best video yet.

Very impressive. I like your video a lot, and won't mind at all if you beat me!

Very impressive. I like your video a lot, and won't mind at all if you beat me!

thank you!
that was so informative, and really offers a solution for our everyday life.

Nice one! That was a serious pack of information!

This has been my favorite video, i wish we could rate it. I have that same truck and though I get pretty good millage I never knew all the things i could do to get more! Thanks!

Thank you for doing this. This weekend I took a long trip, and although I didn't understand all the things you did, I did check my tire pressue for the first time in a long while. They all needed air. I saw you following behind a truck, and my normal inclination has been to stay away, but this time I consciously drove behind the truck as I saw you do, and I did improve my gas mileage over this five hour trip. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you to Millie, Ashley, Gobbler, Andrew and others. I have been reading all your comments and enjoy them. I know I threw a lot in there. I originally had a 16 minute clip that I made from 9 hours of video, clearly documenting modifications, odometer readings and fillups, and things I did during each trip. For rules purposes I had to cut it to 2 minutes, so a lot of information was dropped, but I tried to keep the biggest things that made a difference.

I am glad some of you are trying to also increase your mpg. In my opinion it equally or more important as changing to CFL's. Most of my friends, like I did, changed to compact flourescents a long time ago. But NONE of them had attempted to increase the fuel efficiency of their car. Having knowledge about cars, and having studied fuel economy, this seemed like the area that people needed the most information about. So I took the opportunity to take a gas guzzler "monster" type truck which I acquired long before I knew to be concerned about global warming, and tried to show how easy it would be to improve the gas mileage. Let me share some things that I feel made the biggest difference:

1) Keep your RPM's low. Shift as early as you can. Near the end I was always in 5th gear, even at 30 mph in the city. If you have an automatic you can learn to "trick" your transmission to upshift early by briefly lifting on the gas pedal when accelerating.

2) Like Millie saw me do, staying behind a truck or SUV on the freeway is the biggest thing I did on my last trip. I helped me 8 mpg. Notice the air noise you hear when on the freeway by yourself. And then notice how it is quiter behind a truck or suv. Remember: the sound getting quieter means your mileage is getting higher. :)

3) Use oil that says "Saves Fuel" on the label. I know Pepboys sells Royal Purple, which I used because all the racers on Spike TV swear by it. They showed it increased 10 horsepower on the dynomometer because it reduces so much engine friction. Well guess what TreeHuggers? That giant friction reduction can also help all of us consume a lot less fuel. All of us have to change our oil, might as well save CO2 as we do it. Oh another bonus: This oil lasts 7500 miles so you don't have to change it as often, and the mpg improvement will more than pay for the oil.

4) Anticipate when you will have to use the brakes. Most of us drive the same sections of road and know where the stops and turns are. Start by coasting or letting off the gas 3 seconds earlier that you used to before you apply the brakes.

5) Be more afraid of underfilled tires than overfilled tires. Underfilled tires cause blowouts because the flexing sidewall overheats and the rubber gets hot and weak. Overfilled tires do not. I filled my truck tires this week to 85 PSI and drove around to see if I could notice it braking or handling different. (Last week I filled them to 65 PSI) It was a little harsh when I hit a giant pothole, but otherwise fine. I would rather you procrastinators fill your tires to 45 PSI once a year, than to 35 and risk a blowout because of them leaking down to 25. Tire manufacurers don't tell you this because they would sell less tires because slightly higher pressure makes tires last a lot longer, car manufacturers don't tell you this because they want you to have the most comfortable ride, so you'll buy their brand again. MPG isn't either's top concern.

Oh, and did you know that chances are you can get better mileage than a Prius in your current car right now?

Click on the link from my name below to see a graph that will change how you think about speeding.

Wow! So important: make sure you don't speed unless you are drafting behind a truck or SUV. By drafting at 65 your car thinks it is going 35 mph because the surrounding air is already partially accelerated up to your speed.

I would love to hear from others of you who made an effort to increase your mpg. It makes me feel like I am helping to make a difference.

Thanks, Terry

Thanks for all the helpful tips. Your video was very informative and funny too! I like the “spare tire” part! Actually, I’ve been carrying around some junk in my trunk for weeks that I’ve been meaning to take to Goodwill. No pun intended! I didn’t realize that the weight of all that junk I’ve been lugging around was wasting gas…as if driving a jeep isn’t bad enough.

