gas-guzzler-diets-and-penny-squeezing

Missing feature in many current Prius Models

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:12:52 +0100

I've uploaded a DIY .pdf of a missing feature stripped from most Prius models. It's a eco-boost mod that allows your Prius to solely work on eletricity throughout the city until you hit 35 mph. This is a great feature for us stop and go trafficteers and in most American versions this feature "mysteriously" was stripped. Do I smell a conspiracy?

This modification was found and discovered via:
http://hacknmod.com/hack/hack-a-prius-to-get-100-mpg-full-electric-vehicle-mode/

Homebrew Octane Booster

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:08:43 +0100

Home Brew Octane Booster

Yes, gas is getting more expensive as more days pas, and yet you still need to fill your tank (addiction). Now for some of us with less than lax fuel needs (those who require the higher octane fuel or the more expensive versions of regular unleaded gas) I have scoured the interent for another DIY project that will not cost you a arm or leg. This is provided via http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/misc/octanebooster.html

This is neither endorsed nor are we held responsible for any damages incurred by this product. It is provided to you free of charge and is of intellectual use. Enjoy!

MAKE YOUR OWN OCTANE BOOST

How to make your own octane booster (this is the basic formula of one of the popular octane booster products). To make eight 16 ounce bottles (128 oz = 1 gal):

100 oz of toulene for octane boost
25 oz of mineral spirits (cleaning agent)
3 oz of transmission fluid (lubricating agent)

This product is advertised as "octane booster with cleaning agent *and* lubricating agent!". Diesel fuel or kerosene can be substituted for mineral spirits and light turbine oil can be substituted for transmission fluid. Color can be added with petroleum dyes.

Hypermiling: The art of true mpg efficiency

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:52:56 +0100

Hypermiling

You do not have to have a hybrid car to get good gas mileage? Who says owning a H2 means you’re either rich or a moron (on second thought....)? Did you know many cars are not driven at their peak efficiency? Well if answered either way, your probably two steps ahead of me in wondering how this can be accomplished. The answer to that question would be hypermiling, or the art of pushing your mpg efficiency to its limits. The term "hypermiling" was coined in that the fact people were able to achieve astounding mileage and savings on gas without changing any part on their vehicles. Hypermiling uses due patience, calculated routes, good timing, and a unwavering calm to bring out the best in your car (gas-mileage-wise at least).

To begin, you have to know the amount of travel involved in each of your trips. Taking tabs on far you travel, were you go to, and the routes and average times it takes for travel allows you proper amount of time to carefully chose your route and what time you are able to go.

Tips for saving gas

Do not accelerate and race from light to light. That burns almost twice as much gas than if you had just cruised normally from light to light.
Try to stay within 1 to 2 thousand rpm range. This prevents overly excessive gas usage and that curbs unnecessary acceleration.
Try taking routes in a timely manner. If you know 5 o'clock traffic is approaching try leaving and hour earlier or try waiting for traffic to clear. Sitting in traffic normally equates to idling and burning precious gas.
Avoid sitting at red lights idling. If the light is a rather notoriously long light, put your car in neutral and turn the engine off. Though it is stated (and disproven due to modern cars) that you burn more gas restarting your car, at best the increase in gas usage is marginal. Sitting at a light for 2-5 minutes at ANY rpm will cost you more, sort and long term.
Avoid rush hour. Though that is hard to do for most people, try either taking the scenic route or avoid the driving during this time all together. This will save you hundreds a year.
Do not drive aggressively. As stated before accelerated abruptly burns more gas than usual, but to be included in that list is also rapid deceleration. Both burn exponentially more gas than normal driving and your more prone to more accidents, hence saving you money long and short term.
Using your cruise control on the highway can also save you gas. Using cruise control not allows the minimum rpm needed for that speed (preventing surges in gas usage) but also prevents spikes in rpm, and maximizes mpg.
Shifting into overdrive on the highway also nets you better mileage. Overdrive uses a lower rpm setting than just leaving it in automatic, thus saving you gas throughout your trip. Use this only for highway driving. At lower speeds its a counter productive and puts excess wear on your engine

Links to more info:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR2006080301403.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermiling
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2011/mar/25/hypermiling-tips

Gas Saving Maintainance

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:49:05 +0100

Gas Saving Maintenance

The average car built within the last couple of decades don't ask for much in maintenance. Oil change here, coolant change here, gas all the time (we can all agree on that much) but though your car is working, is it working efficiently? The average consumer overlooks day to day maintenance that could net them more power, more gas mileage, less engine problems, and less money spent at the pump. So we here at Gas Guzzlers Diet Inc (GGDI) would like to inform you of DIY maintenance that can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.

1. Changing your air filter : Your effectively choking your engines of the air they need to perform at thier peak efficiency. Though this will not net you better mileage per say, more horsepower, better start up, better accelaration and thats not even the best part. The best part is that this change can be done in a few minutes for a just under 20$. The average filter runs about 5$ at any local Wal-Mart or local auto parts store. Most sites recommend like every 10,000 miles or so. Personally I say about every 3000 miles, especially for very high smog pollution cities (Los Angelos or Atlanta for instance)

Inflating your tires and Aerodynamic rims/hubcaps: Another overlooked aspect of driving is proper tire pressure and proper tires for your situation. Yes those off road tires may look nice, but at the same time they can be efectively reducing your gas mileage. Looking into buying some fuel efficient radials could help smooth riding for your car and maximize gas mielage. Another similar but less pressing issue would be that your rims/hubcaps may be creating extra drag. Though most rims and hubcaps are quite svelt and aerodynamic beware when buying new rims for your car. Though the gas drop for drag against the rims is marginal, it's still money that you can save.

