Guess what, he is probably right. Offshore drilling will do little to either lower the price of gas or to limit our dependence on foreign oil. We will never drill our way out of these problems. Obama made this statement to illustrate how futile drilling is in solving our energy problems. The only way to solve these problems is to stop using oil all together by adopting alternative energy sources.

I read where one member did the calculation and came to the conclusion that Obama was way off in the savings from proper tire inflation. For one he made some gross miscalculations himself. The idea that the average American vehicle gets 25 mpg is ridiculous. With the number of trucks, SUVs, and older vehicles on the road we would be lucky if the "average" vehicle got 15-18 mpg. Secondly, the idea that there are 18 billion barrels of oil available from offshore drilling is only an estimate. The actual amount out there could be significantly lower. The only entities that will benefit from mass offshore drill in the US will be the oil companies and the tourism businesses in the countries whose beaches are not littered by pollution producing, view destroying oil rigs. After all, Louisiana is the only state that has offshore drilling of any significance and most of its coast is literally a DEAD ZONE.

The last idea I would like to impart on all you conservatives is election based in general. If you voted for G.W. Bush in either of the last elections, given that you voted for the worst president in the history of America, I think I would sit out the next few elections and re-evaluate your selection criteria. I know I sure would. As for me, I would literally vote for a monkey over any Republican. The reason for this is that given a choice between two options, the monkey would make the right choice 50% of the time. That is a much better success rate than the last administration. And from what I have seen of McCain, I doubt his results will be much different from that of Bush's.

I tried it today...

I take a weekly 120 mile trip to visit pops

3 my tires were at about 28 - 30 psi

on of them was like 23... ( I had no idea )

All should have been 35, by my gas gages standard I saved about an 8th of a tank!!!

So, ya its practical, but then again some of the best advice is.

Also I have read that you can save up to 10th cost per gallon if you fill up when the sun is down...

Originally posted by WhatTheory
Obama stated that doing those things will save as much oil as offshore drilling would produce. Two totally different things and it's very dumb on his part to even suggest such a thing.

Not dumb at all. Analysis of that statement showed it would save about three-fourths as much as offshore drilling would produce. Not quite what he claimed, but close.

What's really dumb is starting pre-emptive wars in the Middle East that do nothing but kill thousands of troops, a million civilians and cost trillions of dollars.

Originally posted by DINSTAAR
They can already force (with violence) you to buckle up, does this seem far fetched?

Seems like a way to keep you alive a little longer so they can collect taxes and all other assets. Obama is not our savior, we are!!!

Originally posted by tdubz
SAVINGS FROM INFLATING YOUR TIRES WILL NOT EQUAL THE AMOUNT OF OIL OFFSHORE

Prove him wrong. Show us the math. I'm not Obama, so I'm not doing the math and I haven't made any claims.

Since you are making claims, you do the math. If you don't prove it then you are no better than Obama - just more hot air.

Show us the numbers, with links to references you use. Show us the equations.

WHAT THEORY AND OTHER NEOCONS!

THE REPUBLICANS BLOCKED OIL DRILLING OFF SHORE AND IN ALASKA! NOT THE DEMOCRATS! THE DEMOCRATS ACTUALLY TRIED TO FORCE OIL COMPANIES TO DRILL OFF SHORE AND IN ALASKA BUT THE GOP BLOCKED IT! Proof in my Siggy.

As for his advice, it's true.

Off shore drilling will produce 200,000 barrels of oila day starting in about 15-20 years.

Proper tire and tune ups will save about 800,000 barrels a day, starting today.

So Obama is right, you are wrong. And please stop voting for people WHO BLOCKED OIL DRILLING!

The GOP BLOCKED THE DRILLING OF OVER 100BILLION BARRELS OF OIL IN ALASKA AND OFF SHORE! THAT IS TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF OIL THE GOP BLOCKED FROM BEING DRILLED!

Well actually it does make a difference!!!its something like if every car on the road had correct pressure it would cut opil usage ny 1-3% and it would make a lil difference to each individual

Anything that car drivers can do to save money for themselves and reduce consumption of oil is no bad thing...well apparently not going by what has been posted here.Apparently the post title was "Obama says if Americans inflated their tyres properly we would save oil" ....and guess what its a fact...
And before you jump on saying im this or that im afraid im posting from across the ocean...where oil prices are far higher than you are blessed with.
So getting the message out to drivers aint a bad thing at all

Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Not dumb at all. Analysis of that statement showed it would save about three-fourths as much as offshore drilling would produce. Not quite what he claimed, but close.

