Minimize the cost per mile driven

With fuel prices rising again, oil is back near $100 a barrel, you will probably want to minimize your cost of driving. Some helpful hints are common ones, but others are some lesser know things. One thing I have discovered in my years of working with cars and being around the car culture is that there are similarities between vehicles that get really good mileage and high performance vehicles.


1. Proper tire pressure
Keep your tires properly inflated. This will help decrease the rolling resistance (friction between your tires and the road) increasing fuel mileage. The higher tire pressure you have the lower rolling resistance between them and the road. While it may sound good to just crank the pressure way up this isn't a good thing either as it will affect the ride quality, tire wear, and safety.


2. Clean your car out
Not only will your friends want to ride in your car you can cut your fuel consumption. Granted in most cases this won't amount to much if any but if you carry around a bunch of junk (10's to hundreds of pounds) there might be a noticeable difference.


3. Keep your vehicle tuned
By keeping your vehicle properly maintained you can keep it running as efficiently as possible. See my previous posting on a vehicle maintenance schedule. Not only will this schedule keep your car running for a long time it will keep it running optimally.


4. Fuel saving tires
Fuel saving tires can help reduce your fuel consumption as they offer lower rolling resistance between your tires and the road.


5. Decrease drag
Remove external accessories for your vehicle. Just as cleaning out the junk can increase fuel economy so can removing unneeded exterior accessories. Typically this will be things like roof racks, bike racks, hitch accessories. Not only are you decreasing the weight of your vehicle, but you are decreasing the amount of drag caused by the wind hitting these things.


6. Use the correct gas
People seem to think that using premium gas will increase their fuel economy, the truth is if your vehicle is running correctly it won't. The truth is your vehicle was designed to run on gasoline with a specific octane (typically 87, 89, or 91). Granted using a higher octane won't hurt your car, but it does cost more money. By running a lower octane fuel in your car than recommended in you will waste fuel. This is because modern cars can compensate for too low of an octane by dumping more fuel in. This will prevent preignition, but will cause your car to run rich and will shorten the life of O2 sensors and catalytic converters. The truth is gasoline regardless of octane contains the same amount of energy.


7. Use synthetic fluids
Synthetic fluids can help increase your fuel economy. Granted they are more expensive, but they last longer. I cover synthetic oils in detail in this post. In my daily driver I run synthetic oil in the engine, synthetic transmission fluid in the transmission, and synthetic gear oil in the read differential. Most of the benefits of synthetic fluids come from the superior lubrication, decreased friction, and better flow, it takes less energy to move them around.


8. Use lighter oil
You can get better fuel economy by using a lighter oil. In my daily driver I run 0w30 in the cold Minnesota winter and then work up to 10w40 in the summer using either 5w30 or 10w30 in the spring and fall depending on temperature. As temperatures warm you shooed be using heavier oils to protect your engine, but don't use a heavier oil than necessary.


9. Gas coupons
Not all states allow or have gas coupons but I know here in Minnesota several gas station chains have gas coupons. Both Kwik Trip and Holiday station stores have gas coupons in the St. Paul paper for up to 7 cents off a gallon. The Kwik Trip coupons are in the St. Paul paper on the first Wednesday of the month, and the holiday coupons are in the St. Paul paper on the last Wednesday of the month. Additionally you can sometimes find gas coupons online for gas stations like Holiday Station stores have.


10. If your car takes 89 octane some stations sell it at the price of 87 octane
If you are unlucky like me to have a car that takes the mid grade (89 octane) you are kind of stuck paying a higher price per gallon for gas unless you know what gas stations sell the mid grade (89 octane) at the same price as regular (87 octane). This can save between 7 and 12 cents a gallon. I know that the Kwik Trip stores near me do this as do a number of the Holiday gas stations.


11. Use gas that doesn't have ethanol in it
In Minnesota this is basically impossible, yes you can buy non-oxy fuel but it is few and far between, but I believe that some states still sell gas without ethanol. If you are in a state that has a 10% ethanol mandate you loose about 3-4% of your mileage because of the lower energy content of ethanol.


12. Leave some distance between you and the one in front of you
Now it is theoretically possible to get better mileage by following closely behind another one. This is because of decreased drag, but is also dangerous and rarely produces good results. The reason for this is that you are varying your speed more than you normally would. By leaving more space between you and the vehicle in front of you 12. Leave some distance between you and the one in front of you you may not have to overcome more wind resistance, but you will be able to drive at a more constant speed. Also in rush hour traffic you can gradually slow down and speed up when doing this. Quick starts and stops really wreck mileage.


