A coworker once told me “That which gets measured gets done”. It seems painfully obvious, right? However I know a number of people who are trying to save gas, but don’t measure the results of their actions. This is for all of you.
The way to measure the fuel efficiency of your car is by keeping a mileage log book. There are no doubt dozens of ways to do these today. You can keep a traditional, handwritten log book in your car. You can keep a spreadsheet. However, one of the easiest ways is to simply keep it online with one of the free mileage tracking sites. There are dozens of them, but MPGTune.com is the one I like the most (see below for more information on MPGTune).
So why go to the extra effort? For me there are two primary reasons. The first is that I will tend to use less gas if I can see the results of my driving styles sooner. Using MPGTune I’m never very far away from seeing a dramatic dip in the graph, indicating that I haven’t been very smart behind the wheel.
Second is maintenance of your vehicle. If you haven’t changed your driving style but your fuel efficiency is going down then it might be time to see your mechanic. A quick note here, though. Weather conditions can also dramatically alter fuel efficiency. Rain, snow, high winds, and cold air can all negatively impact your fuel economy. It’s not always a mechanical issue.
It’s easy. Anybody can do it. In my opinion, everyone should. It can’t hurt.
More information about MPGTune:
Like most online mileage logs, one of the simplest ways to get the information into the system is to simply write down your odomoter reading on the pump receipt before you pull away. Then when you get back to a computer you can enter all of the necessary information. MPGTune adds another method, though. You can send a text message to them and they will post it to their site for you.
Once the basic information has been entered into MPGTune they’ll calculate your gas milage for that tank, for the month, for last month, for the year, for all time… then they’ll graph it for you.
That’s awesome. I wish I weren’t so lazy.
[...] – bookmarked by 2 members originally found by angrykeyboarder on 2008-11-12 Gas Saving Tip: Keeping a Gas Mileage Log Book http://eric.biven.us/2008/07/14/the-benefits-of-keeping-a-mileage-log-book/ – bookmarked by 5 [...]