Obama Says to fill up tires......and get a tune up? what?

[MarkV]

This week Barack Obama suggested that we should get a tune up and keep the tires properly inflated and this would save fuel. Now, without getting political, because the forum people will have heart attacks! (Hopefully not, because we need them!) How much does inflating one's tires affect fuel economy? In your experience? And dont newer vehicles since the late 80's not needed a traditional tune up? And for you mathmaticians out there, can we calculate $ saved and fuel saved from inflating tires properly?

[Amphicar BUYER]

Pretty obvious what he was saying. Every bit helps. I refuse to believe any adult would have taken his comment as anything but an example, a small part of conservation as a whole.

Yes, new cars do require maintenance for better fuel economy just as older cars required a "tune-up" for better fuel conservation and drive-ability. Different requirements for basically the same purpose. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), replacing a clogged air filter can increase your mileage by 10 percent, while replacing an oxygen sensor could result in an improvement as high as 40 percent. Tires that are under inflated by 6 to 7 pounds per square inch increase tire rolling resistance 10 percent or more. Properly inflated tires can save 3-4+% in fuel which does add up to a HUGE savings across all the vehicle/miles on the road.

"Watch your pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves"

[Dave@Moon]

Those percentages <span style="font-style: italic">really</span> show up when you're driving a hybrid car. I had a tire going down last year on the Prius and my first warning was a 5-6 mpg drop. This was in the winter and I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. When I checked the tire it was down to about 20 psi (from 35 psi).

Cleaning the air filter (I use a K&N because the paper filter {available only from Toyota and exclusive to the gen. II Prius} is almost as expensive) bumps the highway mileage about 1-2 mpg as well.

[Guest simplyconnected]

Ever coast on a bike with over-inflated tires? It coasts a lot farther, and so does your car. Semi trucks inflate to at least 100-psi, too.

My experience is, if I run under-inflated steel-belted radials, the squirm eventually breaks the steel 'cords' and they come out the side of the crown. Checking tire pressure will prevent premature tire failure and save gas.

Correctly inflated tires roll farther because they are stiff. They don't absorb flexing motion which requires more gas to overcome.

I don't know how anyone can forecast statistics on premature failures. Modern tune-ups simply address spark plugs and wires, and possibly an oil change with new filters. Anything beyond that (fuel injector, sensors, etc.) requires diagnostics.

A note to Mr. Obama: Next time, tell folks to change their AIR filter. We use more air than anything, and an unrestricted air filter helps keep the bottom of your engine clean, including your oil.

[Pontiac59]

Some new cars simply need no tune-up. The advice is great if it was still say, 1975 - gather what you will from that.

[1940_Buick]

My 2001 Ranger consistently gets about 23 mpg. When the mpg falls to 21, I know my tire pressure has fallen from 30 to probably about 27-28.

Monitoring tire pressure is probably the cheapest way to save money.

[Ron Green]

Considering that inflating your tires and having your vehicle properly tuned could potentially save up to 800,000 barrels a day, with offshore drilling possibly producing a maximum of 1.25 million barrels of oil day, it doesn't seem to dumb of a idea to me. It would be moronic to not save oil usage in those quantities even if it is only 200,000 barrels a day.

Unfortunately the final answer won't be drill more so we can use more, it will be save more, develop and utilize alterative energy. Don't be surprised to see some decent electric vehicles on the market in the next few years.

[Matt Harwood]

Remember that even the ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Every little bit helps, especially when you're talking about 300,000,000 cars. Even a 1 MPG improvement is a lot of gas!

My Dodge Ram 2500 4x4, which weighs about 6200 pounds empty, saw a 1 MPG improvement when I inflated the tires to max to carry a heavy load and didn't deflate them afterwards. The ride suffered a little (but in a 3/4-ton 4x4, it's already pretty awful), but so far, I've picked up around 1 MPG over the course of 2 tanks of gas. 1 MPG might not sound like much, but the truck gets 10 MPG. A 10% gain is something I'll take any day. That's like 3.5 free gallons of gas every time I fill up.

Best of all, inflating your tires properly costs exactly $0.00.

