Service station owner offers gas-saving tips

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BY LISA MUNGER / Lincoln Journal Star

In the middle of an auto repair shop, with cars on lifts ready for repair all around, George Witt set up his PowerPoint presentation, using the back of a giant garage door instead of a traditional pull-down screen.

About 50 people settled in folding chairs, opened their free sodas and pulled out notepads, prepared to record Witt’s tips for saving gas. He offered the free class Tuesday at his shop, George Witt Service, 3341 N. 35th St.

“You don’t have to be a crazy person to drive this way,” Witt said to the audience, made up of nearly half women and half men. “Look at the terrain like a bicyclist.”

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George Witt tells drivers during a free fuel mileage class how to drive economically. "Look at the road like you're riding a bicycle," he says, and coast going down hills. (William Lauer)

George Witt tells drivers during a free fuel mileage class how to drive economically. "Look at the road like you're riding a bicycle," he says, and coast going down hills. (William Lauer)

Thinking like a bicyclist is the key to running your car efficiently, hence saving gas and, of course, cash. To that end, he urged participants to coast as much as possible.

“The next time you jam on your brake, think, ‘75 cents, 75 cents, 75 cents,’” he said.

Fuel-saving tips

Lincoln service station owner George Witt offered these tips for saving fuel:

* Pedal easy. Don’t ever lean on the gas more than one-half an inch.

* Choose routes with the fewest number of lights.

* Coast to a red light, take your foot off the gas.

* Anytime you use either pedal, it uses gas.

* Slowly speed up. 

* Don’t be afraid to coast uphill when anticipating traffic lights.  

* Don’t increase your speed uphill. Let your vehicle slow a bit — you’ll catch the speed again on the way down.

* Don’t accelerate unless you need to. Witt experimented with his acceleration patterns, according to his stopwatch; he reduced his accelerations to 30 percent of total driving time.

* Forget constant speed, instead just remain lightly on the throttle.

* Increase your following distance to allow for variation in speeds.

* Pay attention to which streets have synchronized lights; drive on them. In Lincoln, think Ninth Street, 10th Street, 16th Street and 17th Street. Faster routes use less gas.

* Vary morning departure times. Leaving a few minutes earlier or later may change your drive time.

* Experiment with different tire pressures. A higher pressure may get you better gas mileage.

* Put cheap tires on your car.  No correction here — Witt said cheap tires have flimsier side-walls than premium tires, which creates less resistance and better miles per gallon.

* Combine trips. Make one trip with many stops so your car doesn’t burn gas heating up (even in the summer).

Gas-saving myths

Lincoln service station owner George Witt wants to debunk several common myths about how to save gas.

* Always use cruise control, it uses less gas.

“Baloney,” Witt said. “It doesn’t fit with the bike analogy. Cruise accelerates uphill and decelerates downhill — it’s backwards.”

* Put nitrogen in your tires, like they do on NASCAR and with airplanes.

Witt: “Baloney. Regular air is nearly 80 percent nitrogen anyway. Doing this only makes a difference on grand scales and won’t do anything for your car.”

* Don’t let your car idle. Turn it off at stop lights to save gas.

Witt: “Baloney. This will not amount to a gas savings, for four minutes of idling you save about a shot glass of gas.” (Witt tested this out on his own vehicle.)

* New spark plugs will save gas.

Witt: “Baloney. Follow your normal maintenance schedule on your car.”

* Replace your air filter every 7,500 miles to save fuel.

Witt: “Baloney. This is a myth invented by parts people to make money. Cars have computerized air sensors anyway.”