Use the right Oil: Using any oil in a car is fine and dandy but not using the proper oil will reduce your cars efficiency and prevent you from reaching peak mileage per gallon. Use the oil grade told to you by the owners manual.

Tune your engine: Tuning your engine is not quite as simple as the aforementioned steps above. Tuning your engine fixes inner components that directly affect the process of burning the fuel (though the air filter can be considered apart of this, its easy for most consumers to accomplish on their own, both in budget and difficulty). Keeping tabs on your oxygen sensors and spark plugs could net 40% better gas mileage than holding it off for a rainy day.

Removing junk out of your car: This option is simple, easy, and free. Removing items out of your car and dramatically increase gas mileage, especially for those of you who are pack rats or to overly prepared. I am no where near saying not carrying essentials but keeping as much unneccesary weight out of your as possible is key.

8 Simple tips to saving gas!

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:38:22 +0100

Drive with some common sense:

Rapid acceleration, abrupt stops, speeding and racing from light to light really kill your gas Mileage. Overall the aforementioned drive style burns up to more than 33 % more gas than calm, calculated driving. Drive with a sense of prudency

Follow the posted Speed Limit: (Yes I know, easier said than done)

Each car has its optimum cruise speed. For instance my Blazers optimum speed is 45-55 mph. Following the posted speed limits allows your car to work within its range. Saving you 24 cents per gallon. Each 5 mph increase in speed decreases you mpg rating dramatically.

Lose Some Weight:

Extra junk in your car= more gas burned. Simple as that to understand.

Stop sitting Idlely By:

Idleing gets you 0 mpg, mainly because your not moving. At long lights and in grid lock traffic, put your car in neutral, turn your car off and save some gas.

Crusing to win:
Turn on cruise control on the highway and use overdrive while also on the highway. This lowers your RPM and lowers consumption of gas by the engine

Facts pulled from : http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/OwnerRelatedFuelEconomyImprovements.pdf

Ultimate DIY Fuel Additive

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:02:20 +0100

Hey and welcome to this post. The subject I would like to discuss today is what may be the best fuel additive ever; even better you can do this at home in the time it takes to finally get through all the car commercials. What I believed I discovered is a fuel additive that may make your car more fuel efficient. No, I'm not trying to sell you something, and yes it has been tested. No this is no miracle concoction but from the studies shown and from how well my truck manages gas, this may be the consumers for a lack of better words "1 up" to the oil companies.

Okay now onto the meat of the discovery. Now commonly anyone that Google’s "gas saving additives", "gas mileage increasers" or even "saving gas" will eventually run across acetone.

Acetone: Acetone is better known as a nail polish remover and/or paint thinner. Problem with it is that the results vary so much with the user base being either all for it because allows the engine to run smoother, the gas to burn better and raises the octane level or against it because its chemical nature degrades plastics (which many older cheaper cars parts are made of {*cough* G.M. *cough*}) Either way both agree it’s does help with the process. Problem is many are missing one valid piece of info. The purity of the chemical. Many people that have issues with Acetone use the versions in paint thinners, which in most cases have plenty of other chemicals that were not intended to be put in by the user. So yes, I guess I take the side of using it. It's better than sitting on my laurels and letting the oil companies dictate outrageous oil prices. Anything to save a little money for other things (like retirement).

Xylene: Xylene is already gas you know? How do you think most oil companies boost their octane ratings? With the more Xylene you add the higher your octane should go, thus preventing inefficient combustion, better explosion and eventually better gas mileage. Though toluene is also in most gas, these two chemicals (Xylene and Toluene) are interchangeable. Problem is that both erode lubrication after long periods of use, hence why these two are mixed with oil to counteract their anti-lube properties.

Synthetic Oil: Yes, I said motor oil. No I know it's bad when your motor oil in your engine starts mixing with the gasoline, burning up and usually then indicated by bluish colored smoke. I mean think about it what if your stomach acid started eating the cartilage around your knees? Yeah I would not be a happy camper either. But think about it, before detergents and octane boosters are added to the oil and it goes through a refining process, what do you believe gas is? Its oil. Now back to discussing this. The reason motor oil, better yet synthetic oil is because synthetic oil has better lubrication, more addictives to keep the engine free of rust caused by water getting into your fuel, and removing the water from mixing with the acetone and going through to your injectors.

Now you may ask how I would go about mixing these ingredients and the instructions to adding it to my car?

Tools needed for mix

1 ounce of Acetone
1 ounce of Xylene
1/3 ounce of Synthetic motor oil
3.5 oz spice jar (or similar

8 oz can or container that will not be used for anything else (prevents contamination)
Add 1 container per 10 gallons

1. Pour the liquids into an empty glass spice bottle and gently shake the contents.

2. Then get a small 8oz can and filled the can about half way up with gasoline from a small gas. That’s about 4oz give or take .25 oz

3. Then pour about half of the mixture in the glass spice bottle into the aforementioned vegetable can that had the gasoline in it.

4. Then take the funnel and put that funnel down my gas tank opening.

5. I then poured the can of gasoline with the additive in it down the funnel.

6. I then went and filled up my gas tank at a gas station.

7. Put the cover on and sealed the glass spice container with the remaining gas additive in it for the next time it is needed to be added to the gasoline.

These Instructions were modified from the original for better understanding. Reply back on your results. I love my results.

Previous test performed here : http://www.zolkor.com/stuff/49milespergallon.htm