Hi GoldenFleece. What analysis are you referring to? Because what I saw actually showed it would save more. Four times more.

Originally posted by chuckk
We mock it since it was his total solution to the gasoline shortage.

Actually, no, it wasn't. He also wants to tap our oil reserves and would consider limited off-shore drilling. Not to mention providing incentives for fuel-efficient cars, research and development in alternative technologies and energies, and making buildings more energy efficient. There's more that I don't remember. You're listening to the talking points.

And his 'we cannot drill our way out of an oil shortage' is also stupid since it's obviously untrue.

Actually, it IS true. A 1% increase is NOT going to get us out of this oil shortage. If you think it will, you don't understand the numbers. Drilling offshore would give us another teaspoon of oil for every cup we already use... It would barely be noticeable!

I'd like to see a technology in gas stations that measures a customer's tire pressure, MPG and pollution output - so they can be charged accordingly for gasoline. If you drive a gas-guzzler that is out of tune and your tires are improperly inflated, you pay $4 per gallon. If you drive a fuel-efficient, properly-tuned and inflated car, you pay $2.50... That would get people to think twice about what they're driving!

Thats just wonderful. Obama plans on fixing our oil issues with info from AAA. And you liberals are taking it hook line and sinker. He may be right about it saving some gas but its info thats been out there for years. Maybe in the spirit of liberalism he can enact a law requiring people to have tire pressure checked at a govt office. There all done, energy crisis fixed, and Katie Couric can be happy.

McCain's plan is 40 more nuke plants. A sensible solution. Except, what was the single biggest concern post-9/11? A terrorsit attack on a nuke plant. So we've just increased our exposure by 40. And as nice as McCains 'solution' sounds, it will take 10-20yrs to get these on-line. We could be screwed-blued-and-tatooed in that much time. And here is the kicker: Watch all the people line-up behind McCain on his 'more nukes solution' right up until the time they start talking about building one in their city. Then will the SHTF for sure.

Tire pressure is important..that's a no brainer..Has anyone really looked into tune ups? Cars have not had a carburetor or even a throttle body injector for years. Spark plugs last a lot longer. there are no more points to gap or change. Most people can buy a car and put 60,000 miles on it and not have a bad spark plug in it. Being a poor old country guy I usually have to buy a used car being I can't afford a new one that will have what I need in a vehicle. I need four wheel drive. Weather gets bad and I live in the woods. I guess that's wrong of me and I should move to the city, get a bus pass but I like it out here I own a Jeep Cherokee. It's a 1999 that I bought a few years ago and not has a little over 200,000 miles on it. I change my oil (synthetic..much better for older motors) every 3,000 miles and I check my plugs every two years. The ones in it I put in when I first got it just because I'm picky as to what I want in my engines. These plugs have right around 50,000 miles on them and they look about new. Better fuel these days, more efficient engines...Tune ups are a thing of the past. I got 325,000 miles out of my last Jeep and expect more out of this one. Got to love those 4.0 6 cyl Jeep engines Just saying, with the on board computers, multi-port fuel injection, better fuel quality. With proper maintenance things like spark plugs can last as long as 100,000 miles. Many new vehicles will say that in their manuals.

The tire thing..Is important. They will last longer and you can get better mileage. I also would advise any engine with a good but of mileage switch to the synthetic motor oil. When you first change over but three or four filters. They will get full of gunk and need changed about once a week for three-four weeks. A cleaner engine will last longer and also get better mileage Some of the new synthetics can also go more miles between changes. It costs a little more but it is worth it.

Tire size also has a direct effect on your mileage. wider the tire, the more ground contact. The more fuel you will use. As for me. I have to have a tire that will get me through all year around so I lost a couple miles per gal with a tire change. I made it back with the better oil, a tire pressure gauge, and changing air filter(s) twice a year.

Personally I do not like Obama..I think he is a dangerous man..That's another thread though but he was close when he was talking about trying to save a little fuel with a little TLC to that tool in the driveway that we all love so much

[edit on 8/6/2008 by DrumJunkie]