Fuel Efficiency Tips...

[Wagner]

What the hell does Obama have to do with this topic? EZ pirate

[x54.4blue]

Originally Posted by Wagner

What the hell does Obama have to do with this topic? EZ pirate

You are right, was just having fun.

[Skimo100]

Originally Posted by Wagner

Number 1 there is a crock and misconception. The EPA and other agencies did tests on that 'rumor', the average temp of fuel coming through the system is exactly the same. The density does not change.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/12/auto...ion=2008051515

If the external ambient temperature is colder than the temperature of the fuel comming out at the fuel pump (usually after the the sun has been hitting the ground for a while), trust me on this, the fuel is less dense than the equivalent shown on the meter of the pump; therefore, you are paying a bit more for what you are really getting. If the EPA and "other agencies" said that, they must be doing their tests on pumps that can sense the external temperature, internal temperature and compensate for the temperature difference while controlling the flow of the fuel pump. Don't know if they have such pumps that will do that instantenously. I think the EPA is full of BS as well as those other agencies. I take it you also believe that drilling for oil in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico and other places that belongs to the USA (us) will hurt the enviroment...right? Until we do that here, regardless of the temperature,...lol...we will pay more money for gas. Here is another tip when refueling .....# 8) Set the handle-lever-lock of the fuel pump to the lowest setting. It will take longer to fillup the tank, but you will reduce the amount of air mixed up with the fuel.

[Wagner]

read the article.

Did you direct your drilling in Alaska question to me? Ahh, do some searches on this board and you'll see my opinion quite obviously...and you are wrong if believe I'm against drilling

[Drum]

Not to stray too far back to topic, but I have been experimenting with my recently obtained 05 X3 3.0 and I concur with much of what has been said (setting aside the gasoline controversy) about altering driving methods.

AZMpower has it right on getting the max from your motor. I saw you post in another thread about the engine being functional and not "lugging" at engine speeds between 1500 and 2000. That is something that never even occured to me to try in this vehicle and I was surprised by how well that worked both in terms of driving moderation and to a lessor degree, fuel economy.

As an aside, the gearing differences between this X3 and other, more conventional 3 and 5 series BMW's that I have driven is taking some getting used to. I keep trying to drive the X3 like I drove my dearly departed E30 325is, winding the engine out to near max torque before shifting up, sometimes even between stop signs. Fun as that is, it makes me feel a little guilty at 15mpg in town.

But driving my X at sub 2000rpm engine speeds around town and rurally will do fine for when I am feeling "green" and when I am feeling more like Mario Andretti, the cost in fuel is more than equaled, in my mind at least, by the fun at the stick.

Drive happy,
D

[AzNMpower32]

Out of curiosity, I'm no pro at manual transmissions yet: Is it more economical when accelerating to use more throttle, more shifting and get to higher gears quicker? Or should I use less throttle, and accelerate slower while staying in each gear a bit longer before getting to higher gears?

This is for my dad's Mazda MX-5.........it's tempting for me to do the former. I used to use a fair amount of throttle and upshift around 2750rpm quickly from 1-2-3-4. However, I've tried the latter......acceleration is slower overall but I'm afraid lower gears are less efficient. FYI: The 6-speed MX-5 is geared very close; 6th gear spins a not-so-efficient 100km/h @ 3000rpm.

[Drum]

Not sure.

High revs and the associated higher speeds certainly equal higher consumption while, assuming high enough speeds, a higher gear will generally reduce consumption.

I've got to assume based on that understanding that it is more economical to drive at slower speeds, even at lower gears, than it would be to "race" to get the solitary benefit of a higher gear.

Just shooting from the hip... in the dark... at a black squirrel.

[AzNMpower32]

Dammit. All cars should come with an energy control (instant fuel consumption) gauge.

[Skimo100]

Originally Posted by Wagner

read the article.

Did you direct your drilling in Alaska question to me? Ahh, do some searches on this board and you'll see my opinion quite obviously...and you are wrong if believe I'm against drilling

I read the CNN article. Some of it is BS (that's 95% of CNN..lol), some I agree with. BTW, I must have missed the comment written from the EPA when I read it.

I give you an example based on my personal experience using premium vs regular. Besides my 2007 X3, I also have a 2007 Ford F150 V8, suppostly designed to run on 87 octane (regular). I, for the heck of it, started to use premium BP fuel in it instead of BP regular. Let me tell you, I use to fill up once a week when using regular. After switching to premium, I put gas every week an a half. The truck runs alot smoother and with a much better response when accelerating, thus more efficient. And yes, I pretty much drive the same distance every week on this truck.

Anyway, is your money you put in your tank. At least we can agree on the drilling stuff....lol.

[Wagner]

who cares what the facts say