BlogHer - car advice - Comments

#2 Fill up slow? No! Exactly the opposite !

crgwllms — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:13:30 -0500

I don't believe this is true because petrol fumes aren't caused by agitation. The speed of the flow doesn't have anything to do with creating fumes...they happen because of the evaporative nature of fuel, and the relative density of the atmosphere above the liquid. Actually, speed DOES have a lot to do with it....the faster you can get the fuel in and whack the cap on the tank, the less is going to evaporate into the atmosphere! So I actually believe you should do the total opposite of tip 2!

LOVED My VIbe

MealMixer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:56:51 -0500

I had a Vibe and it was the best car I'd ever had- never had a single problem with it. When it was time to turn it in (I lease), I went for a G6 because of an unreasonable love for radio controls in the steering wheel. The G6 was not a good car. It had constant trouble. My lease explres next month and I am seriously considering getting another Vibe. Might check out the Grand Prix though...

I like my Vibe

Pam — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:06:09 -0500

I won't go so far as to say I love it, but it was good value for the price, gets decent mileage, is a comfortable car, and so far, so good. I bought it just about a year ago and am finding it really suits my needs perfectly.

FYI, we got the basic model, with power nothing, but did add an aftermarket sunroof. For, you know, those big road trips on sunny days....

Nerd's Eye View

The junk in my trunk

grannysu — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:02:58 -0600

I drive almost 50,000 miles a year. Here's what I carry:
*my AAA card--a gift three years ago, a necessity now that my car has 221,000 miles on it
*a jack and handle
*a fully-inflated donut spare (those things can lose air so it's good to check them occasionally, as I learned the hard way)
*a heavy wool blanket and some large plastic trash bags
*gloves--work ones, not plastic
*rope AND duct tape (how can I be from West Virginia and not carry duct tape?)
*de-icer
* a small tool kit with sockets, pliers, screwdrivers, etc
*road atlas
*an ice-cream bucket of wood ashes--these are absolutely the best for getting you unstuck from snow or ice!
*an old military trencher tool to dig out snow, or to dig up something interesting

In the glovebox:
*extra fuses
*a long magnetic reacher thingie with a light on the end. Very fun, and mighty handy when someone drops a bolt in the wrong place
*handi-wipes
*reading glasses
*matches
*tissues
*ink pen
*cell phone charger
*extra cell phone battery

Under the seat:
*water bottles
*a BIG flashlight that can shed light or be a weapon if needed
(a gift from one of my sons who worries about al the driving I do)
*paper towels

Granny Sue
Stories from the Mountains and Beyond
www.grannysu.blogspot.com
susannaholstein@yahoo.com

#3 Half full fill-ups? Wait 'til last gallon...

Binksternet — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:06:48 -0600

I think if people wait until the last gallon in their tank before filling up then they'll save more money on gas over time. There will be fewer total fillups per distance traveled and there will be fewer times when the gas cap is popped off and vapor lost at the gas pump. Economy in gas vapor savings increases as the driver gets closer to zero gallons left in the tank; a risky strategy if you guess wrong or if a gas station you were counting on is closed or out of service. In a populated area where there are lots of fillup options, a thrifty driver should always wait until the tank is almost empty before filling. Waiting until there's one gallon left is enough to ensure you find a station.

The gasoline vapor inside a gas tank is at the same pressure no matter how much gas is in the tank--there's always the same amount of gasoline fumes per unit volume of empty space in the tank (assuming the same ambient temperature and weather conditions.) I believe your point is that the gasoline liquid gives up a greater percentage of its volume the lower your tank gets. One gallon of liquid gasoline has the job of filling the rest of a 12-gallon gas tank with fumes whereas eleven gallons in the same tank only have the job of filling one gallon of empty space with fumes. This picture of the process ignores the fact that the eleven gallons already DID fill up the one gallon of empty space with fumes. The last liquid gallon doesn't have to fill the whole tank with fumes--it's already filled by previous gallons.

If a 12-gallon tank in a 20 mpg car has six gallons of liquid gas and six equivalent volume units of gas vapor when you fill up, you'll lose six "volume gallons" of gas vapor at that fillup and sixty volume gallons of gas vapor in 1200 miles of driving (120 miles per half-filled tank and ten half-fills to get 1200 miles.) If you wait to fill the tank when there's only one gallon left, you'll lose 11 volume gallons of gas vapor in one fillup and the same sixty volume gallons in 1200 miles (220 miles per eleven-gallon fillup, 1200 divided by 220 = 5.45 fuel stops to go 1200 miles. 5.45 x 11 = 60.) In short, you lose the same amount of gas vapor from the tank no matter how often you fill up, but the filling-up process loses vapor in and of itself. Vapor is lost to the outside air each time you open your gas cap. Minimize your gas station stops!