list of gas saving tips from best to worst

[bzipitidoo]

Don't drive when you can walk or bike is a great one. On a similar note, spend a bit of time with maps working out the most FE routes. I image they'd almost always be the shortest routes.

Picking good parking spots definitely belongs with better driving habits. When a store I want to visit is on the left side of the street, I sometimes park on the right and walk across.

I forgot "drafting". Should add "Tailgate big trucks when possible" to #9.

Grill blocking: Sounds fairly easy. I don't entirely understand it yet. This is not blocking off air to the radiator or air intake, this is only stopping air from blowing into the engine compartment from around the sides of the radiator, right? And it is very effective, is it? Anyway, grill blocking sounds a lot easier than other aerodynamic mods, so ought to put that in, let's see... between 6 and 7? Or, as suggested, even better than #4 changing to lighter oil.

Golf ball style dimples: The dimples on golf balls reduce drag. I've wondered for a long time whether that would work on cars, and envisioned having the entire surface covered with little dimples just like on golf balls. A few years ago Corbin Motors produced the "Sparrow", a 3 wheel electric car. (One was used in Austin Powers 2 or 3.) I managed to visit and take one for a short test drive, when they were still in biz. I noticed that the body panels at the rear of the Sparrow had golf ball like dimples. Those dimples were much larger, perhaps about 3 or 4 cm across, and were only at the trailing edges.

How about lobby for better roads? Some ideas: Shorter roads of course. Straighten out roads, intersections should be raised (except in icy climates maybe?), avoid excessive stoplighting and stop signs, improve timing of lights. And, FREE ALL TOLL ROADS! Tack on another few cents to the gas tax. Don't make people stop to toss a few quarters into a bin or hand bills to a toll collector, and then wait around, engine idling, while the bin figures out if you put in enough money or the operator fumbles with your change.

Fill tires with pure nitrogen or helium. I left that one out because I think it would be of nearly no help to FE. Saves, what, maybe 1 pound of weight? I read that pure nitrogen is good for other reasons-- less corrosive, so rims and tires will last a bit longer, doesn't leak out as readily, and less variation in pressure from temperature changes.