LETTING YOUR VEHICLE IDLE COSTS YOU MONEY

Avoid idling, from the Georgia Clean Air Campaign. To save money on gas, see Myths 1, 2, and 3.

Each day, Americans waste approximately 3.8 million gallons of gasoline by voluntarily idling their cars, and an engine that idles for 10 minutes yields 90 grams of pollutants like carbon dioxide. Plus auto industry experts now say that idling is bad for your car.

Let’s dispel some common myths about idling…

Myth #1: Your engine needs to warm up before driving in cold weather. 

Reality: Idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to warm your engine is to drive the vehicle. With today's modern engines, there’s little need for idling on winter days before driving away.

Myth #2: Idling is good for your engine.

 

Reality: Excessive idling can actually damage your engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs and exhaust systems. Fuel is only partially combusted when idling because an engine does not operate at its peak temperature. This leads to the build up of fuel residues on cylinder walls that can damage engine components and increase fuel consumption.

Myth #3: Turning off and restarting your vehicle is hard on the engine and uses more gas than if you leave it running. 

Reality: Frequent restarting has little impact on engine components like the battery and the starter motor. Component wear caused by restarting the engine is estimated to add $10 per year to the cost of driving, money that will likely be recovered several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling. The bottom line: more than 30 seconds of idling can use more fuel than restarting the engine.

The mission of The Clean Air Campaign is to motivate Georgians to take action to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion. For more information, see www.cleanaircampaign.com

Did you lock your keys inside the car -- again?

By Dave Emanuel

Rick was usually punctual, so I was beginning to get concerned when it was 8:00 o’clock and he still hadn’t shown up for our 7:30 meeting. When he finally drove up at about 8:10, I asked why he was so late. He
stammered a bit and then with obvious embarrassment said, “Well, I would have been here on time except….. I locked my keys in the car.”

That’s understandable. It happens to a lot of people. But there’s an easy way to prevent it. After you hit the “lock” button, but BEFORE you close the door, make sure you’re holding the keys in your hand. It doesn’t take too many times before closing a car door doesn’t feel right unless you’re hand is balled up into a fist with the keys between your fingers and the palm of your hand.

You can make key security even more of a habit by making it part of a sequence— after you enter a car, you fasten your seat belt. When you arrive at your destination, you unfasten your seat belt, grab you keys and
exit the vehicle. Then, with your keys in one hand, you lock the door with the other. If you don’t feel the keys in your fist, you don’t lock the door.

One word of caution—it takes a while before the procedure becomes fool proof. A few weeks after I showed it to Rick, he was late for a meeting once again. When he arrived and asked him what happened—you guessed it—he had locked his keys in the car again. When I said, “I showed you
how to avoid that…”, he cut me off and said, “I know, I know. I made a fist just like you showed me. The problem was, I didn’t have the keys in it” (True story). But as far as I know, that was the last time he ever locked his keys in his car.

Up In The Air

By Dave Emanuel

If you’re like most drivers, you probably don’t have a clue about the air pressure in your vehicle’s tires. What is he ideal pressure? What is the actual pressure? When was the last time you checked?

Tire pressure has a significant affect on safety, fuel economy and ride comfort. Within reasonable limits, higher inflation pressures increase fuel economy, tire life and driver control, and decrease ride comfort. For most
vehicles pressures between 28-32 psi are ideal. Personally, I prefer the upper end of the range for a number of reasons. In addition to the direct benefits, higher pressure also provides more of a buffer between ideal and
undesirably low pressures.

All tires gradually lose air pressure, so sooner or later they’ll need to be reinflated to a specified pressure. If you start with higher pressure, the need to reinflate will come later, rather than sooner. But more isn’t always better. If pressure is too high, tread wear will increase and ride quality will suffer. Handling may also be adversely affected because over-inflation can reduce a tire’s “footprint”.

The days of free air may be long gone, but the need to keep an eye on tire pressures isn’t. It’s best to check pressure when the tires are “cold” (haven’t been driven for at least a few hours). If you don’t have a pressure
gauge, you can find inexpensive easy-to-read digital gauges in any auto parts store. And if you don’t have access to an air compressor, pay-to-fill inflators are available at most of the places selling gas.

Motorcycles in Snellville Ga

With the high price of gas, many people are becoming interested in buying a motorcycle.

To Turn or Not to Turn

To Turn or Not to Turn, That is the Question
By Dave Emanuel

You’re driving along Highway 78, running late (as usual) and as you approach the intersection you move into the left lane so you can turn left onto Oak Road. Just as you get to the intersection, the light turns from green to amber. Should you keep your foot on the gas pedal and try to make the turn, or hit the brakes and wait for the light to turn green again?

Car repair without being ripped off

In the early days of the automobile, everything was simple. The car itself was so simple in construction that almost everyone knew how to fix it in case it broke down. However, you will see that cars today are more complex and it is quite difficult to troubleshoot and fix.

Computers are now being installed in most cars today as well as other new technology such as hybrid engines and the works.