How do you get better gas mileage in a truck?
What are the best ways to improve gas mileage in trucks?Same as most any other vehicle.slow downAccelerate slowerStop making short trips - driving with a cold engine wastes fuel.Keep your tire pressures to recommended levels.Tune up your engine and do your maintenance on time.Remove unnecessary weight - don’t carry a bunch of unnecessary stuff in your pickup bed.Use the recommended fuel type. Extra octane fuel doesn’t help your engine if it doesn’t need higher octane.Remove items that increase drag such as floorboards, roof racks, mudflaps, pretty much anything you have added that sticks out in the wind.Don’t idle the engine longer than necessary.Drive in highest gear without lugging engine, short shift and accelerate slower - leave it in drive if you have an automatic.Clean your air filter, replace when required.Leave your mechanical systems stock. Accessories that increase power or purport to increase power do not increase fuel mileage.Don’t jack the truck or put bigger tires on it.
Will all terrain tires decrease gas mileage?
Not only will they decrease fuel economy, they have no UTQG (wear rating) number which means the tread will melt like hot butter in the sun on dry pavement.
Will tire size affect gas mileage?
Yes and no. It further separates the gap between city mileage and highway mileage. For a slight change, nothing will be noticable. Since they are larger, they will require to begin acceleration. This will not even be noticable on a slightly larger size. Here's the kicker: On the highway, the SUV will get better gas mileage, because the tires are covering more ground per rotation. This will only be noticable on long trips, and maybe not noticable at all for a slight difference. But, this is, of course, to a certain extent. Huge tires will greatly reduce mileage.
Will a taller tire get better or worse gas mileage?
That depends on the vehicle. If the vehicle is geared properly for the bigger tires it can increase mileage because it slows the engine rpm's at any given speed. Generally though it will decrease mileage because the vehicle will be struggling to turn the taller tires and they increase rolling resistance and make the vehicle less aerodynamic. Hope I have been helpful.
Do alloy wheels really get better gas mileage?
Any weight reduction will have an impact on gas mileage, especially rotating weight (mass, technically), but I'd be very surprised if the difference was enough to notice going from steel to alloy. Consider that your vehicle weighs at least 3000 lbs, while the weight savings is at most a few pounds per wheel. Less than 1% change in weight.....
What would be better for gas mileage, oversize tires or undersize tires on your car?
It's hard to say for sure. You will be able to cover more ground per revolution of your engine if you increease the circumference of the tire. That would equate to better "mileage". But you also have to consider that it will take more effort to get those lager tires rolling. That can have a negative effect on your mileage. If you have a vehicle with adequate power and are only going from a 31" tire to a 33" tire, you should see a slgiht increase in highway mileage without really feeling the added strain of the larger tires. Now if you go from 31" tires to a set of 44" tires, without changing the gearing to compensate for the increased load of the tire your vehicle will be quite slow and unable to maintain a higher gear. So what you would gain in distance traveled per revolution would be nullified by the inability to shift into a higher gear and maintain your engine speed. Hope that makes sense.
Would you get better gas mileage if you increased tire pressure by a few psi over the recommended inflation?
Yes Marc, but only if you are doing huge long trips, otherwise negligible. You should increase by a few psi anyway because makers use lower pressure for a softer, more comfortable ride. Police highway patrol cars in Vict, Australia run on 47psi, whereas the same car model for the public is about 28–32psi. Higher pressure equals better mileage, better cornering, longer life for the tire, but naturally a slightly harder ride. Motorbikes the same. One of the best ways to get better gas mileage is to use the right foot very gently, esp when taking off, but who drives like that? Also regular maintenance, including filters etc. Even keeping the car clean. Every tiny bit helps.
Do larger rims and smaller profile tires give you better gas mileage?
A near infinite diameter tire may only have to rotate one time to get you all the way to work from home. That sounds like pretty good gas mileage assuming you've got the drive train matched up right! Great answers above. I learned a lot reading them. http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemI...
Does a clean car get better gas mileage than a car covered in dirt?
Absolutely. The short answer is that every exterior styling decision on a car affects gas mileage, from the size and shape of the mirrors to the curvature of the body. The coefficient of drag of a car is a single value that quantifies the resistance of a car through a fluid (generally air). For example, the Hummer H2 has a drag coefficient of .57, while a Toyota Prius has a drag coefficient of .29. That's one of the MANY reasons why the Prius gets much better gas mileage. Because the force acting against the car is proportional to the speed of the car squared, a low drag coefficient has a greater effect at highway speeds than at low speeds.The coefficient of drag is dependent on the surface finish and smoothness of the object. Without getting to far into the complex math, you generally want to have a smooth surface finish to have the lowest coefficient of drag. Car surfaces are generally very smooth, while dirt and mud is not. Check out episode 127 of Mythbusters, they do a (very-nonscientific) experiment that shows that a dirty car gets worse gas mileage than a clean car.