Great "Cutting the Cost of Driving" Hunt: Liftshares, carclubs and more.

rhodes1968

For a faster warm-up, & therefore less time on the "cold start" position, turn your heater to "cold". This will valve off the heater, giving the engine considerably less water to heat up. After a mile or two, you can introduce the heater system. After all, the heater only works when it's full of hot water, doesn't it?

antbarson

I belong to a car owners club. Most of the guys get 30 - 36MPG (some of the 'rich' guys get 15 - 20...well, they were rich befoe they got that MPG). A few of the guys, including myself have gotten 50MPG. Not bad from a 1.5 intercooled turbo charged machine that'll get you from 0 - 60 in 7.2 seconds...although not while managing 50mpg. I've done it twice and it required driving like a vicar in ultra slow motion (no disrespect to vicars).

My thoughts - change your air filter - standard filters are restrictive. K&N or similar *might* help some cars 'breathe' better. I run one called ITG and it seems all the guys who have managed this ilustrious 50MPG have some air filter modification.

Other than that, keep your eyes peeled for the time to let off the gas and keep it smooth.

ducatimark

For a faster warm-up, & therefore less time on the "cold start" position, turn your heater to "cold". This will valve off the heater, giving the engine considerably less water to heat up. After a mile or two, you can introduce the heater system. After all, the heater only works when it's full of hot water, doesn't it?

Regardless of whether u turn ur heater from hot to cold of visa versa the water still has to pass through it. When changing the temperature controls all u are doing is adjusting the air flow from the fan that blows the air through the heater, from either outside air directly into the cabin ar tho blow air throgth the heaters own internal radiator.

Rather than doing thisyou will probably find you will get better economy from turning off all nonessential elctical items and opening your windows slightly to keep them demisted and putting on a set of warmer clothes if you need to be warm in your car.

steve6375

I thought that the heater had a thermostat like a house radiator but in reverse - i.e. the valve does not open until the water round the car engine gets hot. If you don't have the heater on then the car radiator would do the same job?
But most car heaters have an electric heater element as well. When set to max this comes on and with the fan it blows hot air out. The energy for this has to come from the engine for this, so don't set the heater to max and don't put the fan on until the engine is hot. If you have front or rear heated windows, only turn these on for a few minutes when needed - don't just leave them on all the time. Same with driving lights - don't put them on unless you really need to.

steve6375

Why are cars so heavy? I hardly ever use the back seats in my car except at weekends and they weigh a ton! When I fold them down (estate) I can feel that they are really heavy. Wouldn't it be good if I could easily take the back seats and passenger seat out during the week!