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Getting better gas mileage by reducing air drag

First, slow down!  Fifty-five mph may be too slow for your taste, but staying in the 60-mph range could save you quite a bit of money.

According to the Department of Energy’s fuel economy Web site, driving at 80 mph is equivalent to adding roughly $0.80/gallon to the price of your fuel versus driving at 60.

Roof racks
Racks are great for getting weekend gear to the trailhead, but costly on the daily commute. It’s best to use them when you need them and take them off when you don’t.

If you take the racks off of the car for say, half of your driving time all year around, you’ll save an average of 15-30 gallons of gas per year.

If that sounds like too much of a hassle, a wind-deflecting fairing for the front rack costs about $50 and will do a good bit to reduce drag and noise. The wider the better: try to find one that smoothly bridges the gap between the windshield and the front bar.

A model that improves efficiency by even 3 percent will pay off the investment in around a year of average driving.

Other options
Any time you have the option of carrying gear behind rather than on top of your vehicle is another chance to save.

Trunk-mounted bicycle racks are typically much cheaper, and offer substantial savings compared to carrying your bike on the roof.

On vehicles equipped with hitches, using a rear-mounted cargo box in place of a rooftop box will save lots of gas — and be easier to access.

If you have a rooftop box, for the sake of your wallet and the planet, take it off in between uses.  Let’s stay green by reducing our carbon footprint, and saving green by getting the best mileage possible!

Not everything you’ve heard about getting the most out of a gallon of gas is true.

There are plenty of legitimate ways to stretch your mileage, but beware of urban myths that can leave you stranded a long way from the nearest gas station.

First, let’s look at what works.

Slow down
Keep tires properly inflated for your trips, the weather, and the load you are carrying
Avoid quick acceleration
Don’t pile luggage on a roof rack
Use a properly fitted gas cap

Ideas that don’t actually work

Fill up in the morning to get more dense fuel before the heat of the day makes it expand. Gas is stored in insulated tanks now, so time of day has no effect.

Change your air filter –Keep it clean, but so long as it is not completely blocked, it makes little difference. Just remember,the dirtier the air filter, the more the carbon monoxide emissions, so by all means save money, but try to stay green.

Turn off your car’s a/c
Anyone who had a car with air conditioning before 1980 or so can tell you about the load the cooling device would place on the engine, especially in a small car.

It was also was thought that driving with the windows down would generate drag that would also cut into mileage. With the new cars o the market now, either of these strategies would result, at best, in tiny mileage savings.

Buy fuel additives and mileage boosting-devices
Again, a fool and his money are soon parted—it is just a question of at the pump, or the latest telemarketing scheme.

So there you have it, a whole load of urban myths debunked.

But before we go, let’s look at that roof rack one again. Anything which reduces air drag on your car will boost your mileage. So how can we do it?