood before
going back on road.
6. limit top speed to 55MPH.
7. coast well before coming to stop. Every time you use brake, you
are burning money.
8. drive on highways where you maintain constant speed/pedal position.
9. don't use AC. Keep all windows closed.
10. shift early. I use 2000RPM as shift point.

I got over 50MPG (imp gal) doing the above. The tires eventually wore
out and I got replacement Michelin Hydro Edge (at lower PSI). Fuel
consumption immediately dropped to 44MPG.