Monday, October 16, 2006

Gas Mileage Enhancer: A Tune Up

When it comes to gas mileage savers, taking care of your car is a great place to start. Common sense will tell you that fixing a car's engine that is out of tune or one that has failed an emissions test can result in a gas mileage improvement of about 4.1 percent.

It's important to have your vehicle serviced immediately if a "check engine" light appears on the dashboard. The light is there for a reason and ignoring it could mean having to shell out more money than just for high priced gasoline.

Replacing a clogged air filter can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. If you think about it in terms of money, that 10 percent is the equivalent of nearly 15 cents a gallon in actual gasoline savings. Since most cars have a 15 - 20 gallon tank, that amount of savings begins to add up. A car's air filter prevents impurities from hurting the inside of the engine.

Tire maintenance can also result in gas mileage improvements. If you keep your tires inflated at their proper pressure you can improve gas mileage by about 3 percent. This can translate into a savings of up to 5 cents a gallon. You can check with the manufacturer of your vehicle for the recommended tire pressure.

You will also want to have the right grade of motor oil in your car. Different vehicles need different grades. For example, the average sedan uses 10W30. When you buy the wrong oil your car wastes energy trying to compensate in order to make the care run properly.

Finally, it's important to calculate gas mileage for your car on a regular basis. If you notice that you're going through gas much more quickly than usual, your vehicle might not be operating at it very best. Getting a tune up regularly (according to manufacturer recommendations) may mean that you will spend less money over all. If you don't get a tune up regularly, your gas money problems could just end up being the least of your problems.

Simple, but regular car maintenance can go a long way toward being a super gas saver.

About the Author:
Olivia Romero is a writer with over fifteen years writing video scripts and webcopy. She authors several websites and blogs. For more information on increasing your car's gas mileage and performance click here!
Article Source: http://articles.simplysearch4it.com/article/28169.html

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