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This week we've already talked about how going green doesn't have to mean going into debt -- there are green solutions that are cheaper than their conventional counterparts.
Here's another one: You can improve your fuel efficiency by properly inflating the tires on your car. It's either free or at most a buck or two at your gas station. Grist's Umbra Fisk explains.
WATCH:
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Oh Lord get a freakn life tree hugger!!!
What does that mean?
I'm glad President Obama is promoting tire inflation. Tire inflation is one of the reuse/ maintenance strategies that we promoted in our book "Choose to Reuse" (Ceres Press, 1995). Reuse is the neglected second R in the “three R’s.” If you are interested in other reuse activities take it out of the library (a reuse facility.) You may also be interested in my blog http://choosetoreuse.blogspot.com/
David & Nikki Goldbeck
Careful, Republicans in Congress consider this an act of terrorism!!!
For an accurate measurement make sure the tire is cold, i.e. not driven in the past few hours. Otherwise this video is just more hot air.
of course it is
This idea was borrowed from the originator of this campaign, SAVANNAH WALTERS.
She has been promoting this for over three years.
Go to http://www.pumpemup.org
It's Savannah's website and it was her idea to begin with to inflate tires to
proper pressure as a way to save gas and use less foreign oil.
By the way, not all tires are supposed to be at 30 psi as this video says.
My Grandfather advocated this over 60 years ago, as just common sense! He believed a car ran better and there was less wear and tear on the shocks if your tires were properly inflated. Good ol' Grandpa! He was "green" when green wasn't cool!
Ya see? We've re-invented the wheel!
Also, the proper inflation is found in the car's owners manual. Not by what the tire co. says.
AAA will tell you that.
Actually that is wrong. the best inflation pressure on car tires is the maximum the tire can hold. Most car tires that would be 35 lbs. This will give the longest life on the tire.
Pickups and trailers will be different, and tires on big trucks like semi's usually run 100 lbs.
Three years? This is just basic knowledge that has been taught for generations. I'm staggered to learn that it needs to be 'promoted'.
I said Savannah Walters had been promoting this for three years.
I've known this since pumping up my bicycle tires when i was a kid,
but people need to be reminded.
Remember - half of all people are of below average intelligence.
...and even average isn't very smart.
We started in 1995. Tire inflation is one of the reuse/ maintenance strategies that we promoted in our book "Choose to Reuse" (Ceres Press, 1995). Reuse is the neglected second R in the "three R"s." If you are interested in other reuse activities take it out of the library (a reuse facility.) You may also be interested in my blog http://choosetoreuse.blogspot.com/
David & Nikki Goldbeck
Weren't the Republicans becoming the flat tyre Party during the campaign?
If I may continue my rant and hopefully educate a few people and save them money. ( which is the reason I keep my tires well inflated.) Just because your car has a notice on the dash or gas cap that says it requires premium gasoline, does not make it so. If your car does not ping on regular, you are wasting your money buying premium. For the naysayers, my last 3 cadillacs were running great and sold to someone else when they hit 200,000 miles. And for all I know are still going strong. If your car is still under warranty you probably wouldn't want to mention it to your dealer as I don't know for sure, but would gues they could void your warranty.
Used cars should be sold with a $20 air compressor.
Those pumps ar rip-offs.
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/13/democrats-letting-net-neutrality-die
Wait a sec. Wasn't everyone making fun of President Obama made this point during his campaign?
Republicans were, yes.
In fact, they took the obvious point our President was making about improving fuel efficiency and turned it into, "OMG HUSSEIN'S ENERGY PLAN IS FOR EVERYONE TO INFLATE THEIR TIRES!!11"
They went so far as to start giving away tire gauges with, "The Obama Energy Plan" written across the side to anyone who donated $25 to the McCain campaign. Never mind that you can buy a good tire gauge for at most $5.
Politifact had a good piece on the subject.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/608/
I remember them handing out tire gages and being completely ridiculous about it. Now who has the last laugh?
Yep.
I track the mileage in my civic with each fill-up, and without using any of the crazier hypermiling techniques I get around 30-32 mpg. At a fill-up, when I notice a drop in mileage, the first thing I check is my tire pressure, and will usually find that my tires are 2-3 psi short.
spending $1 per month on inflating my tires saves me $10-$20 per month on gasoline, depending on the time of the year.
Other simple stuff you can do is not use your car as a storage space, and don't let your car sit idle for any extended period of time.
Compressed air USED to be free, everywhere. It's a pet peeve of mine. Sorry, I just had to "air" it.
It certainly is a pathetic sign of the times that people need to educated on how to properly inflate a tire. That should be one of the first things a person learns when they begin to drive. However there is not a day that goes by when I don't see some fool driving on a tire or tires that are beyond low to the point of being dangerous. Is it really that difficult to look down when your approaching your car to see if your tires are low on air, and to actually check the pressure from time to time? But I am sure the same people wouldn't know how to check their oil or coolant levels either.
You aren't alone in being peeved at having to pay for air!
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First Posted: 04-22-09 08:02 AM | Updated: 04-22-09 08:09 AM