By: treviso.interiors
13/07/2008
2:38 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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These are my own results posted here for you to see & so you can all decide for yourselves:
I have a 2004 Toyota Prado 4.0ltr 6cyl Petrol & have fitted an Ecotube from Ecofuel Systems LTD
I just did a quick calculation & if I'm correct the improvement on my truck of an extra 175km (575km now divided by 400km before) = 43.75% improvement in economy just by fitting an Ecotube.
Thats a great savings with todays fuel prices.
I have a 90 ltr tank. At $2.25p/l thats $202.50 to fill up.
A savings of 43.75% on that is $88.59.
These are my own results, I've done 7000km with an Ecotube in & this is what it has done for me. The guys at www.ecofuelsystems.co.nz only state a 20% average savings on their test results page. Altho I see a Commodore got 48%. Check them out, its moneyback gauranteed anyway. |
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By: xtr365705@xtra.co.nz
14/07/2008
11:04 am Yahoo! Profile:
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| I'm getting a 50% saving. I only go out half as much ..... |
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By: treviso.interiors
17/07/2008
11:03 am Yahoo! Profile:
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Good call xtra365 :-) I found this too to help people:
Following these tips can save you up 10% or more on your car's fuel usage:
1 Tune-ups. Have your car tuned professionally at least six-monthly. Being perfectly tuned leads to much better fuel consumption, as do the peripheral things done at the same time - air/oil/petrol filters, etc. The cost of the tune will soon be repaid. (See Green Filter / Tufoil for further savings)
N.B. Although premium fuel costs more at the pump in most cases it actually averages out to cost less due to the better performance & economy of the higher octane rating. If you vehicle can be tuned for premium this may be advisable.
2 Driving Style. Accelerate and brake smoothly & as slowly/gently as is possible. Hard driving and excessive use of accelerator and brake can cost you up to 20% extra fuel usage. No kidding; bad driving and hard accelerating & braking are huge chewers of fuel. Once travelling smoothly the kinetic energy stored in the moving vehicle ensures that minimal additional energy is required to keep it there. Use cruise control when possible, although advisedly – some are better than others. Stay at the speed limit - the ideal speed for economy on many vehicles is around 95 kmh but little faster, so 100 kmh is good. |
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By: treviso.interiors
17/07/2008
11:04 am Yahoo! Profile:
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And more:
3 Drag. Reducing drag on your vehicle can save you 2-3%, or even more, depending on what bits you have sticking out from the sleek streamlining your vehicle was created with (assuming you don’t have a Kenworth or such). Roof racks are shockers, adding an average 3% drag to a vehicle. This can be 1% of your fuel cost alone, even for the most streamlined kind. Ski racks are fine when they've got skis on them, but the rest of the time, they're just helping you put money into Saudi Arabia & associates pockets. If you drive on the open road a lot, even polishing/cleaning the car regularly will decrease drag caused by dust & grime build-up.
4 Tyres. Keep the tyres at the correct pressure! A variance of 10% in your tyres could add 2 or 3 % to your fuel bill.
5 Shock absorbers, wheel bearing, brakes, wheel alignment. Make sure they're operating properly. Brakes can be quietly gripping and costing you money through poorly-balanced brake pistons, poor wheel alignment can simply add friction to the tyres which adds work to the engine (and wears your tyres out very quickly, a double-whammy). |
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By: treviso.interiors
17/07/2008
11:05 am Yahoo! Profile:
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And More:
6 Air conditioning. Here's a neat little test for owners of small cars to do to show how much power an air conditioning unit uses: Take the car up to 50kmh and cruise on a smooth road. Switch on air conditioner to "full". You can immediately feel the drain on the car's engine. Air conditioners are shocking power wasters. In the summer, open a window a little, in the winter, use the heater & fan. Although be aware that while a/c is equivalent to 10 drag on a vehicle 4 fully open windows causes an average 25% drag on a vehicle. Alternating between the a/c & just cool fan air may be your best compromise. The fan uses electricity and therefore energy from the motor, but a negligible amount compared to the A/C. In Winter the heat from the fan setting is just heat from the motor, using no extra power at all. Test for yourself, if you can afford it! Drive your car for 100kms with air conditioning, and then compare the same100km without. You'll be amazed at the petrol consumption.
7 Empty your boot! Like when you carry a heavy pack, every extra pound of weight requires extra energy to move it. That 30lb toolkit sitting in the boot with Uncle Bob's 10 kg dumbbells equate to having an extra passenger on board all the time. Extra weight = extra energy required to push = lighter wallet. |
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By: treviso.interiors
17/07/2008
11:08 am Yahoo! Profile:
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And More:
8 Use neutral! Not recommended as common practice for automatics as new gearboxes are dearer than petrol, but when driving a manual, there are often opportunities to cruise for long periods in neutral - down long, slight inclines, coming up to stop signs in 100kmh areas. Put the car in neutral and put your feet up, have a coffee, and let the car cruise to where it needs to be, the engine quietly ticking over. (Don't take your eyes off the road, though!) Remember too though that while coasting to a stop is OK, using brakes instead of engine to brake will wear out expensive brake pads faster. Just roll to a stop if possible.
9 Car-pool with co-workers. This is a no-brainer. Within 1 km of your house, there will be someone who drives a car to within 1 km of your work. Find him or her and share. This will reduce your petrol costs by 50% immediately! |
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By: treviso.interiors
17/07/2008
11:12 am Yahoo! Profile:
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Finally:
10 Plan ahead! Make sure that you never double your tracks unnecessarily - if you're going to need to go to two different places, plan things to go to both in one trip if possible, or make sure the trips are planned the most economical way. Plan trips to get groceries to coincide with other outings. Buy groceries once a week or even fortnight. Take a bus if possible, or walk – its great exercise!
Most of these things are self-evident, but it’s often the most obvious things are the easiest to overlook. Just a few moments thinking about it and then taking a few quick actions can save you huge amounts over time when fuel is at $2.25 or more a litre.
Hope that helps you all :-) Thanks to Alan for the original doc! |
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By: treviso.interiors
7/08/2008
7:15 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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| As an update, that higher kms tank was followed by one at the 36% savings again. The most obvious answer to me is the variation in the quality of fuel that NZ gets. My next half tank (I only half filled it this time)has done over 300km & is still above the "E" which would be an enormous savings, probably something like 60%+ but I have to figure in that I've carried less weight if I didn't fill it up. A full tank is 90kg so I carried 45kg less at the start. Any experts out there got any opinions? |
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By: steve.easthope@xtra.co.nz
8/08/2008
1:15 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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Interesting stuff...not sure about the half full tank and savings because of reduced weight. However I was given some tips via email...whether they factual I'm not sure.
1. Never let your tank go under half full...petrol evaporates and thats why servo fuel tanks have floating ceilings.
2. Always fill up when its cold...eg first thing in the morning. Petrol is more dense when cold and you get more for your buck than when its warmer as it is has expanded.
3. Never fill with the bouser on full...try and do it slowy as filling fast creates vapour which is sucked back into the servo's tank while youre paying for it.
I expect savings from these options is probably modest, but it all counts. |
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