Winter Care For Your Car

Online, December 4, 2012 (Newswire.com) - With rising fuel costs and increasing commute distance, the average monthly expenditure on fuel alone is one of the biggest contributors to the cost of ownership of a car in India. However, with simple steps, one can easily reduce the fuel consumption, increase the car economy and hence save money every month. Read on...

Clutch pedal
The clutch pedal should be used sparingly as this can wear out the plates and hence increase loan on the engine. Worn out clutch plates often result in an increase in engine speed without a proportional increase in the speed of the car, hence increasing fuel consumption.

Drive open air
The compressor of the air-conditioning unit is driven by the engine. Thus, it eats up extra fuel. That said, opening the windows while cruising at low speeds with the air-conditioning switched off can save fuel. On the contrary, it is not advisable to keep the windows open while driving at high speeds. This does affect the aerodynamics of the vehicle and creates more drag. To counter the additional air resistance more engine power is used and thus fuel economy drops.
If your car has an automatic climate control system where you can pre-set a temp, always stick to 21-22 degrees so that the compressor runs for less time and hence less load on the engine.

Change gears at the correct speed and RPM
Frequent change of gears can also affect fuel economy. Revving the engine excessively also increases fuel consumption. Always select the most ideal gear while driving. Lugging the engine on a higher gear won't save you precious drops of fuel either. If your car does not have a tachometer (dial showing engine rpm) always change up a gear at every 10 km/h increase in speed.

Refill timings
The density of fuel increases with fall in temperature. Hence, if you fill up early in the morning or in the evening when the temperature drops, you theoretically get more fuel for the money you pay. With increase in temperature fuel turns into vapours and hence a liter of fuel during summers may be as little as 900 ml with rest of it being just vapour which would evaporate while filling the tank.

Let it cool
In summers, if the car is parked under the sun for a long time it gets hot inside the cabin. Before turning on the air-conditioning make sure that you open the windows to let all the warm air out. This will allow the car to cool faster as you drive along. Once the cabin temperature has reached a suitable level, turn on the air-conditioning with recirculation turned on. Once, the cabin is cool enough you can turn recirculation off. This saves fuel as the air-conditioning doesn't need to work for a long time to cool the cabin.

Don't idle
Keeping the engine running while at the traffic lights will eat up fuel. This can be avoided by turning the engine off as idling for even 30 seconds uses up quite a bit of fuel. For an average city usage, one can save atleast 5-10 percent of fuel.

Maintain a constant speed
Improper and excessive acceleration and braking can cause the strain on the engine. This can be avoided if a constant speed is maintained. Driving the car between moderate speeds improves fuel efficiency. Also, let your foot off the gas pedal when going downhill which would further save you some fuel as the car would roll down the slope with inertia.

Check your tyre pressure
Over inflating the tires reduce the rolling resistance but a 2-3 PSI over the recommended value is permissible. Under inflated tires on the other hand increase rolling resistance and thus affect fuel economy adversely. Its ok to have the tyre pressure 2-3 PSI more than the recommended value in order to reduce drag and increase economy.

Regular checkups
Maintaining good health of the engine should be of prime importance. A regular full-service should include replacing lubricating fluids, cleaning spark plugs off carbon which gets collected over time, optimising air-fuel mixture proportions/ tuning the engine etc.

Drive only when necessary
Make a point to use your car sparingly when going for short trips to the market etc. Public transport is a really good option if you wish save money. Also, car-pooling has also gained popularity as it helps save fuel and thus reduce running costs of the car.

Minimize the use of brakes.
If you see slow moving traffic up ahead, take your foot off the accelerator pedal. Select neutral and coast slowly before you come to a stop. This saves fuel as the engine idles for much of the time. It also means you use limited braking force which further improves fuel efficiency.

Check air filter
Make sure the air filter is cleaned regularly. Dust and other foreign particles get stuck in the filter overtime. If a blocked filter is used for a long time then, it reduces the amount of air getting into the intake maniflold. This disturbs the air-fuel proportions and reduces fuel economy.

Shed the weight
Removing all the unnecessary stuff from the car/ boot can reduce the weight of the vehicle. This means, the engine does not have to use more power to lug the extra mass. This would thus result in fuel savings, even if by 1-2%, as the engine runs at its optimal level.

Combine daily tasks
Avoid diving during peak traffic hours for there is less chances of you getting stuck in a jam. Also make sure that you club certain tasks for which you need to drive around town. For example- trips to the grocer can be clubbed with other weekly/ monthly tasks.

Driver information display:
Some cars these days come with a multi-info display that shows average fuel economy, instantaneous fuel economy and average speeds. By keeping an eye on the fuel economy displays, you can alter your driving styles to increase this figure a lot.

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