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Title: Obama's Call for Tire Inflation to Beat Gas Crunch
Source:
Popular Mechanics
URL Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/4276844
Published: Oct 1, 2009
Author: Mike Allen
Post Date: 2011-04-05 14:07:45 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: Obama-doma-ding-dong, Obamatuer Hour
Views: 4687
Comments: 14
Americans burned 142 billion gal. of gas last year. Sen. Barack Obama now suggests that we can trim that thirst by making sure we keep our tires properly inflated. Is he right? Let's do the math: A single tire that's underinflated by 10 psi costs about 3.3 percent of your fuel economy. So to keep the numbers round for the sake of our discussion, let's say four tires underinflated by that same amount would increase our fuel consumption by around 10 percent. How many cars have underinflated tires? A Department of Transportation study dating back to 2001 says that 60 to 80 percent of cars on the road are running tires underinflated by as much as 10 percent. Worse yet, they say that 20 to 50 percent of them are driving with tires down in pressure by as much as 20 percent. Want more? Well, 10 to 30 percent of these cars have tires with pressure as low as 30 percent of the recommended pressure. That's bad, folks. And it means we're costing ourselves much more than a few miles per gallon. It means we're wearing out a lot of tires prematurely. And more important, it means there are quite a few cars on the road that have less-than-optimal control on wet pavement, under heavy braking or during evasive maneuvers. So underinflated tires may be causing untold accidents. So, you say, that study is eight years old! Don't new cars have tire-pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) mandated by federal law, intended to keep this sort of neglect to a minimum? Well, yes, but only some vehicles with TPMS actually measure the tire pressures with some sort of sender mounted in the tire or on the valve stem. These units tend to be more expensive, and come installed on pricier cars. Most vehicles just check tire pressure with software. Specifically, they use the vehicle's onboard computer--or one of the onboard computers (most cars have several now)--o provide data through the wheel-speed sensors from the ABS system. Any tire that's low is smaller in diameter (at least on the bottom) than the others, and rotates more rapidly than its partners. The computer tracks this and turns on the TPMS warning light. There's an inherent problem with the system. Well, several, actually. The TPMS warning light is only required to announce low pressure when one tire is 20 percent lower than the rest. And that's far too low to really address the tire wear or vehicle instability issues. Think about it: If all four tires are some percentage less than 20 percent underinflated, there will be no warning--ever. Here's the scenario: You stop to gas up and fill the tires on the way home from work one afternoon. Peachy. All four tires are inflated to the pressures listed on the placard pasted to the driver's door frame. Four months later, you load up the car for a holiday trip. That last time you filled up the tires after work, they were warm, assuming a 20-minute drive from your office to the service station. When they cooled off, the pressure dropped several psi thanks to nothing more than escaping heat. So let's say the outside air temperature has dropped 40 F in the intervening months. That would lower the pressure by another 5 psi. Even the best tubeless tires lose 2 to 5 percent of their air pressure per month from air migrating through the rubber. Your tires are now somewhere between 15 to 30 percent too low, costing you gas and endangering your family. As we've said, the lion's share of these systems aren't required to toggle on the warning light until the pressures dip by 20 percent or more--even the ones that actually measure pressure instead of inferring it from ABS data. The average consumer could improve gas mileage by 3.3 percent by simply keeping his tires inflated to the proper pressure. For the average driver in the U.S. and his 15-gal. fuel tank, that's a savings of about $2.00 on every fill-up. Figure in the increased tire life from those correct pressures, and this is beginning to add up to a handy sum. Of course, if you--or your mechanic--have been diligent about keeping tire pressures set correctly, you won't save anything, which sounds like rewarding lazy people and penalizing the careful ones to me. But that's life. Will maintaining proper tire pressures make a huge difference in the enormous amount of oil we import? No. But it can make a dent, albeit a very small one. According to the Department of Energy, underinflated tires alone cost the country more than 1.25 billion gal. of gasoline annually--roughly 1 percent of the total consumption of 142 billion gal. According to the Annual Energy Outlook 2007, published by the Energy Information Administration, offshore drilling would increase domestic production of crude oil by only about 1 percent. We opened this discussion with Sen. Obama's assertion that we can offset the need to reopen offshore drilling--and save money at the pump--by keeping our tires inflated properly. He's right, although he's ignoring the potential for making a serious dent in natural gas production rates. You know what? I'm not running straight out to buy luxury items with the savings like I was supposed to with my incentive check. But then again, if you're reading Popular Mechanics, you already know that proper auto maintenance saves you money in the long run. Read more: Obama's Call for Tire Inflation to Beat Gas Crunch: Reality Check - Popular Mechanics
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#1. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
Drive smaller cars. The creating of the SUV was the biggest mind game 5th avenue ever played on the American people. They convinced Americans they needed an off-road capable vehicle when 99% of the population does not need one. Created a fuel guzzling chassis for the SUV that made them unstable (center of gravity is too high - and charged more money than a sedan (people paid for an SUV via financing in the 90s and this borrowing of money further indebted the nation).
