cam kidd

When I say will it REALLY make a difference in my mpg, i mean if its going to be much different in how much I will pay?

My main question that I was wondering is:
Approximately how much money do you think I'll be saving in a year if I drive slow? I dont drive fast, I drive just a couple miles over the limit. But if start accelerating a little slower, will I be really saving a lot of money in the long run (like in a year)? I only drive about 8 miles a day.. so I dont drive much of a distance but I'm just wondering. Right now I'm driving a 2000 Camaro SS 6 Speed. Do you guys think I should keep driving the way I do? And do you guys care about mpg?

thegodfather899

iTrader: (1)

i tried babying it and it doesnt really get my anywhere. yea my MPG is a little better but not enough for me to permanently change the way i daily drive. plus, what fun is babying it?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

If you shut the engine off and just push the car, then the savings potential is limitless. But then you'll be going REALLY slow.

IRONFIST

If you're only driving 8 miles a day you won't save much at all...
But yes lower RPM's, and slower acceleration, as well as slower top speeds will save you money.

my bandit

iTrader: (10)

i want to send an idea to mythbusters... what is the speed that you will use less gas?
think of driving 80 miles which will save more gas?
80 miles at 2500rpms for an hour or 70ish around 2200 rpms (i think) and you would drive for 9 minutes more. so your engine would be running at 2200 rpms for 9 more minutes.. yea i would need to know how much fuel is used at those rpms but it might be cheaper to drive faster

NC01TA

The math isn't difficult. Let's just say you get 20 mpg right now. If you start flooring it and get about 15 mpg instead here is how it breaks down based on 10,000 miles per year of driving. 10,000 miles divided by 20 mpg equals 500 gallons. 10,000 miles divided by 15 mpg equals 665 (rounded off) gallons. You now have 165 extra gallons to pay for. At $4.00 per gallon your lead foot is costing you $660 per year. The mpg example is quite extreme, a 25% difference, but it gives you an idea. Plug in any numbers you like, from price of the gas to how many miles per year, etc.. and you can see how much the difference is. The less miles, the less difference. If you start approaching 15,000 - 20,000 miles per year, it really adds up.

NewLS1Owner

iTrader: (6)

If you have a M6 80 is only 2000rpms.

cam kidd

so babying it isnt much of a substantial difference that will actually help you save money?

cam kidd

if i baby it (since I already drive pretty normal) will I see much of a difference in mpg? like 1 or 2? because if its going to be that small of an increase, is it going to be worth it though?

djfury05

iTrader: (30)

My car must be weird then.. I can baby it for all 270 miles per tank that I get, or I can haul *** everywhere I go and I still get 270 per tank before I fill up. I always fill up when my gas light comes on so roughly 13 gallons.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

my cars drink gas no matter how i drive them.

cam kidd

haha i have heard that from other guys too.. hmmm.. i wonder why

cam kidd

do you mean the mpg dont really change?

TransAmWS.6

If you drive reasonably and keep your RPM's below 3k most of the time, I can definitely see there being a drastic difference in MPG versus banging through the gears repeatedly throughout the day. However, I say if you want to have fun with the car, it's not worth it.

I daily drive my car, I rarely ever accelerate hard enough to where the motor revs past 3k, and that only happens unless I really need to pass someone. I can get pretty much 300 miles out of a tank with my driving. However, I do occasionally like to go out and run it hard through a few gears but that doesn't happen often with traffic around here.

01 CamaroSS SLP

These cars do pretty good driving them normal IMO. Babying it would show better gas mileage but i doubt much. For instance i have tried babying a full take of gas before and averaged 21 mpg. Then i drove it how i normally drive and i got 20. Doesn't make much sense to baby it when you can just have fun and get similar mileage.

cam kidd

thanks man. this makes sense. are you auto or 6 speed?

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

Mine doesn't save enough to be worth the loss of fun for me.

Blasko

iTrader: (3)

This^^
I get ~15.5 Having Fun and ~20-21 Driving as you described; never going above 2000 for a shift.
75MPH Highway Cruising I get ~27

But only driving 8 miles isn't enough to make the difference matter.

cam kidd

is your difference as small as 01 camaroSS SLP?

Camaro_94

iTrader: (5)

Yes. You will get noticeably better gas milage if you baby it compared to driving with a heavy foot.