A Tip for Summer Driving:Save $200 in Gas by Checking Your Tires

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.

Statistics provided by the Energy Information Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, support that it is possible to save between $100.00 to $200.00 per year by avoiding under inflated tires. Of course your individual savings is based upon how many miles you drive and how under inflated your tires are.

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.

Since heat can accelerate air loss in a tire, it is important to note that when a tire is under inflated, the tire flexes and bends more than it would normally. The extra flexing and bending builds up heat. With the additional heat a tire that is under inflated will lose air at greater and greater rate.

Under inflated tires and gas consumption are related in another way. Under inflated tires tend to have increasing rolling resistance. Because of the increased resistance the engine has to work harder to push the car and that increases fuel consumption. Extra flexing and bending in the tire can damage the tire walls and that could lead to tire failure.

You should make it a habit to measure the air pressure in your tires at least once every month. When you measure your tire pressure the tires need to be cold. A tire on a car is considered "Cold" if the car has not been driven more than 1 mile or the car has been sitting still for at least three hours.

Keep a pressure gauge in your car and check the tires often. By maintaining your tires at the correct inflation levels you could save between $100.00 and $200.00 per year in fuel. Of course in addition to saving gas, maintaining the correct tire pressure could also prevent tire damage that could lead to serious accidents.

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Scott Siegel has written a 143 page manual of automotive industry insider information on saving gas and money at the gas pump. Visit us to learn how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
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