How To Squeeze More Miles From Your Car (1976)

[Music] this is [Music] gasoline prices have risen over 150 percent in the last decade the fad of watching fuel consumption has become a necessity few people can afford the luxury of the monster gas golfer the inefficient engines or haphazard automobile maintenance like their household finances drivers want to learn to budget gas to squeeze as much distance as possible from each expensive tank full this film isn't full of friendly advice or handy tips but rather presents hard facts on how to squeeze more miles from your car foreign [Music] foreign to work together in solving the common problems of an energy shortage Mr Hodge Ms Davis and Casey Tross are going to illustrate ways in which you can cut fuel consumption in your car now these points require no special knowledge of engines but do require conscientious effort by you the car owner [Music] foreign there's no real reason to race it that just allows gasoline to pour through the carburetor and gives you nothing in return idling your car in cold weather gives you the same result nothing a 10 minute warm-up can waste as much as a pint of gas driving at moderate speed for the first couple of miles after starting can actually warm your engine faster [Music] because you're driving doesn't mean you should automatically apply heavy pressure to the gas pedal this too pumped excessive gasoline into the carburetor steady does it accelerate smoothly as if you have an egg between your foot and the gas pedal minimizing pumping helps the engine to utilize all the power possible from the gasoline fed into it personally I prefer a stick or manual shift in the car's I drive run through the lower gears quickly but gently then build up speed in high gear the lower gears cause the engine to run faster use more fuel save more gas by downshifting when the engine feels as though it's lugging or operating too slowly in high gear if your car is an automatic apply just enough pressure to start the car rolling then ease up a little on the pedal so that the transmission will shift into high as quickly as possible to me there's nothing more annoying than the jackrabbit Hot Shot who thinks he can save time and leave others behind by roaring off at the change of a light flooring the gas pedal for a fast start is the greatest gasoline waster of all gasoline pours through the carburetor rubber Burns off the rear tires when you scratch off dollar bills fly out your window [Music] more speed more gas the faster you drive the more gas your engine will drink if you want to putt around the highway at 70 miles an hour just remember you could be going the same distance with dramatically less gas at a speed of 50 miles per hour and 50 is within the legal highway speed limits for me City traffic is nothing less than frustrating lights at every other block mean a lot of stop and go driving anticipate your stops ahead of time and let up on the accelerator by slowing down in advance you can come to a red light just as it turns green this helps to avoid that stop and go driving that spans excessive fuel along with a lot of my friends I bought that old story of Saving gas by coasting downhill in neutral not too good first your car becomes difficult to control in neutral second coasting builds up abnormal pressures in the hydraulic system of the automatic transmission causing serious damage third posting is illegal in some states so if you decide to save gas by coasting you could lose control of your car ruin the transmission and then get a ticket there are better things to do in life don't try to pass just in the nick of time when there's a clear oncoming Lane you can pass easily safely with a little extra push on the pedal by flooring the pedal in quick passing you not only open the throttle all the way but you downshift the automatic transmission this revs the engine and literally pours gasoline through the carburetor gasoline consumption really jumps as you pass a half a dozen cars in an hour the more you carry the more gasoline is required to move it so unload your car of unnecessary items that you simply haven't bothered to remove always try to keep your fuel tank at least half full water can get into the gas caused by condensation in a near-empty tank this makes an engine miss or falter sometimes the car will completely stall water itself doesn't waste gas but poor engine performance because of water does my final suggestion saves the most gas of all carpool I found it a little ridiculous going to the same school to the same store to the same games with the same friends but in different cars now I save both gas and bread with a little advantage [Music] Casey showed us several good ways to get more miles per gallon don't warm up your car by idling accelerate smoothly when starting and passing shift quickly into high gear avoid Jackrabbit starts keep your speed at about 50 on the highway don't coast in neutral keep your tank at least half full and carpool taking care of your car isn't simply a wash and a wax the inside of your engine needs maintenance as well as the outside of your car and an engine that performs properly saves plenty of gas I make it a point always to check the air in my tires at regular intervals under inflated tires can waste as much as five percent of the gasoline you buy not to mention the wear on the tires always check the air pressure when the tires are cold misaligned front wheels can cause a drag by sliding sideways as the car moves straight ahead you lose gas by this drag a weak battery is a primary waster of fuel with a tired battery there isn't power to start the engine quickly therefore you have to crank longer maybe even flood the engine once you've started the extra load put on the engine to charge the weak battery Rob some of your horsepower more gas is being used to drive the alternator instead of the car so keep your battery charged foreign system must work correctly to assure a proper operating temperature for the engine keep the cooling system clean and maintain some type of year-round coolant at the level specified in your owner's manual the pressure cap on the radiator should have a good seal to prevent the coolant from boiling over spark plugs are the most important item in a tuna and the one item that most affects engine performance new properly maintained plugs can result in a seven to ten percent gain in engine performance and gasoline economy one bad plug can waste as much as one gallon of fuel for each 15 you buy distributor points should be replaced along with the condenser every 10 to 12 000 miles your carburetor mixes Fuel and air if yours is off balance you lose engine performance which means wasted gas [Music] a dirty air filter element inside the carburetor air cleaner can cause this off balance replace the filter every 10 to 12 000 miles or in especially Dusty areas every five to six thousand miles a dirty air filter can cut gas mileage as much as 10 percent have your service men check the small fuel filter on the inlet fuel line between the fuel pump and the carburetor every 12 000 miles something could obstruct the flow of gas at that point a clean carburetor that doesn't stick in the various linkages furthers gas economy linkages that don't return to their normal positions will waste Gasoline by causing the engine to idle too fast or operate on a fuel and air mixture that's much too rich the PCV valve in the positive crank case ventilation system should be replaced at each tune-up period it also should be cleaned at each oil change [Music] heat from the engine exhaust can cause the valve shaft to rust and become inoperative the manifold heat control valve should be freed at every tune-up and cleaned until it moves easily through its full swing foreign [Music] with my car air conditioning automatic transmission but I also realized that each time I added an extra I detracted a little from my mileage potential an average of nine percent of the gas dollar goes towards operating the air conditioner use it wisely don't use it all the time especially when a window or event will do just as well foreign the automatic transmission takes about six percent of the horsepower from your engine but when it malfunctions the automatic transmission can waste as much as 30 percent of motor power a fluid change a new filter and a band adjustment at recommended intervals will keep your transmission operating smoothly driving a car in need of a tune-up can cost you 20 percent of the miles per gallon you could get tune your car every 10 to 12 000 miles for Peak efficiency and maximum gas mileage [Music] a lot of my friends find it easier to Simply say fill her up than to specify the correct fuel for their cars high compression high performance engines require premium grade gasoline most compact and imported cars can be operated on leaded regular grade gasoline for maximum economy most 1975 and later model cars require unleaded regular grade gasoline for the catalytic converter to function properly using a fuel with a lower octane quality than your car needs waste fuel by not giving an engine all the power it requires [Music] a record of how many miles per gallon I'd be getting by keeping track I can tell if I need car maintenance or my driving needs correction I simply record the mileage on the odometer each time I fill the tank and how many gallons I needed then I divide the miles travel since the last fill up by the number of gallons to refill the tank voila my answer comes out on the actual miles per gallon short trips result in fewer miles per gallon because I make more stops and starts a steady speed for a long time like highway driving will give me more miles per gallon by taking a little extra time to learn better driving habits basic car maintenance and knowing which fuel your car prefers there's no trick to getting more miles per gallon and if you can't remember all the tips in this film just write this address or contact your local Datsun dealer foreign [Applause]