Your video was very helpful to me. I bought an SUV a few years ago so I could bring the kids with me everywhere I go (my four golden retrievers that is!). Eventually I will get a more efficient car, but it is just not financially feasible right now. I am so glad that I saw your video because it shows me that there is something I can do NOW! I even checked my tire pressure at the gas station today!! Hopefully I can use some more of your tips so I can see a LOT less of that place!!!

Wow--I have never looked at a big truck and thought, "I bet that sucker can get about 40 mpg." Shaking a little; it's totally amazing and doable. I will share with all those I know who love F350s, 450s and Expeditions, not to mention the bigger guys.

Heather, Melissa I appreciate hearing from you. About half of doubling your mileage is driving habit changes and techniques, like riding in a pack instead of alone on the freeway. The other half is buying products and will help us achieve better mileage. Not "fuel saving gizmos" but science tested products, like electric cooling fans, energy conserving oils, lower rolling resistance tires and so on. These products pay for themselves over time.

Heather, tell the guys with the big Ford trucks to change their rear diff oil with R.Purple synthetic 75W90 and to add a tonneau cover over the bed. An easy 3-5+ mpg right there and easy to do. If every truck owner did that tomorrow it would be like 10% of the incandescent light bulbs disappearing.

Part of driving is making smart choices with your money. By choosing the vehicle that gets the best MPG and still meets your needs, and then buying products that help you achieve the best mileage. We all need to be buying responsibly produced products and products that save us energy in our home, but if we ignore the half billion+ cars on the road, we are missing the biggest thing we can all do today. From the appliances you purchase to the clothes you choose to buy to the mileage you get in your car. Produce less CO2 and be a responsible consumer.

41 mpg n the first time i saw ur vid i had a best of 33 mpg but usually 25-28. my honda definitely didnt need power steering n im not that strong. good call man i had no idea about most of that stuff. i knew about tire pressure b4 tho. dont know who nominated the vids we cant vote 4 but some that arent nominated r real good n this is 1 of the few i really like. just b/c i already knew all that other stuff n some i dont understand.

The video about Terry on the motorcycle is NOT WORKING.

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editor note: Strange. It is working fine for me. Can you tell us what browser, OS and version of flash you have?

Great info. I will remove my spare and jack. I run biodiesel and would love to improve my mileage. Will check air and fuel filters too.

Thanx

You go, Terry! Good man! The BEST! Don't stop here, surely you must have some more fabulous ideas! We're waiting, we need you! THANK YOU!!!!

Great! Glad to hear it! Marc, I'm not sure what else you tried besides removing the powersteering belt, but it looks like you are getting 13+ mpg better than usual. Not only are you reducing your CO2 output but you are saving a lot of money! How easy was that? Let's encourage everyone else to do the same.
Leslie I hope you got the video working.

Deborah, like the new hybrids do that don't come with a spare tire, they include a tire plug kit, which will fix most causes of flats (nails, screws, glass) They are like $2 or $3 bucks and are easy to use. If you also carry a can of something like Fix-A-Flat you'll be in good shape.

In a way spare tires were necessary years ago when roads were bad and there was little mobile communication. But these days cars that still some with spare tires only do because last years model did, and car makers are afraid consumers will be shocked. But if cars never came with spare tires, no automaker would start putting them in cars next year. There is a higher chance of them putting in a spare battery, an extra water pump or something that has a higher chance in today's day and age of leaving you stuck than a flat tire which can be repaired and refilled a lot easier than it can be changed.

In fact if a spare tire and jack and wrench make up a little over 2.5% of the weight of a car, if everyone got rid of their spare tire, it would be like taking 17 million cars off the road!!! (2.5% of 700 million cars in the world) 10 years from now we'll look back at old cars that had spare's and realize how silly it was.

Good luck everyone on doubling your mileage! As soon as you realize that just because your car is rated at 25 mpg, all that is is an average. Some get 15 mpg, some can get 45 mpg. I want you to be the one that is getting 45-50 mpg. Don't settle for average.

Terry

Terry,

Great stuff, man. I agree with everyone else about everything we learned from your film. I just want to say that I am equally impressed with the filmmaking. I found your style to be really, really engaging and fun. I enjoyed how you got faster as you got more excited over saving miles.

Want to exchange DVD's? We're over in the other treehugger competition. Check us out at http://familiesfightback.org. I'd really like to show your film at public screenings we'll do...like this Earth Day. Your film is a hoot and really smart. Write me at our site.

I can't view the video either and I have a new HP Presario, 64x2 AMD with 2 Gigs of ram running XP SP2.
I think I have to associate the .tv file with media player or something. It would be better if the file was saved as a .mpg or .wmv, then everyone could view it with default settings.