Tire Maintenance Tips

TOP Secrets how to..

Tips on How to Get Better Gas Mileage!

With the price of gas being what it is today you can save yourself a lot of money each month by following some of the simple tips below:

·         Tire pressure plays a critical role in how much gas you use. Under inflated tires offer much more rolling resistance than properly inflated tires do. This extra resistance causes your car to use more gas.

Keep your tires inflated to the maximum recommended pressure or at least close to it. This is usually around 35 psi. The car may ride a bit stiffer than you're used to, but it will roll a lot easier, thereby putting less strain on the engine. It will also coast better so you can take your foot out of the gas more often!

• Whenever possible accelerate slowly and gradually. Sometimes you have to accelerate quickly, but if you pick your spots when merging into traffic you can avoid putting your foot into the gas any more than you have to. The more your foot is out of the gas the less gas you will use!
• When coming to a stop sign or a red light back out of the gas a little earlier than you normally would. If your tire pressures are up your vehicle will cost more easily and you will use less gas.
• Stay at or under the speed limit. Not only is it safer, but the faster you go the more gas you will use.
• Keep your vehicle properly maintained for top efficiency. That means filters, spark plugs, fuel system, brakes, etc.
• When going up long hills or grades take your car out of overdrive until you reach the top of the hill. If you leave it in overdrive when climbing a hill you will have to put your foot into the gas more to keep your momentum up.
• When driving down long grades put your car in neutral and coast. If it's a steep downgrade leave it in gear and coast that way. The transmission will help slow you down a little on steep downgrades, but in any event try to keep your foot out of the gas for as long as you can.

How to Calculate Your Vehicle's Miles-Per-Gallon!
I was asked what the formula is for calculating how many miles-per-gallon you getting on car. Then it hit me that while I've been calculating my own cars' MPG for years it never dawned on me that some people didn't know how to do this.
So here's how to calculate your own car's MPG:

1.     Fill up your fuel tank and write down the odometer reading from your speedometer.

2.     Drive the car until you need to fill the tank again. Let it go down to about 1/4 of a tank or less.

3.     Fill the tank again and record the odometer reading and the number of gallons it took to fill it. Be precise; record the gallons exactly including the portion of a gallon usually represented by a decimal in hundreds of a gallon. For example 15.78 gallons.

4.     Subtract the previous odometer reading from the new one to determine how may miles you have driven between fill-ups.

5.     Now simply divide the miles traveled by the number of gallons used. This will tell you how many miles-per-gallon you are getting.

6.     For example let's say you went 356 miles between fill-ups, and it took 15.78 gallons to fill the tank. Well, 356 miles divided by 15.78 gallons equals 22.56. So you got 22.56 miles-per-gallon on that last tank of gas.

7.     Check your miles-per-gallon over four or five fill-ups to get a good cross section of different driving conditions such as city, highway and so forth. Then take all your calculations and average them out (add them together and divide by the number of calculations) to get an overall picture of your gas mileage.

There you have it!

Tire Maintenance Tips

With all the talk on the news about Firestone's tire problems, I thought I'd tell you how to get the most value and safety out of your tires.

1. Rotate your tires, front to rear, at the most every 6000 miles. I do mine at 4000 miles. This is especially important on front wheel drive vehicles.

The tires on the front will wear faster than the rears, and if you don't equalize that wear you will be buying 2 tires very prematurely.

2. Always keep your tire pressure up to specs and even all the way around. You should check this at least once a month.

On the side of the tire you will find the max pressure rating. This is what you should keep you pressure set at. If the ride seems too harsh then drop them all down 2 or 3 psi. No more, that is, as long as you want to get maximum wear out of your tires.

You will also get better fuel economy out of your vehicle by keeping the tires inflated to the maximum pressure rating.

3. If you notice your car pulling left or right, a slight vibration at highway speed or a thumping sensation at low speed, get your vehicle into Luxurati Auto Body and Repair Inc. and have us the tires checked. It may very well save you from wearing out a tire prematurely or even from a dangerous blowout.

By following these simple tips you will get the most wear and safety out of your tires, and better fuel mileage in the bargain.

For more info please call us at (650) 458-8900 or just stop by to say hello. Our friendly staff always ready to help you. And remember rotation of tires is free with any services. Live time warranty on labor and we will work on your behalf to your auto insurance company and in most cases deductibles will be waved.