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Home Tips > Tips By Category > Tips you can implement daily Summer Tips for Drivers:
Give your car a full tune-up, including changing your oil and filter. Oil breaks down under use and won't lubricate, cool, or protect as well. A poorly tuned engine increases fuel consumption. And a well-tuned engine minimizes engine wear.
Measure the inflation pressure of your tires at least once a month when the tires are cold (i.e. when your vehicle has not been driven for at least three hours or when it has been driven for less than two kilometres). Warm tires give an inaccurate reading because heat build up increases tire pressure during use. Under inflated tires wear faster, waste fuel and are unsafe.
Idling consumes fuel. Ten seconds of idling can use up more fuel than restarting the engine. Turn off the ignition if you are waiting for someone.
Using an air conditioner in stop-and-go traffic can increase fuel consumption by as much as 20 percent. To stay cool at highway speeds, use your car's flow-through ventilation. Open windows can be a fuel-saving alternative to air conditioning at low city speeds; however, at highway speeds open windows increase drag and heighten fuel consumption.
A full roof rack can increase fuel consumption. Even the most streamlined roof rack will increase fuel consumption. If the carrier is not permanently affixed to your automobile, remove it when it's not needed.
Cruise control allows you to set the car's cruising speed and take your foot off the gas pedal. By maintaining a constant speed on long trips, your cruise control feature will reduce fuel consumption, provided the terrain is relatively flat.
Drive at the posted speed limit. Increasing your speed from 100 km/h to 120 km/h will increase fuel consumption by about 20%.
Avoid "flooring" your gas pedal from a dead stop. You'll consume about 37% more fuel during a "jackrabbit" start than if you pull away gradually.
Source: Office of Energy Efficiency, Canada
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