GAS SAVING CAR CARE

HOW TO PREVENT POOR GAS MILEAGE

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The Fifth Fuel Friendly Fundamental: A well-maintained car uses less fuel than a poorly maintained car.

(For more Fuel Friendly Fundamentals see Gas Saving Driving .) _________________________________________________________________

Here are 10 ways to save gas and money with gas saving car care. We have included the estimated effect on gas prices (at $2.50/gallon) for each item.

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CAR TIRES – 4% or $.10/gallon. (2) How to save gas and get really cheap car tires.

WHEEL ALLIGNMENT - 2% or about $.05 per gallon (1) Proper wheel alignment saves twice.

ENGINE OIL – At least 2% or $.05/gallon (2) A simple car maintenance DIY item that saves twice.

AIR FILTER – Up to 10% or $.25/gallon (2) Cheap and simple way to save gas.

THERMOSTAT - stuck open 7% or $.175 per gallon (1) Overheating your engine is bad, but so is overcooling.

SPARK PLUGS – As much as 30% or $.75/gallon. (4) Fouled spark plugs often indicate other problems.

PLUG WIRES – As much as 30% or $.75/gallon. (4) Plug wires last a long time, but not forever.

OXYGEN SENSOR – Up to 40% or $1.00/gallon (2) A small part that can have big problems.

CATALYTIC CONVERTER – 10% or $.25/gallon or more (5) Exhausting catalytic converter problems.

EXHAUST PIPE – 10% or $.25/gallon, or more (5) Two more ways to save gas.

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Lack of proper maintenance in today’s computer controlled cars is more likely to show up as poor automobile gas mileage than poor performance.

If you’re not a car maintenance DIY type and don’t want to check out each of the 10 ways to save gas shown above, you should periodically take your car to a trustworthy mechanic for a basic car tune up.

Your mechanic will check all of the gas saving car care items and much more. A properly done basic car tune up will assure that your car will operate with peak efficiency, and use the least fuel possible.

On average, a well maintained car gets about 15% better mileage than a poorly maintained car. (1)

On a gallon of gas priced at $2.50, 15% translates to a savings of $.375 per gallon. You could also view that as a penalty for poor car maintenance that makes you pay $2.875 for gas that should have only cost $2.50.

And, according to ASE (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence) a well maintained car can last 50% longer than a poorly maintained car. (4)

So, gas saving car care pays you twice. You beat high gas prices, and extend the life of your car.

Is your car in need of attention?

Probably. _________________________________________________________________

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Car Care Council maintenance data reveals gas wasting maintenance items such as: 16% of all cars inspected had dirty air filters, 38% had low or dirty engine oil, and a whopping 54% had low tire pressure. (3)

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REFERENCES:

1. Parts America Maintenance Tips

2. United States Department of Energy Fuel Economy Tips

3. Car Care Council Maintenance Data

4. National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence Glove Box Tips

5. Gibson Performance Exhaust Tests

(Note: Estimates of cost penalties of restricted exhaust systems use a reciprocal of Gibson Performance data for improved exhaust flow and lower back pressure. Reducing back pressure has been shown to improve fuel economy. Exhaust pipe theory predicts that similar increases in back pressure caused by restricted exhaust systems burn extra fuel and cost money.)

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