Ottawa - April is Earth Month in Canada and you can make a positive impact with your vehicle and save money at the same time. It doesn't matter if the car you're driving is new or old, big or small. There are preventive maintenance steps every vehicle owner can take to make sure their car is green, clean and lean this spring, summer and all year long, according to Car Care Canada.

By following some simple preventive maintenance steps, you can help protect the environment by improving fuel consumption, which in turn saves money at the pump.



Step One: Keep it Clean

• The products that you use to clean and care for your car should be environmentally friendly. Check the labels of items such as polishing compounds, engine fluids and cleaners to make sure they are recognized as truly green.
• Do not pour antifreeze or other engine fluids into sewers, on the ground or into floor drains. Bring used engine fluids to a certified recycling location for disposal.
• If you change your own oil, be sure to properly dispose of it as well. One litre of oil can make a slick larger than a football field! One drop of oil can pollute 25 litres of water!
• Never pour used oil down the drain or into the ground. Not only is it illegal, it's also harmful to the environment.
• Changing the oil and the oil filter as recommended in the owner's manual is one of the best ways to keep the engine running trouble free. Oils carrying the label "Energy Conserving" can reduce fuel consumption by up to 2.7 per cent compared to those without the label.

Step Two: Keep your car properly tuned for optimum performance.
A well-tuned engine delivers the best balance of power and fuel consumption and produces the lowest level of emissions. A 21st Century tune-up for modern vehicles includes the following system checks: battery, charging and starting; engine mechanical; powertrain control (including onboard diagnostic checks); fuel; ignition; and emissions. A proper tune-up can improve fuel consumption by an average of four per cent. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve fuel consumption by as much as 40 per cent.

Step Three: Have the spark plugs checked.
A vehicle can have four, six or eight spark plugs, which fire as many as 2 million times every 1,000 kilometres. This results in a lot of heat, electrical, and chemical erosion. A dirty spark plug also causes misfiring, which wastes fuel.



Step Four: Maintain the cooling system of your vehicle.
A cooling system thermostat that causes the engine to run too cold will lower the fuel efficiency of a car by as much as one or two mpg. There also are improved radiator caps on the market today that allow the cooling system to operate at a higher temperature before boiling over, increasing the system's efficiency and reducing emissions.

Step Five: Watch your Tires.
Improper tire maintenance causes 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 to be released into the environment annually and is estimated to cost Canadian light-duty vehicle owners almost 643 million litres of fuel per year. At 99 cents per litre for regular unleaded gasoline, that amounts to $637 million a year in wasted fuel!

Tires that are not properly inflated add rolling resistance that makes the engine work harder to move the vehicle. Tire pressure should be checked at least monthly, including the spare. (Operating a vehicle with tires under-inflated by 20 per cent (8psi) can reduce their life by 15,000 kms and can increase fuel consumption by up to 4 per cent.)



Step Six: Green Driving Tips.
Aside from maintenance, your driving plays a big role as well. Jerky and aggressive driving can increase fuel consumption by as much as 37 per cent and also increases wear and tear on your vehicle. Avoid sudden starts and stops and go the speed limit.

Thinking ahead, getting directions and planning your errands in one trip will minimize unnecessary kilometers and will also make driving less frustrating and more relaxing.

1. Only use air conditioning when necessary as it causes vehicles to burn more fuel. As a rule, highway driving is a good time to use air conditioning because winding down your windows creates drag - forcing the engine to work harder. Parking in the shade and using a reflective windshield shade can keep your car cooler when parked, meaning it takes less to cool it off when you get back in.
2. Faster driving burns fuel more quickly. Increasing speeds from 100km/h to 120 km/h will cause a vehicle to consume about 20 per cent more fuel and contribute unnecessary CO2 to the environment. It is also less safe.
3. Cruise control can improve fuel consumption for most drivers by allowing their vehicles to maintain a constant speed. Cruise control should only be used on dry pavement and on straight roads in areas free of heavy traffic.
4. If you idle your car more than 10 seconds it burns more fuel than it takes to restart the engine. For the average vehicle with a 3-litre engine, every 10 minutes of idling costs over one quarter of a litre (over 1 cup) in wasted fuel.

Step Seven: Go Green, Clean and Lean
Visit Be Car Care Aware | CANADA for a link to the free Family Road Trip Guide, which includes tips for saving gas and protecting the environment.

 

I know under-inflation will wear the tire out and consume more gas, but what I want to know is if over-inflation will have the same or different result? Comments?

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I can understand spark plugs but the rest is so insignficant

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Try and make my camaro green I'll be driving it past all those leafy hippy cars in April.

 

it's only 1 month in the whole year. you can go places without your camaro, cant you?

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You sure can make your camaro green, all you need is to take the engine out and put playtime in there. Maybe also some green decals might help too.

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I have two Fiero's, I'll go green for the month of April by only driving one at a time

What they don't mention about the spark plugs which is more important is to make sure they are gaped correctly. New iridiums have a long life but, if you don't gap them correctly, that can effect your fuel economy and performance. Also the right plug for your motor.

As for tire over inflation, just wear the center of the tire out faster but probably get good gas milage with less rubber contacting the ground.

 

Actually I checked my tires and they were over inflated (primarily because I rotated back to front and didn't think of it) I was getting wheel bearing kind of noise and got me worried. Inflated them correctly and the noise is gone. Since they are hard summer tires over-inflation made them even harder hence the noise. I'm sure they would be bad for the suspension too.

lol at driving one fiero at a time!

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Are they inflated to the proper PSI? I've met so many people who go and put the max pressure into thier tire cause that's what they read on the tire. Most cars have thier proper tire inflation rate on the driverside door sticker.

I don't car if my tires can hold 45 PSI, my sticker says 32 PSI.

 

No max on the tire is just for caution not to go over or it will explode. My car's OEM tires are significantly smaller and thinner than my summer tires so I can't really go with what's in my door and have to play with it and find the right pressure.

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