We mentioned in the last post that maintaining the proper tire pressure is critical in getting favorable returns at the pumps.

Here is part 3 of the series on how to make your car more fuel efficient and save money.

Plan Your Route and Avoid Rush Hours

So you woke up late and have only 10 minutes to get to work? In order to achieve the impossible, you will have to skip breakfast, skip taking a shower, and press HARD on the gas pedal! Nothing wrong with that, but your car will consume MORE gas in the process–and you will still be late for work! Good luck reaching 50mph in rush hour traffic.

The trick is to wake up at least 30 minutes to 1 hour in advance in order to avoid the rush hour traffic.

After your work is done, you can choose to leave the office earlier than expected or wait at least an hour before heading to the streets.

Depending on the type of car that you drive, you can save anywhere from 10% to 30% in fuel expenses if you avoid rush hour traffic.

You see, the engine in your car suffers a lot of stress in stop-and-go traffic. Keeping your car idling for extended periods of time will also consume more gas than cruising at 40mph on the highway.

If your engine oil is dirty, or if the engine is not properly tuned, then the stress on the internal parts of your engine will be doubled.

With that in mind, you should plan your daily route. Avoid congested roads. City driving will yield lower fuel economy as your car will always stay in the lowest gear.

Avoid roads that have a lot of stoplights. Take the highway route as much as you can. Remember that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Measure the distance from your home to your office by using the trip odometer on your car. You will quickly see which road will yield the lowest distance between your home and your office.

Saving fuel is not a necessity. It is mandatory.

Think about it. Saving a small amount of gas each day will give you hundreds—if not—thousands of dollars of fuel savings each year.

If you currently own an older car, or a gas guzzling SUV, don’t you think it’s time to choose a more fuel efficient car?

Check out the latest new car prices and easily figure out the type of car that is right for your budget.

The bottom line is this: if you own a car that was engineered and designed to reach 40mpg, then you can do your part in saving the environment as well.

But making sure that the engine is in proper working condition is only the start. Here is the next tip on how you can cut down on fuel expenses.

Tip 2: Always Check the Tire Pressure

Admit it: when was the last time that you checked the tire pressure on your car?

If you have no idea on how much air pressure is recommended by the manufacturer, open the driver side door and take a look at the sticker found on the door jamb. You can also check the owner’s manual for the exact figure.

The U.S. Department of Energy can never be wrong. They said that maintaining the right tire pressure will help give you 3% better mileage. Furthermore, losing as little as 1 psi on all four tires will lower your gas mileage by 0.3%.

Also, using worn or bald tires will not only affect fuel economy of your car, but this is also dangerous. The car has a tendency to lose traction, especially on icy or wet roads. Driving with worn tires is dangerous.

Improper tire pressure will also reduce the useful life of your tires. This can also dent or crack your precious wheels if you run over a pothole.

How to Check the Tire Pressure

You can go a tire shop and let the professionals do their thing, or you can invest in a cheap tire pressure gauge to instantly determine the air pressure on your tires.

The air pressure can be measured in Kilopascals (kPa) or pounds per square inch (psi.) Different cars will require different air pressures. The air pressure will also depend on the size and width of the wheels and tires installed. It is good practice to maintain an average tire pressure of 30 psi or 206 kPa. Check your owner’s manual to be sure.

Remove the tire cap from the tire valve and insert the air pressure gauge. You will instantly get a tire pressure reading.

Do this on all 4 tires. If a tire is under the specified pressure, then simply add air.

Remember that too much pressure is also bad for your car. This can lead to early deterioration of suspension parts, and will also produce a hard and stiff ride.

More fuel saving tips in the next post.

Looking for a new or used car? Allow us to help. Request a free price quote and find the latest prices for both new and used cars, enabling you to save time and money in your car shopping.

Of course, your driving style and your driving habits will matter, too. But for those with older cars, or for someone who is just looking for ways on how to save gas regardless of the age of your car, read on and learn the easy tips on how to make your car more fuel efficient.

Tip 1: Tune Your Car!

Think of your car as a musical instrument–a guitar, for example. A guitar that is not tuned properly will produce weird sounds, regardless if the guitar was played by a professional musician or not. The same can be said for your car.