When I first got the truck, I put in new plugs, wires, distributor and O2 sensors. Although I didn't have any record of gas mileage at the time, engine performance improved notably. I can only assume fuel mileage improved as well. Even modern fuel injected cars need routine "tune-up" type things like these. No car is 100% maintenance free and stays in spec forever, 100,000 mile spark plugs notwithstanding.

Or, if you really hate Barak, don't inflate your tires properly and wait for the return of cheap gas from all the new offshore wells instead. That'll show him...

[joe_padavano]

Maybe I'm getting old (OK, I AM getting old) but am I the only one who's amused by all these tips that are being rediscovered. We went through this in the 1970s.

Of COURSE proper tire inflation helps gas mileage - it lowers rolling resistance (Dave Moon and I actually agree on this ). The amount of improvement depends on how underinflated the tires were to start with. Most new tires have a 35 psi max cold inflation pressure. I always run mine at that level. Back in the 1970s, the number that was thrown out was a 3% fuel savings if everyone kept their tires properly inflated. Your mileage may vary.

Of COURSE newer cars still need tuneups. The EPA mandated that they still meet emissions after 50,000 miles (later changed to 100,000 miles) without tuneup, but that doesn't mean you're still getting the best mileage. Spark plugs wear, TPS sensors lose adjustment, injectors get dirty, and rotors and caps still arc and wear. Proper tuneups are still cheap insurance.

[joe_padavano]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: simplyconnected</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ever coast on a bike with over-inflated tires? It coasts a lot farther, and so does your car. Semi trucks inflate to at least 100-psi, too.</div></div>

Yes, but that's only partly for rolling resistance. Semi-truck tires are designed to run at those pressures mainly for load carrying capacity. Otherwise, 18-wheelers would become 28-wheelers. Ride comfort is important on a passenger vehicle, but on a semi-truck not so much, particularly since trucks have cabs that are suspended independently from the frame.

[Ron Green]

Seems a lot of people think that keeping tires inflated and vehicles tuned up to save substantial amounts of oil is a good idea.

Regarding the campaign contribution $25 tire gauges and the comments towards tires: "<span style="font-style: italic">Sen. McCain, who is said to put a high value on humorous members of his inner circle, says it's nothing more than a joke. "We're gonna display a sense of humor in this campaign," </span>

Now saving oil becomes a joke. I guess it helps when your wife is a billionaire. It was only a few months ago when both candidates opposed offshore drilling.

[Bhigdog]

What Obama says about tire inflation/tune ups is absolutly true. Even more could be saved by not making unnessary trips, car pooling, etc. But, all that is besides the point.

Obama dodged the big issue of what we need to do to become more energy independant from oil. Telling us to conserve is like telling a starving man to eat slower so he won't die as quickly. Offering a $1000 rebate charged to the oil companies is the height of absurd pandering to a public who he obviously thinks is stupid.

Where are the well thought out plans for siting windmills, building transmission lines to support them. Where is the stepped up licensing for nuke plants along with safe waste storage. How about funds for genetic research for high ethanol yielding plants other than food crops. What about tidal forces and solar?

All Obama has is a big white smile and empty oration. The mans an empty vessel, a phony..........Bob

[Barry Wolk]

Nice job in turning the thread political.

[Bhigdog]

Nothing political about it. The discussion is about OIL. That's what most of our cars run on. Cars are what this forum is about. I'm not touting either candidate for election but my/our beloved automobiles depend on OIL to run. It would behoove all of us to think about it. My post points out that one of the candidates does not have a coherent plan to save our hobby. Stick your head in the sand at your own peril.........Bob

[Barry Wolk]

Funny how it's not political when it only supports your point of view. Typical.

[alsancle]

There is subtle politics in almost every response in this thread.

It's kind of a foolish point to begin with. Most people with common sense know that a well tuned car not running a flat will get better gas mileage then one that has never been tuned and has 4 tires with 20lbs of pressure in them.

In my opinion, if you don't support Nuclear power, you really don't have a leg to stand on in any sort of energy debate. Whining about tire pressure is just goofy.

[R W Burgess]

That's it guys!

Had a complaint!

I'm leaving it up, but locked. If after second thoughts you want to delete one of your posts, please let me know and I'll oblige!

Wayne