Tips To Improve Gas Mileage In The Winter

Winter doesn't just bring cold weather and snow, it also brings it's own particular problems to maintaining and improving gas mileage. Here are two specific things you should to do in the winter to sustain good fuel economy.

The most basic and possibly the most important step you can take is to ensure the oil in your car is the proper grade for cold weather. As temperatures fall it thickens your oil. If oil gets too thick it will not lubricate your engine the way it was designed to. A car engine that isn't properly lubricated will loose fuel efficiency as it has to burn more gas to move it's parts. If that isn't enough, oil that is too thick to properly lubricate your car's engine, can damage your engine so much you may have to have the engine replaced.

Check your owners manual to determine the proper grade of oil for the winter. Generally cold temperatures require a thinner oil then you would use during warm weather. If you are using a multi-grade oil it might work just fine in the winter. Again, check your manual or ask your car dealer what the proper grade for your car is.

A second problem that cold weather brings is a change in your tire pressure. In cold weather the tire pressure drops. If your tires were at the proper pressure at 70 degrees, those same tires will be 5 to 10 pounds too low at 20 degrees and will be 7 to 14 pounds too low at zero degrees.

Tire pressure that is too low is one of the most common gas robbing conditions. It is estimated that more than 25 per cent of all drivers are riding on at least one tire with low pressure. Your fuel economy will be decreasind by 4 percent if your tires are 5 to 10 pounds under inflated.

For every 10-degree drop in air temperature, your tires will experience a one to two pound reduction in tire pressure. If you inflated your tires to the proper pressure in November temperatures, they'll be too low in February temperatures.

To prevent and correct the problem of low tire pressure you need to monitor your tire pressure on a regular basis. Measure the tire pressure every month at a minimum. Also measure them when there is an extreme change in temperatures.

These are just a few of the fuel robbing conditions that winter brings. You can prevent the decrease in gas mileage and in fact increase fuel economy by knowing about these conditions and taking the necessary steps to avoid them.

Article Source: http://www.search4allinfo.com

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