Gas Guzzler Meter in Operation: Photo by Dave Prochnow

Pain at the pump continues to reach new levels of misery every day. While most of us can’t afford to trade our current gas guzzler for a more fuel economical model, it would be nice to adopt some new driving skills that will translate into greater fuel economy. But where do you start? How do you know if your current jitney is a fuel sipper or a gas guzzler?

The Gas Guzzler Meter is an attempt at putting an immediate dollar value on your current driving techniques: a digital meter that displays exactly what you're spending as you motor along. Stomp on the pedal and see the bucks zoom out your tailpipe faster than a NASCAR driver competing for the Nextel Cup.

Before we begin this project, however, please heed these words of caution: the Gas Guzzler Meter is not a precisely calibrated scientific measuring instrument. Rather it is a playful, tongue-in-cheek study on managing your own personal fuel economy. While many of the calculations are based on EPA studies, some of the variables are “best guess” approximations. Feel free to modify our code for achieving more accurate results. The Arduino Sketch code has been thoroughly documented for helping you insert your own variables/calculations.

These sources were used for developing our gas consumption and fuel economy calculations:

• Results of the Computer Simulation of the Fuel Consumption of Automobiles in Acceleration Process
• Operational Efficiency on BRT Systems
• QUANTIFYING THE IMPACT OF TRAFFIC-RELATED AND DRIVER-RELATED FACTORS ON VEHICLE FUEL CONSUMPTION AND EMISSIONS
• Comparative field evaluation of vehicle cruise speed and acceleration impacts on fuel-consumption
• Fuel Economy in Automobiles
• Fuel Economy