• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

AAA Provides Fuel-Economy Tips to Motorists Eager to Combat Gas-Price Hikes

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 September 2005, 15:01 CDT

Sep. 6--Despite a half-cent drop in Chattanooga gas prices Tuesday, AAA reported that motorists are still eagerly looking for ways to improve engine efficiency and offset fuel costs that have jumped by more than 50 cents a gallon in the past week.

The auto club calculated that the area's average price for a gallon of unleaded fuel is $3.068, down fractionally from Monday's $3.073 average. AAA's national average was $3.04.

Auto club spokesman Gregg Laskoski, however, said he's "cautiously optimistic" about near-term gas prices.

"We're getting good news about refineries restarting," he said, "and others are in various stages of repair and improving capacity.

"We're past Labor Day weekend, so supply should be increasing as demand begins to diminish," he said. "But we're still looking at 45 percent of refinery capacity disabled" by Hurricane Katrina, he said.

Given that, Mr. Laskoski said, most motorists will probably continue for some time to put a high priority on getting the best possible fuel economy. He said slowing and steadying your speed, car pooling and buying the right grade of gasoline can help, but one tip is pre-eminent.

"First and foremost is tire pressure -- no question," he said. "Regardless of the price of gas, it's imperative for your safety to have your tires inflated to the pressure recommended by the manufacturer."

AAA estimates that for every pound tires are underinflated, fuel efficiency drops by 2 percent.

"If you're down 5 pounds in each tire, that's 10 percent right off the top, and you can't afford that if you're only getting 17 miles per gallon to start with," Mr. Laskoski said.

Allen Little, manager of CBR AutoCare's downtown Chattanooga store, said that if tires are low on air, the engine has to work harder -- and burn more fuel -- to push the car forward.

"And there are the normal things" for better fuel economy, he said, such as keeping your air filter fresh and making sure you keep up with the service intervals recommended by the manufacturer.

Mr. Little said one point of which many motorists are unaware is the fuel injection system, which has long since replaced carburetors in all but a few models.

"There are some cars out there with 100,000 miles that have never" had the fuel injection checked, he said. "This should be once a year, or every 15,000 miles or so."

Mr. Little said fuel injectors spray gasoline into the engine, where the gas is burned. If the injectors are dirty or clogged, he said, they're less efficient.

"Fuel injector cleaning isn't even in most service manuals, but of the main services we do it's one where a customer can really tell a difference immediately," Mr. Little said.

-----

To see more of the Chattanooga Times/Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesfreepress.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Chattanooga Times/Free Press

More News in this Category