The bike tires were almost flat and while checking the bike I decided to check the car tires as well. The cars looked fine but they were in fact well below the recommended inflation pressure. I was angry with myself for not staying on top of this given the price of gasoline and the negative impact of low tire pressure in gas mileage. Low bike tires make a bike hard to pedal and ditto for cars and trucks, the engine has to work harder and uses more fuel. Add to this the expense of a good set of tires for a pickup can hit the $1k mark with ease. They will wear out in short order if you don't stay on top of tire air pressure.
I knew my gas mileage had fallen off a bit but chalked it up to colder weather and ethanol added to the gas. Duh... tire pressure is critical and can take several MPG off in a hurry. Air is free at most tire dealers and can save you $0.40/gallon or more if you are rolling around on low tire pressure.
Fill your tires with nitrogen instead of air. The pressure will stay more stable and won't change with the heat and cold. Old Nascar trick. The County has been doing this in their vehicles for some time and have received significant savings in gas and tire wear.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that if you took that sack of of hammers out of the trunk it would make at least as much difference as using 100% nitrogen on fuel economy, assuming proper inflation in both cases. Costco and some others use nitrogen with new tires which I'm sure doesn't hurt if you are not actually paying for it. You get 78% nitrogen out of the tire pump. Arguments for using 100% nitrogen do exist but look to be relevant on special vehicles like aircraft and competition race cars if increased cost is considered. Planning your trips so you are traveling with the wind taking the downhill route will also help fuel economy.
ReplyDeleteMr Whizzer,
DeleteFilling your tyres with helium will help lighten the load, helium being lighter than nitrogen. Less weight, better mileage.
Cheers
Don't brag about the Canyon County fleet using nitrogen in their tires unless you also publish what it costs to "save" all of this money. It's probably a net loss.
ReplyDeleteHey there's an article in the press tribune about it. Looks like the county is getting an award for it. Seems to be working well enough for them, which seems to be a pretty compelling argument to me.
ReplyDeleteDear Brian,
ReplyDeleteI asked Mr. Tolman about some of the effects of using Nitrogen instead of air. He said his tire budget alone has almost dropped by half of what it used to be. The reason is because there is not as much change in tire pressures which has the net effect of less wear and tear on the tires themselves so they are lasting longer. Fact tires that are inflated to the proper tire pressure last longer than improperly inflated tires. Fuel efficiency has increased a little more as a result as well. All these little savings begin to add up over time especially when you are dealing with a fleet of vehicles. Nitrogen systems range from anywhere between $3000 to $10,000 on average.
Gee whiz Brian. What do you think the cost is to replace one set of tires per year on the county's 50 patrol cars alone? That's 200 tires Brian at an average cost of at least $100 each I would guess. That's at least $20,000 a year in tires just for patrol cars not including any other vehicles. Do you think extending the life of these tires might be important Brian?
Try reading the article before being such a negative Nancy.
Is it so hard for you to believe that someone got it right for once?
http://www.idahopress.com/news/canyon-county-s-green-car-fleet-gets-national-notice/article_758dbb08-8e9a-11e1-901c-001a4bcf887a.html