Stopping and Steering are Keys to Driving Safely
What distinguishes a severe condition from a normal condition?
Would you like to know when or if your fuel pump will fail?
While it is always wise to conserve natural resources, the recent price of gasoline has made even the most wasteful people think twice. Whatever your motivation, here are some gas saving tips from the pros at the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).
Monitor tires. Under inflated tires or poorly aligned wheels waste fuel by forcing the engine to work harder. (Let the tires cool down before checking the air pressure.) Out-of-line wheels, as evidenced by uneven tread wear, should be aligned by a professional.
Remove excess weight. Remove unnecessary items from the vehicle. Store only essentials in the trunk. Less weight means better mileage.
Consolidate trips and errands. Some trips may be unnecessary. Also, try to travel when traffic is light so you can avoid stop-and-go conditions.
Avoid excessive idling. Shut off the engine while waiting for friends and family.
Observe speed limits. Speeding decreases your miles per gallon.
Drive gently. Sudden accelerations guzzle gas. Anticipate traffic patterns ahead and adjust your speed gradually.
Use windows and air conditioning wisely. Your mileage should improve if you keep the windows closed at highway speeds, since air drag is reduced. This is true even with the air conditioning on-assuming that the system is in good working order. But turn the air conditioning off in stop-and-go traffic to save fuel.
Keep your engine "tuned up." A well-maintained engine operates at peak efficiency, maximizing gas mileage. Follow the service schedules listed in the owner's manual. Replace filters and fluids as recommended; have engine performance problems (rough idling, poor acceleration, etc.) corrected at a repair facility.
These conservation tips will not only save gasoline, they'll help extend the life of your vehicle.
Stopping and Steering are Keys to Driving Safely
With more vehicles on U.S. roads than ever before, your safety and that of others is at risk when your vehicle isn't stopping and steering at its best. Reducing your vehicle's stopping distance by just an inch or so could make the difference between a minor scare and a major fender bender. Crowded roads aren't the only concern. The roads themselves are often in a sorry state of repair. Portions of our highway system (including many bridges) haven't seen much in the way of maintenance or repair since they were built. In cold climates, the freeze/thaw cycle enlarges cracks and holes in the pavement. In sunnier spots, the heat, heavy cargo hauling and years of neglect take their own toll on roads. The result can be a moonscape of potholes that can affect the handling of your vehicle. Bad roads can cause suspension components, so vital to steering control and handling, to grow old before their time. Most drivers don't spend much time thinking about the automotive professionals who service their vehicle's suspension systems, but you don't have to be an automotive expert to keep your vehicle's stopping and steering systems safe.
Is a 100,000 mile tune up all that it is cracked up to be?
No, a common problem is that spark plugs are made to last 100,000 miles, but a fuel filter is not. Fuel filters commonly are made to last 30,000 to 40,000 miles. Leaving the fuel filter on any longer than that will cause drivability problems, in other words, the motor will not receive enough fuel to perform correctly possibly causing a "check engine" light to come on or causing fuel pump failure (see below).
As for double platinum spark plugs, for most vehicles, they will last 100,000 miles unless the vehicle is driven under severe conditions (see the next helpful tip) the spark plugs will end up 20,000 to 30,000 miles short of the 100,000 miles quota. This is common, but NOT limited to heavy duty gasoline engines (4 cyl. and V6 motors are subject to this also).
NOTE: Even though the vehicle seems to perform correctly, spark plugs that have been run too long create a bigger air gap between the electrodes on the spark plug than specified therefore demanding a higher current to fire the plug, which can cause premature failure of plug wires and ignition coils.
What distinguishes a severe condition from a normal condition?
Do you think you drive your vehicle under normal or severe conditions? Use this list of severe conditions to decide.
Driving fewer than 5 miles per trip
Driving in extremely hot conditions (over 90°F)
Extensive idling or long periods of stop and go driving
Trailer towing, driving with car carrier or driving in mountains
Driving on muddy, dusty or de-iced roads
NOTE: If the car is OCCASIONALLY driven under a "severe" condition, you should follow the Normal Conditions Maintenance Schedule in your owners manual.
Would you like to know when or if your fuel pump will fail?
This is possible now by the use of a current probe.
A current probe measures the number of amps the fuel pump draws, when doing this we are able to graph the current draw of the fuel pump as it is working. What we are looking for when we do this is a graph that looks like a line graph with repeated peaks and valleys (sinusoidal graph). If the number of peaks and valleys do not meet the expectation, the fuel pump performance is declining and will eventually will result in malfunction. Therefore the vehicle will not start. As stated previously, clogged fuel filters can cause fuel