For the most part I practice what I preach and doing these things can lead to significant gains in mileage. My daily driver is an 1997 BMW 540i with a 5 speed automatic transmission, sport package, and has 215,XXX miles on it. This vehicle was claimed by the government to get 18 MPG combined and qualified as a cash for clunkers vehicle, I have never gotten that poor of gas mileage. My rolling average over the last 114,000 miles or so (I got the vehicle with 101,000 miles on it) has been 22.7 MPG according to the on board computer. This is more or less what I see when I fill up but is definitely in the correct range. I drive 32 miles one way (64 round trip) to work each day in rush hour traffic plus all the other little BS trips I make in a week. The best mileage I have ever gotten has been on long trips that are mostly open road. Typically on trips these I get in the 27 to 29 MPG range and have gotten that several times, most recently was last weekend going up to the iron range and back averaging 28.2 MPG round trip on a trip that was just a little over 400 miles. I could probably get better mileage but I do like to drive in a rather um "spirited" fashion especially on freeway entrance and exit ramps.

Scan tools and why you don't need one

Recently I heard an ad on the radio for a product called CarMD that would allow you to save hundreds on car repairs. So being my naturally inquisitive self I decided to see what it actually is. After going to the CarMD website it looks like this device is just an ODB-II scan tool . It is a on the high end of price for one but I wouldn't recommend buying it. Simple fact is that an OBD-II scan tool can be had for less than $30 if you really need one.

So why don't you need one? A number of auto parts stores have loaner tools and will let you use a scan tool free of charge. I know the local O'Reilly Auto Part stores loan out tools usually you can just leave your licence and use the tool in the parking lot, or if you need to take it with you you just leave a deposit (the cost of the scan tool) and get that back when you bring the scan tool back to them. Also I have heard ads stating that Advance Auto Parts also loans out scan tools and will even do the scan for you. There are probably other auto parts stores that will loan out the tool as well but these were the 2 that I know do. The reason that they loan out the tool is simple, it is convenient for you the customer to find out what what the check engine light means. The people behind the counter know what the codes mean and can tell you what part you need to fix your car so they get a sale out of it and you leave a happy customer.

The only reasons that I would recommend purchasing one of these tools would be if there wasn't an auto parts store near me that doesn't loan the out, or I am using one almost every day. I would say that the 2 times a year or so I need to use one I can spare the 15 minute round trip to the auto part store. I don't have any reason to believe that the CarMD produce is a scam, bad product, or a dodgy company, they seem completely legitimate and there isn't anything magical about a scan tool. For the $119.85 they are asking for a scan tool you could buy an inexpensive OBD-II scan tool (they all read the same data) and about 3 shop manuals that will tell you how to fix the problem with your vehicles.

I am not paid by O'Reilly Auto Parts or Advance Auto Parts, I was only used them as examples of companies that loan out the scan tool. Additionally the scan tools I linked to are only examples, I am not endorsing either of them, nor was I paid to provide links to them. The links are provided for example purposes only.

5 Minute Car Care

Here are some basic car care tasks that take less than 5 minutes each.

1. Change you wiper blades. Wipe blades wear out and need to be replaced every 6 months to a year. On most vehicles they just clip on. To make this job easier use a slotted screw driver to depress the little tab that holds them in place. The new ones just clip in.
2. Change your air filter. Air filters need regular replacement so you car can perform at its best. This is a simple task that requires at most a screw driver. 
1. Open the filter box, sometimes the filter box is held closed by clips, other times by screws
2. Remove the old filter
3. put the new filter in
4. close the box, put the screws back in or redo the clips.
3. Change you PCV valve if you vehicle has one. When the PCV valve gets plugged your vehicle will smoke a lot because it is sucking up oil.  This is really easy it only takes about 30 seconds and a new PCV valve is usually in the range of $3-$5. 
1. Find the PCV valve (hint it is in the valve cover on the top of the engine and will look kind of like the new part you just bought)
2. pull the old PCV valve out of the valve cover
3. remove the hose attached to the old PCT valve
4. connect the hose to the new PCT valve
5. put the new PCV valve in the valve cover
4. Check you tire pressure. This will maximize your tire life, fuel mileage, and ride quality. The longest part of this fix is going to a gas station if you don't have your own compressor. You will need a tire pressure gauge and if you don't have one buy one it they are a couple of bucks.
1. Go around to each tire and check the pressure (you can find the correct tire pressure in either your owners manual, on the drivers side door pillar, or the gas door)
2. add some air if it is low or let some out if it is high, 
3. recheck and add or remove air as necessary until at the correct pressure.

Doing all of these tasks is cheep, typically you could do all 4 of them for less than $15 if you didn't own anything and needed to buy a screwdriver, and tire pressure gauge. 

