You don’t necessarily have to own a green car to be a green driver. There are many adjustments you can make to your driving style to become more economical and efficient behind the wheel. Indeed there are also steps you can take to improve the performance of your vehicle.
This week the National Automobile Dealers Association issued its top ten green maintenance tips. Here are the enhancements it identified:
- Clean the air filter – An old filter won’t do its job if tattered and worn. According to the US Department of energy, there can be a 10 per cent improvement in fuel consumption if new filters are in place.
- Evaporative emission controls – In an engine where the controls aren’t working properly vapour will escape and degrade the quality of air. A check-up can help secure the vapours so they are recycled into the fuel tank.
- Regular tune-ups – Replacing items such as the spark plugs should help improve performance.
- Brake maintenance – Keeping your brakes in top condition is important for the environment as well as your safety. Too much drag can bring your fuel economy down by 25 per cent.
- Synthetic oils – If appropriate for your engine these can increase you fuel economy by two per cent.
- The right tyres – Ensure treads are not worn and that you are using appropriate tyres for your vehicle.
- Check your controls – Transmission fluids, system controls and drive components must operate smoothly to prevent larger maintenance issues and huge fuel losses.
- Watch those warning lights – Pay close attention to engine warning lights and don’t assume there’s no problem.
- Inflate tyres – It’s one of the most obvious green tips but under-inflated tyres will drastically cut your fuel consumption.
- Lighten the load – Take any unnecessary items out of your car to reduce drag.
For more tips, check out our article on reducing your environmental impact.
