Fuel Economy Cars Detroit MI

Top 10 Factors Contributing To Fuel Economy By Zach Bowman, DriverSide Contributing Editor


How a BMW disturbs the air
around it.
Even though gas prices have eased compared to the outrageous numbers we saw just a few short months ago, fuel economy is still on the minds of vehicle owners everywhere. We’ve already shown you a few simple steps to save gas and how to improve your car’s fuel economy, but what determines a vehicle’s mpg? Why can certain cars zip along at close to 40 mpg while others are lucky to get anywhere near 20? As it turns out, there are as many factors that go into how well your ride does at the pumps as there are flavors of Jelly Beans out there.



Keeping your tires
properly inflated will
reduce rolling resistance.



How your vehicle is geared
plays a huge role.

We could write tomes on the principals that go into churning out the very best EPA numbers, but you probably wouldn’t want to read them. Instead, we’ve come up with 10 factors that have the greatest impact on fuel consumption. Some of the concepts might get a little technical, but there shouldn’t be anything as bad as your high school chemistry class. Promise.

1. Displacement

We’re not talking about losing your keys. That’s misplacement. Displacement is the volume of air your engine can consume in a single revolution, and these days it’s usually described in liters. A Yaris, for example, has a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine. That means with every revolution of the motor, the engine draws in and expels 1.5 liters of air.

The more air an engine moves, the more fuel it can consume with every turn. That’s why, on the whole, four-cylinder engines are thought of as more fuel-efficient than bigger motors like V-6’s or V-8’s. So, while a sub-compact car may only move 1.5-liters with every revolution, full-size trucks can draw in and spit out around 4.6-liters of air thanks to a V-8 engine. Again, more air means more fuel.

2. Weight

Of course, how much air your vehicle moves through its engine isn’t the sole deciding factor when it comes to mpg. How hard your motor works also has a big effect on what kind of mileage your vehicle gets, and the most basic kind of work is moving all the vehicle’s components down the road. To that end, a vehicle’s weight plays a key role in how much it drinks.

The more a vehicle weighs, the harder it will have to work get going and stay moving down the road. A pint-sized vehicle will barely move the scales, while some SUVs and trucks weigh in around a portly 5,000 lbs. The slimmer waistline in a small car means it can afford to have a smaller engine and a motor that doesn’t have to breathe too deeply every time it needs to get up to speed. In contrast, if a vehicle needs capabilities as a towing machine, heavy equipment is a necessity.

3. Gearing

While engine displacement and power have much to do with fin...

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