Improving the gas mileage and maintainig while in storage, my first 2 questions Options

[goodguy67]

Hi guys, I am glad to become a member of this club. I have 2 questions at once , (the second one came while waiting to be validated);
My first question: These days I have purchased a Elantra 2012 GL automatic and I was a little disappointed when I didn't get the advertised mileage of 7.5 l/100km
for a city drive. It didn't go lower than 9.5 l/100km. I would like to ask for an advice how to improve the gas mileage with Elantra? I read somewhere that
putting acetone of about 1 oz. in 10 gallons gasoline (or 30 ml in 40 l gasoline) would improve the gas mileage for about 30%. Has anyone tried
this and is it safe to add acetone to the gasoline in the tank?
And, also please, give me your advice for my second question, which is - what's the best way to maintain my Elantra while in storage? I am planning to
put it in storage soon for 3-4 months; I was advised to disconnect the negative connector of the battery for the time it's been unused, so that the
battery doesn't discharge. If I go for this option, would it be harmful to the electronic gauges when I restart the car? Would it need a memory saver
to save the electronic set-ups? Another option is to start it once a week and keep it idle for 30 minutes, which would be a best option for me, but
would like to hear from you, anybody that had a similar experience. The third option is probably the most common, - to attach a trickle charger on the
battery, but it cannot be done in our building's parking area, because there are no outlets.
Please give me your suggestions and advises. I am not very mechanical , but would always do a lot of research and ask for help
before I find the right solution for the issues. Thanks very much.

[mlumz]

First of all, welcome to the club. Hope you check out the cool features we have such as creating a member profile and garage, etc.

For better fuel economy: I've never put acetone into gasoline before so I wouldn't recommend putting anything other than gasoline into the car. To improve gas mileage you should maintain good tire pressure (the required tire pressure is on the side of the driver side door), get regular oil changes and maintenance, don't drive with excess weight in the car that isn't necessary, improving air flow with a K&N air filter (this option is debated by many people; you love or hate K&N filters). I've used K&N filters on all the cars I've owned and love them.

For storage: Disconnecting the battery is a good start so you don't drain your battery (you will lose the memory of your radio stations, etc). Also another option would be to place the vehicle on jack stands to prevent the tires from dry rotting (sitting there and not moving). But I don't think a few months is gonna do much damage to your tires. Starting the vehicle once a week for about 30 minutes is also a good idea to keep the fluid circulating. I also would recommend getting an oil change prior to letting the car sit so you aren't allowing dirty oil to sit in your engine for several months. Also getting a car cover to place on the car to prevent damage would also help protect the vehicle as well.

[goodguy67]

Thanks mlumz, I appreciate your answers; Will check the features these days and create a profile; Regards;

[Neanderthal]

You can also try a solar trickle charger. That should work if there is light, God's own light or man's 'lectric lights.

First one I pulled up in search:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-2.4W-...harger/16550320

If someone can drive it a few miles every few weeks that is good. Enough so the condensation stops coming out of the tailpipe.

[goodguy67]

thanks Neanderthal, honestly, I thought of that, but I am not sure our underground parkade has enough 'men's' electric light to power it. I was thinking maybe using the solar charger for 2 days (over the weekend), when I would take the car to the outside visitor's parking and leave it for 5 - 6 hours, but not sure 2 days of solar charge would be enough to keep it charged too.
Anyway, I saw the other day a 'memory saver', which saves the electrical set ups while the battery is disconnected. I just need to find out if it can be used for longer period of a few months...
Thanks a lot again;
P.S. By the way, I saw you're a fan of kia spectra, that's my ex car, which I loved too; greetings

This post has been edited by goodguy67: Sep 9 2014, 09:28 AM