Since gas prices are continuously rising, you should take proper care of your car.
When you travel, proper car maintenance is even more important. Some basic and inexpensive maintenance checks will make your road trips safe and very fuel-efficient.
Here are some things that you have to pay attention to.
The car's gas caps. About 17 percent of the vehicles on the roads have gas caps that are either damaged, loose or are missing altogether, causing 147 million gallons of gas to vaporize every year.
Not-quite-flat tires. If you drive with tires that aren't inflated well, then it's like driving with the parking brake on, which means that in every gallon of gas, you waste a mile or two.
Worn spark plugs. A car can have 4, 6, or 8 spark plugs, and these can fire as many as 3 million times per 1,000 miles, and this can result in a lot of heat and electrical and chemical erosion. Dirty spark plugs can cause misfiring, which would waste fuel. So you need to replace spark plugs regularly.
Unclean air filters. An air filter that is dirty and clogged up can waste gas and cause the engine to lose power. Changing a dirty air filter will enable you to get more mileage, therefore saving money on gas.
Here are some driving tips that can help you save gas money.
Don't drive aggressively. You should know that aggressive driving can lower a car's gas mileage by as much as 33% for highway driving and 5% for city driving, which would mean that you would be wasting 7-49 cents per gallon of gasoline.
Don't let your car idle too much. Letting your car sit idle would get 0 miles per gallon. One to two minutes of warm up is enough.
Observe the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases greatly at speeds greater than 60 mph. Each mile over 60 mph would cost you an extra 10 cents per gallon. To maintain a constant speed on the highway, use cruise control.
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