Frugal driving

[Gob]

The high miles club STEPHEN LACEY
August 27, 2010
Comments 9


John Taylor and his wife, Helen, hope to be the world's most fuel efficient couple.

How far can you drive on a tank of fuel? Meet the people who take it to the limit.

Helen Taylor will never forget the time she had to get to a job interview and there was only a sniff of petrol left in the tank of her old Kingswood. Stopping at a service station was out of the question because she only had 72¢ in her pocket.

"I desperately needed this job, so I just had to keep driving, making that tiny bit of fuel last," she says. "I made it to the interview and got the job. From that day on, I realised what was possible if you really concentrated on the way you drove. I became obsessed with going further and further on a tank of fuel."

Since that time, she and her husband, John, have set 42 fuel-economy world records, including driving from Melbourne to Rockhampton (2348 kilometres) in 36 hours on less than a standard tank of fuel, in a Peugeot 406 HDi. They've also driven a Peugeot 308 HDi 1.6 manual around Britain, averaging 2.23 litres per 100 kilometres. And in 2006 they piloted a VW Golf 1.6 FSi around the world (25 countries on four continents) averaging 4.5L/100km and using just 24 tanks of fuel.

When the world's most fuel-efficient couple aren't setting records, they're holding workshops around the globe, consulting with governments, fleet companies and big business, teaching people how to drive more frugally.

"It's not about the records," John says. "It's about education. We receive thousands of emails each month from people around the world, thanking us for helping them save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars from their fuel bill."

The Taylors' website (fuelacademy .com) lists 30 tips to help you save money at the bowser. Helen says if the average driver took on just a couple of these tips, he or she would save 10 per cent off their annual fuel bill, cut down on maintenance costs, be a safer driver and reduce CO2 emissions.

http://www.fuelacademy.com/

The Taylors' top 10 tips for saving fuel:

Drive smoothly.

Use higher gears (without labouring the engine).

Keep your tyres at the correct pressure.

Remove the roof rack when not in use.

Turn off the engine when waiting for someone, or in a queue.

Avoid travelling above the speed limit.

Accelerate gradually when moving off.

Drive downhill in gear, not neutral.

Avoid over-revving.

Keep calm.

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/the- ... 13sqy.html

[The Hen]

It is possible to go quite far on only a sniff of fuel. Certainly a lot further than YOU think Gob.

(Every time the bloody petrol light comes on in the car, his Lordship has to immediately stop and refuel ... EVEN THOUGH we could get approximately 100 klicks further before we got down to a sniff.

[Big RR]

I understand that vfiew; having lived through two fuel shortages where one waited hours in line to get a gallon or two of gas, I never let my car have less than half a tank of fuel. And I chastise my wife and daughters if their cars have less than that.

[Gob]

Thank god. I'm not alone.

Also running a car down to the bottom of the tank, especially if you are driving an old nail, increases the risk of blocked carbs.

[Jarlaxle]

I understand that vfiew; having lived through two fuel shortages where one waited hours in line to get a gallon or two of gas, I never let my car have less than half a tank of fuel. And I chastise my wife and daughters if their cars have less than that.

I just never understood that mentality. My Magnum holds 19 gallons of gas. I know I can go about 400 miles on a tank...I usually fill up around 350-375 miles, though I will gas up earlier if I know I'll need gas before going to work again. (It's about 25 cents/gallon cheaper there than near home.)

[alice]

My dad used to drum into us that we should always fill up at half a tank - he used to say we should treat the 'half' as if it said 'empty', and anything below that was 'reserve'. His logic was that we would always be 'covered' if there was some sort of problem woth fuel supply (like fuel shortages or unexpected service staion shutdowns etc). And being a mechanic, he also used to say the same as Gob, that if you let the fuel get too low it could suck up all the gunk from the bottom of the petrol tank and create problems like a blocked carby.
I find myself drumming his same little pearl of wisdom into my kids.

[dales]

Note to readers:

Carburated engines went out in the 1970's.

