Summer Driving Tip:
Checking Tire Pressure Can Save $200 in Gas!
By
Scott Siegel
http://www.beatthegaspump.com
One of the quickest ways to rob a car of efficient gas
consumption is to neglect the tires. There are a number of
different ways tires can affect your car's fuel saving
performance. Making sure you are riding on properly inflated
tires is probably the easiest way to save money on gas.
According to statistics provided by the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Energy Information Administration,
the Possible savings of avoiding under inflated tires is
between $100.00 to $200.00 per year depending upon how much
you drive and how under inflated your tires may be.
According to the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiency
twenty-three per cent (23%) of vehicles have at least one
tire under-inflated by more than 20%. Not only do under
inflated tires on your vehicle hurt your fuel consumption it
can also lead to poor or delayed braking, steering and
acceleration. In other words, under inflated tires can be
dangerous. Under-inflated tires may squeal when stopping or
cornering even at moderate speeds, particularly on warm
pavement.
Operating a vehicle with just one tire under-inflated by 20%
(8 psi) can reduce the life of the tire by over 9000 miles
and can increase the vehicle's fuel consumption by 4%. Tires
are permeable and can lose up to 2 psi (pounds of pressure)
per month. More air is lost in hot weather as the pores in
the tire material expand.
When a tire is under inflated, the sides of a tire bend and
flex too much. This builds up heat. As stated earlier heat
can accelerate air loss in tires. So an under inflated tire
will continue to lose air at an increasing rate.
Under inflation also causes the tire to increase rolling
resistance which also increases fuel consumption. In
addition under inflated tires can cause serious damage to
the tire walls can lead to sudden tire failure.
To maintain proper inflation levels, measure the air
pressure in your vehicle's tires at least once a month.
Measure your tire pressure when your tires are cold. "Cold"
means that a vehicle has been stationary for at least three
hours or has not been driven more than 1 mile.
Keeping your tires at the proper inflation can save you
between $100.00 and $200.00 per year in gas savings. In
addition maintaining the correct tire pressure can prevent
conditions that could cause serious accidents Keep a
pressure gauge in your car and check the tires often.
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Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information
on saving gas and money at the pump (beatthegaspump.com). Visit us to learn how
you can get better gas mileage.
Find out how to increase gas
mileage.
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