Forced Green

Summer Weather is hard on your car, higher temperatures speeds up the
vehicles wear and tear. The oil viscosity, fluids and lubricants break
down more quickly, which drastically reduces the vehicles fuel efficiency.
So your car needs close attention in the summer.

You know the summer basics like checking fluids, hoses, belts and brakes.
But did you know:

- Loose, missing or damaged gas caps can wastes 147 million gallons
of gasoline each year through evaporation.

- If your car overheats, turn on your car’s heater. The hot air will
be pulled from the engine. Thus keeping engine cool until you
can get to a gas station or home.

- If you prefer open windows, do so while city driving. If you
prefer air conditioning, then roll those windows up and enjoy
guilt free cooling — but only on the highways. With the windows
up, it creates better aerodynamics equaling out the difference in
gas consumption and gas mileage.

- Use cruise control when you can. Tests found that using cruise
control can yield as much as 14 percent better gas mileage.

- Keeping tires properly inflated can earn you another 10 cents per
gallon. If everyone’s tires were properly inflated, we would be
saving about 4 million gallons of gasoline every DAY.
-Plus-
Summers higher temperatures cause a tires air pressure to rise.
An improperly inflated tire can overheat and lead to a blowout.

- Vehicles’ optimal cruising speeds vary, so it’s worth experimenting
with a few tanks of gas to find your car’s most efficient speed.

- That said -

- Slow down! Higher speeds generally increase aerodynamic drag and
decrease gas mileage. The EPA estimates that for every five miles
per hour you drive over 60 mph, you pay another 20 cents per gallon
of gas.