[Jarlaxle]

Hardly...they were sold in new vehicles in the US until--at least--1992. My cousin's service truck is a GMC P-32 (a former Snap-On truck), it has a 454 with a carb, a TH-475 transmission, and no emission controls except for an AIR pump and charcoal canister. It's a 1990.

[dales]

There are of course exceptions.

FI being more effecient and easier to meet EPA regs in cars (not trucks) was the only way to go.

Even detroit knew that.

btw:

My VW had EFI in 1968.

[Jarlaxle]

Carb'd light-duty vehicles available in 1990:
Olds Custom Cruiser (I had a 1989)
Cadillac Fleetwood
Chevy Caprice wagon (all Olds 307)
Ford Festiva (1.3 Mazda)
Subaru Justy (3-banger)
Jeep Grand Wagoneer (AMC 360)
Jeep Wrangler (AMC 258, though the 4-banger had EFI)
Dodge Caravan (Mitsibishi 2.6)
Ford Crown Victoria (351W, though the more-common 302 was EFI)

The Dodge Diplomat, Chrysler 5th Avenue, and Plymouth Gran Fury had carb'd 318's until the last were built in 1989. (My friend has a 1989 police Diplomat.)

I think Hondas also ran with carbs until 1989 (my sister had a carb'd 1988 Accord).

[The Hen]

My '88 Hyundai did.

[alice]

My car is old and still has a carby.
So has my sons.

The cars without carbys - don't they have some sort of injector instead nowadays? And wouldn't whatever they have instead of a carby still manage to suck the gunk up if there was gunk in the bottom of the petrol tank? (I''m not mechanical and can't even pretend that I understand these things)

But anyway, I still think the first half of what my dad said was valid - by never letting it go below half there's always plenty of leeway for any emergencies. I'll still drive by that philosophy

[Jarlaxle]

Yes, fuel glop (technical term, that!) can certainly clog up fuel inectors.

And I forgot the Hyundai Excels (also sold here as the Mitsubishi Precis)...I think they ran carbs until 1990.

[dales]

True, Jarl and your point is?

My point was/is that FI began to replcae carbs in the 1970's among German cars and other high-end makes. Later the Japanese and others followed suit. The last was Motown.

FI has replaced the carburetor, like it or not.

ETA: I used to tinker around with carbs on my old 356. Mixture, idle speed, float level etc.
Same as on my Alfa, those were the days. I don't work on cars and will not work on cars anymore. Except for fluids, tire pressue, and a blown fuse, I have someone else do the work.

[Jarlaxle]

Gm was using EFI in the mid-70's...hell, multipoint EFI was optional on my Caddy & was an option as far back as 1974.

One of the last to go EFI across the board was actually HONDA.

[dales]

I disagree with your, Jarl.

Got any specs on Honda to back that up?

Hell, Chevy had Bendix mechanical injection on some of the 'vettes in '57.

So did Mercedes for that matter.

Widespread?...................., not until VW did it in 1968.

[Jarlaxle]

My sister owned a carb'd 1988 Accord...EFI was almost everywhere by then. I think base-model Civics had carbs until 1990.

GM's early mechanical FI was Rochester, not Bendix. It was complicated, incredibly finicky, and very expensive. Bendix had the first ELECTRONIC FI, available in 1958 on Chrysler 300-D's and (planned but never built) Rambler Rebels. They were not sucessful...the technology for reliable EFI just wasn't there in 1958.

IIRC, the VW's used a Bosch system, as did Volvo, SAAB, M-B, BMW, and on some vehicles, GM.

GM was using it widely by the early 80's, Ford by about the same time, Chrysler started in 1981 and had all their car/minivan engines (except the throwback M-bodies & a few Mistubishis) injected by the mid-80's. Heck, Chrysler was building engines with sequential multipoint EFI in 1984!

[dales]

You're right about the '57 Vette fule injection.

I looked up Honda and I think you're right about them not going FI until 1992 or so.

I don't miss carbs, I really don't.

[Jarlaxle]

Honda used EFI starting in the 80's, but they didn't go EFI ACROSS THE BOARD until much later.