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
It's none of your business what kind of car other people drive, WTF makes an ignorant little twit like yourself think it is?
I'm not sure that it;'s possible for you to have posted a more boring article...
Apparently not. I wish you wouldn't change the meaning of a story; I was hoping for something stupendously stupid from the SoaW.
***Naturally perfect and humble by default.***
Yo Bubba, I copy/pasted the title. If you don't like it bitch at the author.
What's boring about fixing the fuel crisis? Your boy Barry says inflating our tires will fix the fuel crisis; he's your brilliant Automotive Engineer-In-Chief, you should be very proud of him and his solutions.
Apparently not. They pump the tires on the Caddy up to 90psi, so that it slides around corners better. hObama must be on the same trip.
I recall a re-run of MASH I saw where this uber right winger named Colonel Flagg... Godwinson going for a drive........
"I love the 45 caliber M1911, I respect the 9MM M9 Beretta but I only carry a CZ for my own personal protection". Quote courtesy of Lt Col John Dean Cooper, recognized as the Father of Modern Handgunning
I thought Godwinson drove a Yugo.
You are both wrong. I have cameras and ears everywhere. Here is Godwinson in action.
Sorry; my tongue in cheek doesn't work to well when it looks like foot in mouth. What I meant was that I read the article hoping to find something stupid and other than the title being deceptive it was a sensible article. And when you replied, I noticed your handle, and should you be a person of color then I apologize if I seemed racist, even though I've discovered since Obama was elected, that I am.
***Naturally perfect and humble by default.***
Well- you know what they say-When the going gets weird- the weird turn pro.
Two bits says "Yer mine" Bitsy... Just leave those teeth out...
Apparently not.
#2. To: Godwinson (#1)
Drive smaller cars.
#3. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
Inarticulate Insights,
By Boofer
#4. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
Obama's Call for Tire Inflation to Beat Gas Crunch
Obama's Call for Proper Tire Inflation to Beat Gas Crunch
#5. To: harrowup (#4)
#6. To: war (#3)
a more boring article...
#7. To: Happy Quanzaa (#6)
I'm not sure that it's possible for you to have posted a more boring article...
Inarticulate Insights,
By Boofer
#8. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
(Edited)
keep our tires properly inflated
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter Thompson
"Raoul Duke: We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get into locked a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge, and I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon." 
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
Godwinson posted on 2011-02-23 11:47:32 ET
http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=18011&Disp=46#C46
#9. To: Happy Quanzaa (#2)
WTF makes an ignorant little twit like yourself think it is?
#10. To: CZ82 (#9)
Godwinson going for a drive........
#11. To: Happy Quanzaa, cz82 (#10)
#12. To: Happy Quanzaa (#5)
Yo Bubba, I copy/pasted the title. If you don't like it bitch at the author.
#13. To: hondo68 (#8)
(Edited)
#14. To: diva betsy ross (#13)
Well- you know what they say-When the going gets weird- the weird turn pro.
Inarticulate Insights,
By Boofer
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