I could go for gas @ $1.94/gal. Cheapest i have seen up here has been $2.16 @ BJs (OK, everyone stop laughing now).
the bike tires though.... sounds like that would be more of a pain than a budget issue there... ofcourse, with all the riding you do im sure you hit 2K pretty quick like!
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I just filled up the Grand Prix, Premium fuel only, $2.13/gal. A LOT better than when I was paying three something a gallon.
Ive had this thought a few times and I wonder just how realistic it is. It seems everyone puts the blame on oxygenated fuels in the winter time for lower fuel economy. But, what if its just winter itself, that is, the colder air?
As you know colder air is more dense. More dense air = more air per same intake stroke. More air per intake stroke = more fuel as the O2 sensor adjusts. I would think this is even more prevelant in cars with modified, more free flowing intakes.
I got a 4" intake on the Grand Prix and its taking in GOBS of air. I hooked up the scan tool yesterday and I was pulling something like 4.5lbs of air per minute which is a large amount of air.
This is why when you put a 160* T-stat in the car you could see a decrease in fuel economy. Your computer thinks the car is too cool and thus adds fuel to get things back up. You get a performance improvement but at the expense of fuel economy.
Just something Ive pondered.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
SyntheticShield wrote: I just filled up the Grand Prix, Premium fuel only, $2.13/gal. A LOT better than when I was paying three something a gallon.
Ive had this thought a few times and I wonder just how realistic it is. It seems everyone puts the blame on oxygenated fuels in the winter time for lower fuel economy. But, what if its just winter itself, that is, the colder air?
As you know colder air is more dense. More dense air = more air per same intake stroke. More air per intake stroke = more fuel as the O2 sensor adjusts. I would think this is even more prevelant in cars with modified, more free flowing intakes.
I got a 4" intake on the Grand Prix and its taking in GOBS of air. I hooked up the scan tool yesterday and I was pulling something like 4.5lbs of air per minute which is a large amount of air.
This is why when you put a 160* T-stat in the car you could see a decrease in fuel economy. Your computer thinks the car is too cool and thus adds fuel to get things back up. You get a performance improvement but at the expense of fuel economy.
Just something Ive pondered.
You're absolutely correct. This is one of the reasons for poorer gas mileage in winter. Another, depending on where you are, is driving on wet or snowy pavement. This takes more energy for forward motion than dry pavement.
Cold starts and slower warm-ups also eat gas. The gas companies, again, depending on where you are, reformulate their gas for the winter months. They add "dry gas", lower vapor pressure, and use different additives. All of these = worse mileage in colder weather.
You can usually tell when gas companies return to their "summer blend" of gas in the spring. My own experience has been...I'll be getting 27, 29 mpg for many weeks in a row, then it'll suddenly jump to 33.
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"How long do you get 2000 miles in? $56 every.... whatever doesn't seem horrible, considering the benefits of health and not buying gas."
I dunno. I have 4552 for the year right now. I'll have 5K by 1/1/06. Tires generally last 15-2000 mi. Some racing tires, (I don't race anymore), cost $65-95 each.
Changing a tire takes about 3 min. at home, 5-7 min. if I'm on the road. I usually don't get many flats. I've had 1 this year.
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That's a lotta miles a year! Pretty cool. I didn't know it took so quick to swap a bike tire, I've never changed one myself.
I'm with Pokes, I can't remember the last time I saw gas, anywhere below $2 a gallon. I don't drive much nowadays anyway, I use these "feet" things, I think changing them is a lot more the $28 a pop though, I better take good care
anther factor in MPG in the winter, for those of us who have frost, snow & ice you have to spend more time warming up the car to get the windows clear. That can impact the MPG.
I'm getting new sneakers for my car this weekend. $89 each mounted and balanced. :o) hopefully won't have to buy new winter treads for 4 or 5 winter seasons.
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Yeah the car warming definitely impacts it since you're getting 0 mpg for that time!
Have you noticed Chelly, that the PZEV seems to warm up pretty fast? I mean even when it's friggin cold outside, my little temp gauge gets to pointing straight up, in not a long time at all. I like it! What kinda sneaks is the Focus getting?
I start my car, let it run for at least a couple of minutes to get the engine lubricated and yep...by the time I'm hitting the hwy I've got heat. I live right off the hwy by not more than a minute.
love that all aluminum engine!
Last price I paid for gas was $2.30/ gal reg in Vermont!
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lil duratec wrote: Yeah the car warming definitely impacts it since you're getting 0 mpg for that time!
Have you noticed Chelly, that the PZEV seems to warm up pretty fast? I mean even when it's friggin cold outside, my little temp gauge gets to pointing straight up, in not a long time at all. I like it! What kinda sneaks is the Focus getting?
