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fastestnascar Rookie Author Indianapolis Posts:2 Points:140 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 4:39:11 PM Ignore fastestnascar Report Abuse I have found waxing a car & using rain-x on front windshield glass has benefits of increased my miles while saving money. Keep vehicle maintained per owners manual will increase life of vehicle. Waxing at least 2x per year with a good quality paste wax will reduce drag. Proper tire inflation does reduce drag, check tire inflation 2x per month. Acceleration from stop is also a HUGE fuel saver, light braking as well. Hope this helps!

fastestnascar

Rookie Author
Indianapolis

Posts:2
Points:140
Joined:May 2007

Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 4:39:11 PM

Ignore fastestnascar Report Abuse

I have found waxing a car & using rain-x on front windshield glass has benefits of increased my miles while saving money.

Keep vehicle maintained per owners manual will increase life of vehicle.
Waxing at least 2x per year with a good quality paste wax will reduce drag.
Proper tire inflation does reduce drag, check tire inflation 2x per month.
Acceleration from stop is also a HUGE fuel saver, light braking as well.

Hope this helps!

REPLIES (newest first)Ignore Short Messages

ebink315 Veteran Author Wisconsin Posts:266 Points:212,725 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2011 1:11:06 PM Ignore ebink315 Report Abuse I think it's funny the person who said there is a psychological effect for mpg. I totally agree.
WSU_Coug Champion Author Boise Posts:3,123 Points:723,320 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2011 11:49:16 AM Ignore WSU_Coug Report Abuse Slow down
kmaesad Rookie Author Charleston Posts:74 Points:21,520 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2011 9:45:03 AM Ignore kmaesad Report Abuse Use real gas -- might cost a bit more but you'll notice a(n) improvement on gas mileage and the way you're engine performs .. Check out for your locale station...
tattoo666TX Champion Author Texas Posts:2,567 Points:344,480 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2011 8:43:01 AM Ignore tattoo666TX Report Abuse Try a good quality synthetic oil like Mobil One and see what happens with your fuel mileage!
WhiteFord23 Sophomore Author South Bend Posts:221 Points:280,415 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2011 5:36:32 PM Ignore WhiteFord23 Report Abuse ive tried did not notice a difference
pennygasON Champion Author Ottawa Posts:3,343 Points:752,965 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Sep 22, 2010 10:28:13 AM Ignore pennygasON Report Abuse Lol!
VetteBlue Champion Author San Jose Posts:8,023 Points:1,612,720 Joined:Jan 2007	Message Posted: Sep 22, 2010 9:31:35 AM Ignore VetteBlue Report Abuse It will not help enough for you to notice.
vic168 Champion Author New York Posts:3,297 Points:604,335 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Sep 18, 2010 1:05:27 PM Ignore vic168 Report Abuse lol,slown down
TJP48 Sophomore Author Louisiana Posts:120 Points:83,785 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Sep 13, 2010 3:31:33 PM Ignore TJP48 Report Abuse Come on get real !
bmoreira Veteran Author Toronto Posts:392 Points:383,010 Joined:Jul 2010	Message Posted: Sep 11, 2010 7:19:51 PM Ignore bmoreira Report Abuse thanks for the tip
bluebird1 Champion Author Toronto Posts:15,735 Points:3,108,125 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Sep 11, 2010 11:58:51 AM Ignore bluebird1 Report Abuse Waxing & rain-X, while both worthwhile for maintaining your car, only has a psychological effect on mpg....not real. Even small things like suggested in Ecomodder.com of removing one side-view, partial grill blocking, wiper removal,removal of spare, undercarriage panning etc. are at least real as it affects wind resistance-& can be proven. Note: I am not recommending these things!! To disprove your point, try a coast-down test (coasting from set speed along same route multiple times avg'd) both before & after waxing. Bet you won't see a difference except for the amount of glare in your eyes.
