Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

Here in Reno, gas prices have reached $3.49 a gal for regular, from the major companys. Some places, we can still get it for $3.27.
I think this is an outrage! [:@]
I wish there was something we could do to effect these price increases. [&o]
What are the prices where you buy gas? :eek:

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

I just got rid of the Navigator at 14 mpg. Traded it in on the new 2008 Mercury Mariner hybrid. The 93 octane that the Navigator was sucking down is around 3.29, and the Mariner likes 87 octane at 2.97. The Mariner is getting just over 30 mpg with me driving it, and about 26 with my wife behind the wheel. Surprisingly, the Mariner is quite zippy. It has decent acceleration, and is very drivable at anything under 80 mph. The best mileage is between 40-55 mph, making it perfect for the moderate commuter traffic on the highways around here. Last night I drove the whole way through town (under 30 mph) on electric-only mode. It was very cool.

bill.

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

Oh yeah, Starship, I feel your pain, literally. They've only reached $3.34 a gallon here.

I don't know about your daily driver, but your 'vette is certainly set up (some would say the ultimate in fact) to do what I do to try to save gas: shift at low RPMs all that time. Let the torque do the work.

I try to shift my 'vette (6 speed manual) or Porsche (5 speed auto but it's the Tiptronic which has paddle shifters and a computer so I can override what the trans wants to do) at as low an RPM as possible. I play a sort of game on the way to work: "Can I keep the RPMs below a certain level, all the way to work, all the time (even right before a shift). So I shift at very low RPM but often keep the throttle open all the way (nearly floored) when acclerating from a light, etc.
Lowest I have ever done in the 'vette all the way to work is keep it below 1300 RPM (really, it will pull it - bet yours will pull even lower), best in the Porsche is 18-1900. This gives me a couple more MPG and is fun. And it is safe: at 1000-1500 RPM a vette like mine our yours is still putting out 100 HP: that is more power than some heavier cars have, period.

Reason it works: All car engines decrease fuel economy with revs for the same amount of power: floor a 454 at 1200 RPM and you might get only as much power as you do at 1/4 throttle at 4800 RPM, but you use less gas to do it at the lower RPM. Reason is: 1) less friction: at 1200 RPM their is roughly 1/4 the friction. 2) something called pumping losses - when the throttle is fully open it is easier for the engine to suck air throughit and down into its cylindersthan when the throttle is 1/4 open (realize that to make X amount of power the engine is going to have to get roughly the same amount of air into it at 1200 or 4800 RPM and its easier with the throttle fully open.) Most people think about the friction but forget about pumping losses: add them together and they really hurt fuel economy if you let the engine rev higher.

Thus, while it takes some getting used to, the way to get maybe 10% more fuel economy: keep revs very low: floor the throttle if needed at these low revs to keep up or ahead of traffic, but always shift at very low revs. It works, and actually, its sort of fun to try this.

There is no secret about this, by the way. BMW used to sell a 5 series model called the "eta" (Greek symbol for efficiency). It had cams and gears to shift at a maximum of 1800 RPM, and got 3-5 mpg more than the normal model (same size 6 cylinder). The reason manufcturers are now going to 7 and 8 speed auto transmissions is to keep the revs low around town, shifting more often: the Mercedes with the 7 speed auto will do the same top speed in its top 4 gears -- they are there to let it run at very low revs at speed, for economy.

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

Dang Lee, you have put into words, what I have always thought, but couldn't express half as inteligently.
Thanks for the explanation! :)

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

Premium up here just hit $4.52/gallon, approximately, this week.



Anyone wanna buy 2 slightly used kids? :D:D:D:D

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

Is that $4.52 in USD or Canadian?

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

Yeh, sorry my friend, that's $4.52 USD. (Approximate conversion)



Interested in the kids? :D

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

Wow, that hurts. So you're looking at upwards of $60 to fill her up?. Ouch.

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

That sounds about right, my friend. It's really nasty.

Our lease is up next Feb where we live right now. It's a beautiful house, butwe thought the rent was a little on the high side of things... been ponderin' a move next Feb, but now with gas prices being what they are, and how closewe both live to work right now... I'm not so sure anymore that moving would actually save us any money!! We are actually talking about staying for a while longer, now.... no point moving into a barn and saving $300/month in rent, when you have to pay an extra $500/month in gas just to get to work.

RE: Fuel prices...GRRRR!
 

I can understand that. It's to the point where the cost of traveling has become a real consideration. We live way out in the sticks and I drive about 80 miles a day to work and back. My camary gets ~30mpg and my truck (which I drive in the winter) gets about 15. The vette runs right around 24 mpg. At $4/gallon...you can do the math. The problem with moving is that my wife works in the opposite direction, so moving closer to my work is a loss for her.

Here's something that I thought of last weekend: The last time that I bought racing fuel (for my dirt bikes), it cost about $3.25/gal. Granted that was last fall but I think that the price of regular 87 octane at that time was about $2.75. I'm pretty sure that if you mix high octane fuel with low octane fuel you get something in between. Like if you mix a gallon of 87 with a gallon of 106 you get two gallons of ~95 octane. I may start mixing fuel for the vette if premium (which, if I'm lucky is 93 octane) goes above the price of race fuel (which may already be the case since I haven't checked on race gas prices this year yet).