Nokian RSI (or somthing like that). I almost can't beleve the price we got. And we get free mount and balance. "Thank you Chelly's dad"
These are the top of the line Nokian winters and I got priced localy about $120 each mounted and balanced. $104 eack for the Hakapilita 1 replacements (they changed the name to Nuno or Nuevo or somthing with an N)
We had a huge delima over going Blizzak or Nokian.
And the 15" rims these tires are going on only need 1 small fix per rim.
We'll let you know when we post pics. It's an easy fix that Chelly or I can do.
Not to put a damper on your enjoyment of the current low prices..Enjoy it while you can. Won't last that much longer.http://www.ameinfo.com/71519.htmlThe peak output of the Burgan oil field will now be around 1.7 million barrels per day, and not the two million barrels per day forecast for the rest of the field's 30 to 40 years of life, Chairman Farouk Al Zanki told Bloomberg. He said that engineers had tried to maintain 1.9 million barrels per day but that 1.7 million is the optimum rate. Kuwait will now spend some $3 million a year for the next year to boost output and exports from other fields. However, it is surely a landmark moment when the world's second largest oil field begins to run dry. For Burgan has been pumping oil for almost 60 years and accounts for more than half of Kuwait's proven oil reserves. This is also not what forecasters are currently assuming. Forecasts wrongLast week the International Energy Agency's report said output from the Greater Burgan area will be 1.64 million barrels a day in 2020 and 1.53 million barrels per day in 2030. Is this now a realistic scenario? The news about the Burgan oil field also lends credence to the controversial opinions of investment banker and geologist Matthew Simmons. His book 'Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy' claims that the ageing Saudi oil filed also face serious production falls. The implications for the global economy are indeed serious. If the world oil supply begins to run dry then the upward pressure on oil prices will be inexorable. For the oil producers this will come as a compensation for declining output, and cushion them against an economic collapse. However, the oil consumers then face a major energy crisis. Industrialized economies are still far too dependent on oil. And the pricing mechanism of declining oil reserves will press them into further diversification of energy supplies, particularly nuclear, wind and solar power. Geological factsAll this was foreshadowed in the energy crisis of the late 1970s when a serious inflection in oil supply by the year 2000 was clearly forecast. How ironic that those earlier forecasts now look correct, while more modern and recent forecasts begin to look over optimistic and out-of-date with geological reality. Nobody can change the geology, and forces of nature that laid down reserves of oil and gas over millions and millions of years. Could it be that we have been blinded by technological advances into thinking that there is some way to beat nature? The natural world has an uncanny ability to hit back at the arrogance of man, and perhaps a reassessment of reality at this point is called for, rather than a reliance on oil statistics that may owe more to political maneuvering than geological facts.http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2005/november/11_15_4.htmlABU DHABI [MENL] -- Kuwait's largest oil field has exhausted its potential.The Kuwait Oil Co. said production at its Burgan field has peaked at 1.7 million barrels per day. Company chairman Farouk Al Zanki said Burgan, termed the second largest oil field in the world, failed to meet expectations to produce two million barrels of oil per day.The well has been pumping oil for nearly 60 years and accounts for more than half of Kuwait's proven oil reserves. Burgan had been expected to produce two million barrels per day until 2045.Officials said Kuwait intends to invest $3 million in 2006 to bolster output from other fields. One area targeted for development was fields in the northern sheikdom near the Iraqi border.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
Pokes wrote: Down to $2.11 here.... so it is about time for it to all start going up again now isnt it??Well, as Codger said, it's a non-renewable resource. The scarcer it gets, the more it's going to cost. And of course, all the while the demand is going nowhere but up, up and up. We're depleting it at record rates every day.
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That's a thought. Gasoline from coal. Lot's of it in North America. I would suspect that purity if you are referring to sulphur content would still be a problem.ProjectFocusFast wrote: I don't understand why they can't make synthetic gasoline.... eventually it's be cheaper than the real stuff. It'd be purer too. Fuggin oil Nazi's.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
I'm personally fond of the people who insist oil shortages are a communist plot (or somehting of that nature) and that everyone's freaked out but we're "never gonna run out of oil"
I've heard that every so often and it astounds me. Maybe it is a huge conspiracy, but my wager's in the other corner on this fight.
lil duratec wrote: I'm personally fond of the people who insist oil shortages are a communist plot (or somehting of that nature) and that everyone's freaked out but we're "never gonna run out of oil" That's right up there with the knucklehead who said that Japan caused hurricane Katrina to strike the US.
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Filled up yesterday for the 1st time in 3 weeks. Gas = $1.94/gal at Costco. 
Had to buy new tires for the bike. I get around 2000 mi / pair. Tires = $28.00 ea.
That's right up there with the knucklehead who said that Japan caused hurricane Katrina to strike the US.