How can I improve my car's fuel economy?

[Bill in Houston]

Consumer Reports has some rolling resistance data that is a little newer, BUT it is less specific than the old greenseal stuff. Since it is CR, you have to buy a subscription or go find the issue at the library.

[Shining Arcanine]

Originally Posted by Bill in Houston

Consumer Reports has some rolling resistance data that is a little newer, BUT it is less specific than the old greenseal stuff. Since it is CR, you have to buy a subscription or go find the issue at the library.

I have an online subscription that I purchased earlier this month, but none of their online reviews include data on the Pirelli P400s; they only say that they are "Good choices for other tires" in their quick recommendations.

Doing a Google search yields the following, which says that Pirelli P400 tires have relatively high rolling resistance according to an older issue of Consumer Reports:

http://autopedia.com/bbs/tires/messages/6467.html

It does not say which one, but I guess that I can assume that the Pirelli P400s are by no means low rolling resistance tires. I will most likely be replacing my tires anyway later this year, so I am doing some research on alternative tires that I could buy to replace them.

Based on Consumer Reports' data, I am leaning towards Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus tires. I live in New York where we can get icy road conditions and a great deal of rain. Would these be a good choice?

[rh77]

Originally Posted by Shining Arcanine

Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus tires. I live in New York where we can get icy road conditions and a great deal of rain. Would these be a good choice?

Most definitely! I bought mine before last Winter and was able to get around in Snow and Ice very well. The LRR nature of the tires made them the best fit for my wheel size vs. FE. So far (about 10K miles) over-inflation to 50 PSI with no abnormal wear, no busted belts over consistently rough road surface conditions, and a nice quiet ride.

RH77

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I haven't heard of anyone proove that K&N filters give better mileage other then in carburated cars where they alow slightly less restriction, leading to a leaner fuel/air mix, I have however seen a great increase in the amount of dust passing thru the air filter, dust and dirt lead to premature engine wear and loss of compression, an engine with low compression works less efficently and uses more gas.
I have a foam air filter that I love, you can wash it, and re-oil with high tac filter oil, I would like to try one of the nano filber air filters, but apparently 1992 is concidered old in the automotive world.

I also run an over sized oil filter, it's twice as long as the standard oil filter, giving twice as much filter media for oil to pass thru, providing more space to catch crud, and less resistance, giving the oil pump less resistance, of course not all cars have the space, so check first.

if you check your owners manual, they sometimes tell you that if you are driving long distances on the highway to add another 4psi to your tires over what is printed on the door frame, this is because side wall flex creats heat, and higher presure reduces that flex, thus reducing heat, and tire wear.

[Bill in Houston]

As far as "approved" overinflation, I saw on the BFGoodrich site that if you plan on driving very fast for extended period, they recommend that you exceed the pressure shown on the sidewall. I thought that was interesting. Very interesting...

[Shining Arcanine]

Does anyone else use the Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus and have something to say about them?

[Gary Palmer]

Originally Posted by Ryland

I haven't heard of anyone proove that K&N filters give better mileage other then in carburated cars where they alow slightly less restriction, leading to a leaner fuel/air mix, I have however seen a great increase in the amount of dust passing thru the air filter, dust and dirt lead to premature engine wear and loss of compression, an engine with low compression works less efficently and uses more gas.
I have a foam air filter that I love, you can wash it, and re-oil with high tac filter oil, I would like to try one of the nano filber air filters, but apparently 1992 is concidered old in the automotive world.

I also run an over sized oil filter, it's twice as long as the standard oil filter, giving twice as much filter media for oil to pass thru, providing more space to catch crud, and less resistance, giving the oil pump less resistance, of course not all cars have the space, so check first.

if you check your owners manual, they sometimes tell you that if you are driving long distances on the highway to add another 4psi to your tires over what is printed on the door frame, this is because side wall flex creats heat, and higher presure reduces that flex, thus reducing heat, and tire wear.

Ryland: Where are you getting oversized oil filters from?

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I bought my filter from an amsoil dealer, they had a book for cross referncing oil filters, and were able to find one for me that was longer, I also chose to go with their filter because it filtered out crud that was smaller then other filters clamed to do, and even tho 10 micron is around the size of the grit on 1,000 grit sand paper, I would really like to have as much of that dirt out of my engine as possible, so the first step in finding a longer filter is make sure there is space, look at your oil filter, and ask if it was a few inches longer would it hit anything, and would it be possible to install a new filter if it was longer.