If your engine is not tuned according to factory specifications, if your suspension is not aligned, if there is something wrong with your intake and exhaust system, if you are not using the right type of gasoline for your car, heck–even if you make the mistake of using the wrong engine oil on your next oil change, then your car will be less fuel efficient than originally intended.

We know that fixing a car is not exactly an easy thing to do. Expert mechanics spent years honing their craft before getting it right. Yes, we are also aware that fixing or tuning a car costs money as well.

Think about this for a second: the small amount of money that you spend in tuning your car will give you fantastic savings in the long run. This will also make your car more reliable and less prone to breakdowns.

Facts about the Oil Change

It is important to make sure that you follow the maintenance procedures indicated on the owner’s manual of your car. If you drive an old car, then simply changing the oil every 3 to 4 months will make your engine run smoother, eliminating heat and friction inside the engine, thus making it more fuel efficient to drive.

When you change the oil, you should remember to change the oil filter, too. You can do it yourself and save tons of money on labor and parts, or you can consult your favorite car dealer for specific maintenance tasks on your car.

Change the Spark Plugs

You should also consider changing the spark plugs at least once a year. The spark plugs can be found on the top or on the side of the engine. Open the hood and check for the high-tension cables that relay electricity to the spark plugs inside your engine. Your car can either have anywhere from 4 to 12 spark plugs, depending on the engine. A car with a four cylinder engine will have 4 spark plugs, a V6 engine will have 6 spark plugs, a V8 will have 8 spark plugs and so forth.

The spark plugs produce the ‘spark’ that is needed to ignite the fuel and air mixture inside the combustion chamber. When the fuel and air mixture is compressed by the piston and is ignited by the spark plug, the ‘explosion’ that happens is responsible for the rush that you feel when you press on the gas pedal.

Changing or cleaning the spark plugs will remove accumulated dirt and debris on the plugs itself. New spark plugs will also produce a better ‘spark’, hence producing better power, more fuel economy, and cleaner emissions.

We will tackle more tips on how to make your car more fuel efficient in the next post. Driving an older car need not be a pain, but if you are currently searching for a replacement for your old car, you should look into the money saving new and used car deals offered by our free online quote. This service is safe, free, and a lot better than calling or visiting every car dealer in town.

Tip 1: Are you attracted by current zero-down lease deals offered by car dealers in your area? Don’t be making a visit to the dealer just yet. Remember that you will still need to pay a certain amount of money upfront under a zero-down lease program. The same can be said for zero-down financing deals too. The fact remains that you will still need to pay acquisition fees, dealer fees, bank fees and a host of other expenses related to the processing of the lease. When you add it all up, this loosely translates to around a thousands dollars–maybe even more. You will still need to pay the specific amount in order to fulfill the obligations of the lease. Zero-down leases are not exactly what they sound like.

Tip 2: Leasing or buying a car is all about the capitalized cost. The capitalized cost is the selling price of the car. Want to get the lowest monthly payments on any type of leasing or financing deal? You will need to negotiate the capitalized cost of the car before anything else. It is in this regard that you should never talk about monthly payments, loan terms or lease terms, advance payments or down payments and even the various options of the car without first determining the MSRP. Insist on the real selling price of the price before you sit down and further discuss other details.

The easiest way to determine the capitalized cost of any type of car or SUV is by simply asking for a free online quote. You can easily determine the price to pay for any type of brand new car or SUV so you can approach the dealer with the utmost confidence. Lease or buy your next car with the help of a free online quote.

• Always park in a well-lighted/high traffic area.
• Always lock your car.
• Never leave the keys in your car.
• Never leave your car running unattended.
• Never leave valuables in plain view.

Now Toyota faces yet another embarrassing recall…

The NHTSA is investigating frame corrosion on 2000 and 2010 Tundra trucks. Toyota faced similar problems with their Tacoma model last year, recalling about 750,000 trucks. The company has offered no explanation why they did not recall Tundra models at that time.

Toyota has long been heralded as a safe and reliable car brand. Has expansion overtaxed designers and engineers leading to these problems? Or is this just example of Toyota taking action to fix design flaws, as every car manufacture should? I like to think the latter.

Have these recent recalls changed your opinion of Toyota?