No gimmick here, but now that the weather is "cooler", y'all might want to check your tires' pressure, cuz they're probably a bit lower than they were when you filled them over the summer.

If my physics class still serves me, there's approx a 1psi drop for every 10F drop in ambient temperature. That's not to mention tires are inherently somewhat porous to air, so they'll lose air over time, albeit very slowly. Mine were down 3psi since the summer.

I don't remember what that equates to in mpg, but every bit surely helps!

 

Did that last week. Low and behold, my tires were down about 3psi, and my Dad;s about 6psi (guess he drove pretty hard teehee). I thought about the exact same thing as you did when I checked them. And what do you know, I got another 14+mpg tank just doing my in-town commute.

 

The best free MPG tip is to use a lighter right foot.

 

Good thought. Keeping the tires aired up is probably the cheapest MPG boost there is. Only have to put a quarter in the machine at the station, or run a few cents of electricity through the home compressor.

 

I used to work at a service station changing oil and repairing tires. As a matter of habit, I look at other peoples tires, and it amazes me how many people don't check their tires.

Not only mileage to think about here, but safety as well! Good post!

 

Take a bottle of water, run 2 contact bolts not touching into the bottle, run jumper wires from pos and neg to each contact, channel the fumes into your intake. Youll like what you get. Your own hydrogen oxygen car.

 

Random

 

I also used to work at a service station, pumping gas! That is the problem. With everything self-serv, tires and oil level do not get the weekly or so check that they got in the old days. Car owners/drivers are not any more lazy than before, acutally less so, since they have to clean the windows as well as pump gas.

Tire pressure monitors are becoming mandatory for new cars soon and some also have oil level sensors instead of a dipstick.

Jim

 

They will still have dipsticks. Only they will be behind the steering wheel..

 

Thanks for the reminder. Getting colder here so I'll check them in the morning.

 

Because I pull a 5th wheel trailer, I keep my rear tires at max allowable pressure (80 psi) and the front at 65 psi. It's a little harsh when the trailer is unhooked, but is smooth when connected. I also keep the trailer tires at max. (56psi) because the greatest cause of tire failure on trailers is underinflated tires, I'm told. It also helps the mileage. Running underinflated tires is like pulling a load uphill.

My on-board mileage calculator tells me I get 13.3mpg with the trailer hooked up and 19.4 running empty. That is on trips of about 100 miles or more. If the calculator is anywhere close to correct, I think that is good mileage.