Special Tank to Ease Measurement

To know whether you are saving on gas and how your different driving techniques and vehicle mods are working out, you have to accurately measure how much gas you are using. To detect small changes at the percent or so level you have to put in quite a bit of effort to be able to clearly measure it. This video shows an extreme: the installation of a new gas tank that makes measuring more accurate.

Convert Your Pickup to Diesel - With a Tractor Engine

Here is a fellow who replaced the engine of his pickup with the diesel engine from his tractor. One way to get a more efficient diesel in your vehicle!

Careful With "Aerodynamic" Body Kits

Body kits are often described in their marketing literature as being "aerodynamic". And indeed, the variety of spoilers, dams and sideskirts often do look very sleek and aerodynamic. But aerodynamics is a complex subject. It is very difficult to know what the actual air resistance of a car shape versus speed will be without doing actual road measurements or wind tunnel tests. It is also possible to calculate using supercomputers and office buildings full of PhDs.

Very few body kit manufacturers actually have the resources for testing or calculations. The result is that the supposedly aerodynamic kits might not actually lower your car's drag. They do add weight to your car and they do lighten your wallet. So if the goal is to spruce up your car's appearance, go ahead. But if you are making the purchase to save on gas via better aerodynamics you owe it to yourself to double check. Specifically ask the body kit manufacturer about measured drag coefficients. If they can't tell you, then the kit is probably just eye candy like most of the ones on the market.

Wheel Covers Can Reduce Air Resistance

Racing bicycles have flat disc wheels instead of the open spoked type found in everyday bicycles. The reason is because flat disks have less air resistance. And as speed increases, air resistance quickly increases until it becomes the limiting factor.

The same principle applies to your car. Smooth wheel covers will help streamline the airflow around the wheel well area, lowering the air resistance. Less air resistance means you will get better fuel economy. The next video demonstrates a simple homemade wheel cover. It doesn't have to be fancy. From the point of aerodynamics it only has to be a flat surface. You can even use pie plates!



You can also try to earn a little advertising money with your wheel covers. There are companies like CapAds which sell smooth wheel covers that carry advertising. The wheel cover is designed to stay still and not rotate so the ad can be clearly seen. From the point of view of aerodynamics the important point is that the flat advertising space acts to reduce air resistance! The following video shows a car equipped with advertising wheel covers.



There is a saying that there are no such things as magic silver bullets but there are silver BBs. The idea is that in the real world you can't just push a button and solve big problems like reducing your fuel consumption. But often there are a lot of little things you can do that add up to a solution. The silver BB solution requires work because each individual BB requires a little effort to implement. Just as the benefit of the BBs adds up to a solution, the work required adds up too and can be in total quite an investment. But at the end you have the problem solved. So if saving on gas is a problem for you, consider adding aerodynamic wheel covers to your list of BBs.

Tonneau Covers Help Pickups Save Gas

For about $600 you can install a hard fiberglass tonneau cover on your pickup. Tonneau covers improve pickup aerodynamics so you will see a drop in your fuel consumption. Especially if you frequently drive at highway speeds. This is because at higher speeds aerodynamic drag becomes more and more important. If you are used to taking your pickup with an open bed up to speed on the highway, you could easily find yourself saving back the $600 investment in less than a couple of years.

The video shows the steps involved in the installation of a hard tonneau cover. As you can see it is basically simple. Clean the cover off, apply alcohol to the rails and corners to prepare it for some protective waterproofing tape and then apply the tape. The tape is basically a seal. Then it is a matter of tightening down some C-clamps, brackets and bolts. Done! Something simple and cheap to do can make a noticeable difference in your pickup's gas mileage. So go ahead, install a tonneau cover and save on gas!

Remove Side Mirrors for Better Aerodynamics

I found this video at ecomodder.com. They have a website that has interesting ideas on modifications you can make that will save on gas and help the environment. Aerodynamic drag created by the side mirrors protruding out from the car body can be significant. Here you can see how the side mirror has been replaced by a digital video camera! The video says all of the parts needed were bought on eBay. There are step by step instructions for how to do the replacement. Talk about clever. This gives sleek aerodynamics without giving up the ability to see behind you!