How to improve your car efficiency

In this instructable i'll give you some tips of how to improve your car efficiency in little things that you never notice.

This is my first instructable, you can bear me with my english, because I'm spanish and I can make some little mistakes

Step 1 1. Let the car warm for itself while you're driving

Don't let the car for a while idling for warming, you can drive wherever and by the time, your car will get warm by itself, and you'll save, time, gas and you won't emmit so much gases to the atmosphere.

Comments

[bahi]

Hola, a partir de cierta velocidad la mayor parte de la energía que gasta un vehiculo, se usa para vencer la resistencia aerodinamica, por tanto mejorar la aerodinamica del vehiculo es el punto principal para reducir el consumo.
Respecto al aire acondicionado de los coches, en los modelos que he probado, (modo A/C recirculando, vehiculos c5 y l200) con los medios convencionales no es posible medir diferencias de consumo entre llevarlo puesto y no.

Buen instructable.

Hi, at certain speed most of the energy used by a vehicle is used to beat aero drag. So improve the vehicles aerodynamics is the key.
About AC, in the models I've tested (a/c recirculation, car c5 and L200) with conventional means it's not possible to tell any differences wheter it's on or not.

Nice instructable.

[jimmytvf]

soy tecnico superior de automocion, y está demostrado ese resultado. Normalmente estas pruebas se hacen a velocidades de mas de 100 km/h, donde la eficiencia aerodinámica es la clave. Esta ley se aplica cuando el aire fluye alrededor del lado del coche. Con las ventanas abiertas, el aire choca con el pilar de la ventana, aumenta la resistencia aerodinámica, en cambio, con las ventanas subidas, el aire resbalará por asi decirlo, en vez de chocar.

I'm a superior motor technician, and that results are tested. Usually that kind of test are made in speeds up to 100km/h (60mph) where the aerodynamic efficiency is the key. This law works when the air flows through the side of the car. With the open windows, the air his the central pillar, the aerodynamic resistance is higher, but, with the closed windows, the air will slide the glass instead.

[StuNutt]

The "Spanish English" was a bit of a struggle in places, but the meaning was clear and a lot of good advice - Thanks.

[jimmytvf]

not sure what you mean, but thanks for told me that i made a kinda clearly instructable

[theexpert]

some of your wording is off but other than that i liked the hole instructable and i still did understand

[dartmouthguy]

We started diesels and gasoline engines in beastly cold temps daily, and got 400K up to 800K miles on 'em with minimal warm-ups.
Staying in the highest gear you can w/o 'lugging' the engine saves fuel.
Better - when we go to the city, we park at an outlying mass-transit station and slide into downtown in our public electric trains! No through-the-roof parking lot fees or bright orange $25 valentines on the windshield.
Really, you want to get around efficiently? Fight for light-rail transit.
Boston is very well served. Of course, they've had it since 1874

[jimmytvf]

that's the most efficient thing you can do, of course, but here in Spain, trains are the worst thing you've got to move around the city always with delays, and for 0,78€ a trip, isn't so bad

[dartmouthguy]

As a retired 18-wheeler jockey I still 'play the lights' , backing off the power and cruising up to the red light as it goes to green and going on w/o using the brakes at all.
 I am not electro-psychic, one does get so one 'plays traffic like a violin.
Try it - you'll save gas. Of course you can't do it always and everywhere,  and patience is un-American.
I figure I  get a free annual dinner out with my wife, not to mention going further on brake pads.

[fwater]

Well said. Too many myths abound concerning increasing gas mileage, and you see the "stop the engine at traffic lights" often. It would be interesting to see a study done on how much undue wear is created from some of these myths such as driving a cold engine and short-shifting (not letting an engine operate at medium RPMs where the volumetric efficiency is far higher than at low RPMs).

[fwater]

All car manufacturers design engines to operate while hot. Not letting an engine warm up to operating temperature during cold times causes accelerated wear and shortening of engine life. Diesel engines are especially prone to this, even modern ones. How much is debatable, but nonetheless true. An engine while idling produces a very tiny fraction of HCs compared to normal city driving. Pardon my poo-pooing of the poster's suggestion, but this is a myth.

[Hands Without Shadows]

Your tongue on the pole analogy is completely wrong. Engines lock up because the piston expands faster than the block. This is why you should let your engine idle and warm up before driving. Its a huge deal in older sleeved engines, not as big a deal in aluminum engines.

[jimmytvf]

yes, you're completely true don't know what i've been thinking in that moment with the analogy, but i put the correct explation a little more forward thanks for the advice!

[jimmytvf]

well, i want to say that the explanation of because the piston expands faster than the block, is because the no-lubrication with the difference of temperature, that makes that contrast that don't allow the piston contract at the time that it need to return at his original status. oil that makes, one of his missions is to evacuate the heat, and separate this two parts, the piston and the block, so, the piston don't "overexpand"