The Tow Files - Back in Black, Gettin' Flak.

[ReverendBSB]

I think data showed that it actually used more gas, and was actually harder on the car's starter, as well as dangerous somehow.

I have read that with most modern cars starting them uses up about 6 seconds worth of gas. So if you are idling longer than that then you would save gas by shutting off the engine. But I would imagine that shutting down at every light would wear down the starter.

[dalesys]

My grandmother (1904-2006) was bamboozled into believing that a very strong return spring on the throttle would improve her mileage... Here's a lady in her 60's in her '63 Ford Falcon...

I drove it as a teenager... The spring was so strong that you were standing on the pedal! The slightest relaxation resulted in your foot being thrown into your face. Fun times!

[Sparklyturtle]

He was driving a Geo Metro at the time.

I have a 95 Geo Metro, and the best gas mileage I ever got was on a westward trip through the Columbia River gorge on the border between Oregon and Washington. The Gorge is well known for its west winds, which were clocked at close to 50 mph that day, and that wind hit my hatchback and nearly blew me from Pomeroy WA to Portland OR. I stopped for gas in Biggs, which is right next to the Oregon/Washington border, and discovered I'd gone 162 miles from where I'd gassed up in Dayton, Washington, and had used a little less than 3 gallons. I calculated that I'd gotten around 60 miles per gallon. Not bad for an ugly little car.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I calculated that I'd gotten around 60 miles per gallon. Not bad for an ugly little car.

But on the way back, against the wind, you probably got 6 miles per gallon.

[Nunavut Pants]

I think this was one of those "hypermiling" things that people used to do. I think it was supposed to save gas or something.

I used to be a hypermiler. I pretty much stopped when I moved closer to work and the high-MPG tanks were a lot harder to get. (But I used less gas overall!)

Techniques that work:
- "Forced Auto Stop", turning off the car at lights. Or, possibly, when engine power is not needed for other reasons. Uses less gas if the car is stopped for 6 seconds or more; uses more gas if the car is stopped for shorter than that. Puts more wear on the starter, can drain the battery especially at night with the lights on.
- Drafting. Going close-in can result in very significant improvements in fuel efficiency, as the vehicle in front of you is pushing a lot of the air out of the way. It's also a very good way to collide with the semi-trailer in front of you who hit his brakes. Which is why we don't do it! Some benefits can still be had by following a large vehicle (like a truck) at a legal distance, where you are much less likely to get killed by ramming the truck.
- Pulse and Glide, using your engine in its most efficient regime (typically about 80% throttle opening and 2000-2500 RPM) to build speed, then coasting to bleed off speed. Most gasoline engines are more efficient producing power at higher throttle settings (until close to full throttle when acceleration enrichment fuel is added), but that makes you speed up. You can then coast to slow down (out of gear!) to a lower speed, using less fuel, and repeat.
- Light timing. Looking ahead to anticipate when any traffic signals are going to be red or green when you get there, then trying to slow down (or sometimes speed up a bit!) to catch them green so you don't have to slow down and then spend fuel getting back up to speed.
- Looking ahead in general. Anticipate traffic, try to stay out of situations where you would have to slow down quickly and speed up quickly.

There are other things that can be done, but by doing the above I was able to pull multiple 50 MPG tanks from my notionally-30-MPG commuter car.

[depechemodefan]

I sort of get why the guy needed a tire change thought you wanted to know the color of the tire; a lot of time was spent talking about the tire and his brain just probably looked on to "tire". But the last dude, The Mad No-Gasser of Not-Mattoon, wow. It's like his mind never observed a cause and effect phenomeom. Like, you put water in the kettle, and if you leave the it on the stove too long the water becomes steam. He probably thought he would have hot water all day. Even if he used a closed system, he probably not realize the pressure you have to take into acct.
He kinds of remind me of a story a teacher told us about a girl who would write checks, be out of funds, but still write checks because, "there are still checks in my checkbook, so I must still have money.

Anyway, here's a tow story in Fl. the officer at the press conference really hate towers I guess. murder?
But the tow company did seem like assholes. Like they towed a car from a gravel driveway because some grass was growing in the gravel; the rules of the mobile park is you can't park on the grass. The company also broke the law by going more then 10 miles out of their lot to tow cars. I don't know if acctively going into carports at night with a flashlightt just to find cars without permits is being too predatory or just normal. Though they didn't offer to drop the car for 1/2 price when the owners got out of the house to find them towing their car.

[RealUnimportant]

Anyway, here's a tow story in Fl. the officer at the press conference really hate towers I guess. murder?

Link is FUBAR.

[depechemodefan]

fixed link

[RealUnimportant]

Thanks for fixing it, that was a heck of a story!

[Jetfire]

I used to be a hypermiler. I pretty much stopped when I moved closer to work and the high-MPG tanks were a lot harder to get. (But I used less gas overall!)

Techniques that work:
- Light timing. Looking ahead to anticipate when any traffic signals are going to be red or green when you get there, then trying to slow down (or sometimes speed up a bit!) to catch them green so you don't have to slow down and then spend fuel getting back up to speed.
- Looking ahead in general. Anticipate traffic, try to stay out of situations where you would have to slow down quickly and speed up quickly.

There are other things that can be done, but by doing the above I was able to pull multiple 50 MPG tanks from my notionally-30-MPG commuter car.

I find those two tips in general are good advice to follow in general. Watch the lights, but also watch the walk signals. If the walk signal is still White/Walk, then you can usually be sure your direction will be green for a while yet. If it is flashing, then your light will probably (not always but probably ) be going yellow shortly. Knowing the 'habits' of the lights in your area helps too (some lights will go yellow as soon as the flashing walk signal goes solid Don't Walk, others will wait until triggered by the other direction)

Anyways, glad to see you're back to Towing and Story Telling Argabarga. Hopefully things stay entertaining and not TOO stressful.