Factors that Affect Your Car's Fuel Economy |
Posted: August 17, 2018 |
While buying a car there are many factors that are taken into consideration before finalizing the chosen one. People tend to be inquisitive about the car's performance, design, the accessories that come with the car. It is natural for us to desire the best product with our investment. One of the most important factors that either makes or breaks a decision in favor of a particular car is its fuel economy. Generally, everyone prefers a vehicle, which has a better fuel performance than other cars available. Thus, we always select a car which has a slightly better fuel performance than other cars. However, after some years when we experience a sudden dip in the fuel economy shown by our car, at first we might term it as a usual incident that might be related to the car's age. However, if you notice drastic levels of the drop in the fuel performance of the car, you panic. There are certain factors, which affect the car's fuel economy in a negative way. It is always important to know these factors, so that you can avoid them in order to preserve the fuel performance of your car. Here are the details about these factors which have a negative repercussion on the fuel economy of a car.
The way you driveIt is a known fact that the car's fuel economy depends upon the way one drives the car. Aggressive driving can lower your fuel performance as the car tends to guzzle up more fuel at higher speeds. As driving at high speeds increase the aerodynamic drag, reducing the fuel economy. Moreover, excessive idling can lower the fuel economy of a car also. Consequently, if you drive your car in cold weather, then the fuel performance also takes a beating. This is due to the fact that the engine is not warm enough to operate efficiently.
In colder climatic conditions, it takes longer for the engine to warm up, and while you are going for short trips, your car operates at the desired temperature in a very small time frame. This doesn't have any effect to increase the fuel economy of your car. To derive the maximum fuel economy from your vehicle, it is advised to drive at a reasonable speed.
Issues in engine
The engine which acts like the heart of a car has a massive role to play in the way a car's fuel performance measures up. While many people opine that there are many ways to get improved fuel performance from a car. However, all these efforts will not bear fruit if the engine is not tuned properly, or the maintenance service of the car is delayed. This will ultimately lead to a decline in the car's fuel economy.
All the parts of a car are intricately related to the engine and if there is a malfunction in any of these components, then it will lead to a situation where the vehicle's engine will require more fuel to perform the usual functions than it normally does. It is imperative to inspect the engine from time-to-time, so that the overall performance and also the fuel economy of the car doesn't get affected due to engine malfunction.
Driving in wrong gearsMost people are ignorant about the fact that driving in the wrong gears also affects the fuel performance of a car. However, this typical problem is associated with the manual cars as automatic transmissions will shift up more quickly and smoothly once the car gathers momentum. There are prescribed speed for every gear like if you are driving at a high speed then the gear should be one of the top gears so that the vehicle gets adequate fuel and doesn't end up consuming more fuel. Similarly, if you are going uphill then it is advised to drive in lower gears as laboring the car in top gears will lead to engine consuming more fuel.
Condition of tiresThe condition of the tires also greatly affects the extent to which your car consumes fuel. If your tires have worn out they will spin faster and will consume more fuel as the grip and traction are lost. Moreover, tires which are not properly inflated in terms of the right pressure required for them will end up consuming more fuel. Thus, it is vital that you keep an eye on the condition of your tire and if you find out that they need a replacement, then change them accordingly. Also, inspect the pressure in tires from time-to-time.
FinallyThese are some of the factors that have a negative effect on the fuel economy of your car. Owning a car comes with the responsibility of maintaining them throughout their lifetime. If you are complacent regarding the maintenance & servicing of your vehicle, then ultimately you are going to pay a high price for it. Moreover, preventive maintenance also goes a long way in preserving the integrity of your vehicle.
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