pinbuster2005 Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:5,210 Points:1,521,475 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Sep 11, 2010 1:35:43 AM Ignore pinbuster2005 Report Abuse two of the biggest things that kill your fuel economy are speed & idling. Letting an automobile idle for 10-20 min before taking off to warm or cool the interior of it before getting in is not needed. I personally start and take off and I have plenty of heat after about 5 min of driving or my A/C has it cooled down very well in a min or two. A working engine warms up faster than an idling engine. Also park and go inside instead of going to the drive up window at the fast food joint or the bank. I've personally have pulled in the bank parking lot right behind someone that went to the drive up while I parked and went inside. I did my banking and was leaving the bank while the person that went to the drive up window was still in line idling thier automobile. I personally feel that drive up windows should only be for the handicapped, elderly, or people with more than one young child with them not for people that are just too lazy to walk 300 feet to the door. Slow down on the highway. It's not a race to see who can get to the off ramp first. I have had many times while I was doing the speed limit someone spped past me like i was on blocks only to be right behind that person at the same off ramp 5 miles down the road. Also driving around the parking lot 10-20 times waiting for the closest parking spot to open up is a waste of time and gas. So what if you have to walk an extra 100 feet to the door. I personally take the first spot I can find that I can pull thru to the other side so I don't have to back out of the space when I leave. Sometimes that is at the far end of the lot but I don't mind even if it's raining or what have you.
WEPSMAN Champion Author South Dakota Posts:10,513 Points:2,024,050 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: Sep 8, 2010 7:45:29 AM Ignore WEPSMAN Report Abuse Mythbusters also tested a vehicle with dimples like a golf ball on it. That also increases mileage, but I am not going to do that. I cannot see waxing and Rain X alone helping mileage to a mesurable affect.
Trulychica Rookie Author Ontario Posts:11 Points:551,945 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Sep 8, 2010 12:33:44 AM Ignore Trulychica Report Abuse I just recently bought a tonneau cover for my ranger and noticed that my gas mileage has improved dramatically!!
60sd Sophomore Author Stockton Posts:125 Points:70,660 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Sep 7, 2010 11:45:32 PM Ignore 60sd Report Abuse Something else to keep in mind: if you are computing the mileage based on your trip meter and filling up, there is plenty of room for error, and from what I've heard, it's still alot better than relying on the display on your das (if your car/truck has that feature) When they test gas mileage on mythbusters, they use a fuel cell to precisely measure the amount of fuel that goes in and what is left at the end. Bottom line: if you're within 1 mpg of your average, it's all the same.
Maintroll Champion Author Lexington Posts:8,634 Points:1,703,885 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Sep 5, 2010 8:59:53 AM Ignore Maintroll Report Abuse Where have you been, we have known this for years.
Dale Jr. Champion Author Illinois Posts:16,229 Points:3,237,050 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Sep 4, 2010 10:22:29 AM Ignore Dale Jr. Report Abuse Have Mythbusters explore this idea.
jes Champion Author Pennsylvania Posts:16,170 Points:3,353,450 Joined:Jun 2003	Message Posted: Sep 4, 2010 8:42:06 AM Ignore jes Report Abuse In theory it makes some sense. I agree with gvan. I would like to see some real proof. The reason I like to keep my vehicle clean and waxed is to keep it looking nice. Any 'drag reduction' is just a bonus. Your other suggestions should just be common sense.
gvan Champion Author Chicago Posts:21,533 Points:2,836,290 Joined:Dec 2004	Message Posted: Sep 4, 2010 8:12:52 AM Ignore gvan Report Abuse "Waxing at least 2x per year with a good quality paste wax will reduce drag." I would like to see a "before and after" analysis. I doubt there is ameasurable difference in mpg.
OilerFan Champion Author Tulsa Posts:14,050 Points:2,447,800 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Sep 4, 2010 7:30:44 AM Ignore OilerFan Report Abuse I'm skeptical. I'm skeptical in the sense that I doubt there's enough of a difference in mileage, to pay for the rain-x.