General Car Maintenance

Improving Your Fuel Economy – General Car Maintenance

The old saying goes that nothing runs better than a well-oiled machine and your car is no exception. If everything is well maintained and running as it should be you will experience the best fuel economy, reliability, and performance that your vehicle can provide. If you fail to maintain your vehicle, however, you will start to see an expensive decrease in one or all aspects.

Tires and Brakes

Many people neglect their tires and brakes, which don’t really make any sense when you think about how important they really are; tires are the only things which actually maintain contact with the road and brakes are what slow you down. If anything, it would make the most sense from a “Let’s Keep Living” standpoint, to pay the most attention to these parts.

Avoid any incidents by having tires on your vehicle that are the proper size and in good standing; change the brake pads and have the rotors machined as soon as you begin to hear the signature break squeal.

Proper maintenance of your tires and brakes could give you up to 10% better fuel economy.

Air Intake and Exhaust System

The second most neglected part on your car besides your tires is your air filter. An air filter cleans the air that is introduced into the engine, ensuring that no particulates get into the combustion chambers. Having a clean and efficient intake system means more horsepower and more fuel economy. Change your air filter every 15,000 miles if you live in the city or whenever you see it get physically dirty.

Your exhaust removes waste gasses from the engine. Removing these gasses faster increases both horsepower and fuel economy. Ensure that all the components of your exhaust, the manifold, resonator, catalytic converter, and muffler, are in good condition and are not obstructed. Slowing down your exhaust flow will decrease both power and fuel economy.

Maintaining your intake and exhaust system can gain you up to 10% better fuel economy.

Oil

Changing your oil regularly means that the oil is less restrictive, lubricating the moving parts within your engine without causing any friction and the resulting power losses. Having oil and gunky oil in your engine can cost you 1% or more of your fuel economy.