Charging a battery or jumpstarting a car

One thing that I do frequently is end up charging a car battery or jump starting someone's car. Frequently this is because someone let a vehicle sit for a long time (probably a month or more), or they left the lights on. Every once and a while it is because of an actual failed battery. I also charge up my wife's car every few weeks since she only drives about 2 miles a day so her battery never gets fully charged unless I do it and I charge the car battery when changing oil. When it comes to charging a vehicle's batter there are right and wrong ways of doing it which I will discuss below. As a side note if you have a limited use vehicle I highly suggest getting one of those solar trickle chargers that sell for about $20 just plug it into the 12V outlet (cigarette lighter) and put in on the dash. I use one in my Bronco II and that thing will sit for a month consistently and still starts without issue.

Jump starting a car:
I suggest carrying around a good set of jumper cables. Good ones have real heavy clamps and are at least 6 gauge wire 4 gauge wire is better (lower gauge is thicker wire).

1. Move the running vehicle so that it's battery is as close to dead battery in the other vehicle as possible
2. Leave the vehicle with the good battery running
3. Make sure all accessories (lights, radio, etc.) are off in the vehicle with the dead battery
4. connect the red cable to the red (+) terminal on the vehicle with the dead battery
5. Connect the other end of the red cable to the red (+) terminal on the running vehicle
6. Connect the black cable to the black (-) terminal on the vehicle with the dead battery
7. Connect the other end of the black cable to the black (-) terminal on the running vehicle
8. Do not attempt to start the vehicle with the dead battery yet, it probably won't start and if you do try it will only take longer.
9. Go sit in the running vehicle for a few minutes. I suggest bringing the engine up to a faster idle (1500 RPM) so it will charge the dead battery faster. To do this just lightly press on the gas pedal, you will hear the engine speed up some
10. After 5 or so minutes have someone else go and try to start the vehicle with the dead batter. Keep the running vehicle at the faster idle.
11. If the vehicle with the dead battery started continue to step15
12. If the vehicle with the dead battery turned over (tried to start) but didn't start go to step 9
13. If the vehicle with the dead battery didn't turn over go to step 9 but let it charge for 10 minutes
14. If you get here and have tried starting the other vehicle and it won't start the battery is probably totally dead so go get a new one, or the starter is the problem and go get a new one. Continue to step 15 and disconnect the jumper cables.
15. Disconnect the black cable from the car that has been running the whole time
16. Disconnect the black cable from the car that got the jump
17. Disconnect the red cable from the car that has been running the whole time
18. Disconnect the red cable from the car that got the jump
19. If the car that got the jump is now running have them take it for a drive for at least 30 minutes to get the battery charged back up. Highway driving is better as that is at a constant speed and will charge the battery quicker and will put less of a load on the battery. You can end now
20. If the char that got the jump isn't running check the battery and starter. (This will be discussed in another post later)

Using a battery charger (also applies to connecting battery boosters)

1. Do NOT have the battery charger plugged into the wall
2. Connect the red cable to the red terminal (+) on the battery
3. Connect the black cable to the black terminal (-) on the battery
4. Plug in the battery charger
5. Select the type of charging. Some chargers don't give you an option, these are trickle chargers. The various options are below
1. Trickle charge (1-2 amps)  This is the best way to charge a char battery, use it if getting the vehicle started can wait several hours (overnight)
2. Quick charge (5-20 amps) This is used to quickly charge a battery, expect to let it charge for several minutes (10-30 depending on battery size and output of charger)
3. Start (50-200 amps) This is used to start a vehicle. You should still let charger charge the battery for a few minutes (5 is probably plenty). This is really hard on batteries
6. Let the vehicle charge
7. Unplug your charger
8. Disconnect the black cable from your battery
9. Disconnect the red cable from your battery

When I charge a battery when changing oil I use the trickle charge setting on my charger. My charger is a 2/10/50 amp charger. I also use the trickle (2 amp) setting when charging my wife's car overnight.

Maintenance Schedule

One of the best things to do for you car is to follow a maintenance schedule. By doing regular maintenance on you vehicle you keep it running at its best and can also find little issue before they become big issues. Additionally by following a regular maintenace schedule you can greatly exten the life of your vehicle. Almost every vehicle I have ever owned has made it well over 200,000 miles with the exception of my last car which got totaled in an accident at 179,000 miles. I have only had 2 vehicles die and both were cheep junk from the 80's that were in pretty bad shape when I got them but even they made it over 200,000 miles, the others were taken out in accidents but were still running great.

I am frequently asked by people when they should have things done on their vehicle and usually provide the same maintenance schedule I follow. I have attached the schedule here as a Google Docs, OpenOffice, and MS Excel spreadsheets. This schedule is on the aggressive side but will allow for some slack and oopses like not being able to get your oil change right on time.

If you need an office program I would suggest using OpenOffice which is a free open source office suite that is similar to MS Office. You can download OpenOffice here for free: OpenOffice download page