# How you can save fuel and the environment **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [December 6, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-you-can-save-fuel-and-the-environment/155031 "2008-12-06T16:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Energy\_Saver](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/45deac/32.png) [@Energy\_Saver](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Energy_Saver)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-you-can-save-fuel-and-the-environment/155031/1 "2008-12-06T16:11:03Z")
Driving and Car Maintenance Transportation accounts for 66% of U.S. oil use -mainly in the form of gasoline. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to improve gas mileage. Driving Tips:- Idling gets you 0 miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed. Anything more simply wastes fuel and increases emissions.- Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking) wastes gas. It can lower your highway gas mileage 33% and city mileage 5%. Drive at lowest and constant rpms; 2000 rpm are enough; you can save up to 30%. Even a Porsche can be driven at the 4th gear at 20 mph and at the 6th gear at 50 mph with 2.5 times less fuel consumption.- Avoid high speeds. Driving 75 mph, rather than 65 mph, could cut your fuel economy by 15%.- When you use overdrive gearing, your cars engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces wear.- Use air conditioning only when necessary.- Clear out your car; extra weight decreases gas mileage. Each 60 pounds increases fuel consumption by 10%. - Reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks. A roof rack or carrier provides additional cargo space and may allow you to buy a smaller car. However, a loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel economy by 5%.- Check into carpooling and public transit to cut mileage and car maintenance costs. Car Maintenance Tips:- Use the grade of motor oil recommended by your cars manufacturer. Using a different motor oil can lower your gasoline mileage by 1% to 2%.- Keep tires properly inflated and aligned to improve your gasoline mileage by around 3.3%.- Get regular engine tune- ups and car maintenance checks to avoid fuel economy problems due to worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, low transmission fluid, or transmission problems.- Replace clogged air filters to improve gas mileage by as much as 10% and protect your engine.- Combine errands into one trip. Several short trips, each one taken from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Do not forget that in the first mile your car uses 8 times more fuel, in the second mile 4 times and only after the fourth mile it becomes normal.Long-Term Savings Tip- Consider buying a highly fuel-efficient vehicle. A fuelefficient vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or an alternative fuel vehicle could save you a lot at the gas pump and help the environment.See the Fuel Economy Guide ([www.fueleconomy.gov](http://www.fueleconomy.gov)) for more on buying a new fuel-efficient car or truck. Source: [www.eere.energy.gov](http://www.eere.energy.gov) and [http://www.vcd.org/155.html](http://www.vcd.org/155.html)