DIANA AUTO

Archive for July, 2010

There are numerous no- or low-cost steps you can take to combat rising gas prices.
Most cars can run on regular unleaded – 87 octane. High performance vehicles will usually require 91 octane or higher. Check your owner’s manual to determine the right octane level for your car. It’s also usually written inside your gas lid, door panel, and sometimes right on your dashboard under the fuel gauge. It will say something like “Premium Unleaded Only” which means 91 octane or higher. All gas pumps must post the octane rating.

Gas Cards

Check out gas card offers from gas stations and credit card companies. The can save you an additional 1% to 5% off every gallon or earn you free gas. One of the best cards out there right now can be found http://valueauthority.com/savegas.htm

If you put 20 gallons in your car at $3.00 per gallon, that’s $60. A 5% cash back would save you $3.00 making your effective cost per gallon just $2.85. It’s like getting a free gallon of gas with every fill up!

Drive more efficiently:

– Stay within posted speed limits. The faster you drive, the more fuel you use. For example, driving at 65 miles per hour (mph), rather than 55 mph, increases fuel consumption by 20 percent. Driving at 75 mph, rather than 65 mph, increases fuel consumption by another 25 percent. This is caused by the amount of energy it takes to push your car through the air and the amount of drag created by your cars body.

So if your car gets 25-mpg highway at 55 mph, driving 65mph will drop it down to 20 mpg! Driving 75 mph drops it down to just 16 mpg!

My personal experience with my 98 VW Beetle: I drove to New York at the posted speed limits between 55 and 65 mph. I got about 35mpg and 450 miles on one tank!!! When I drove to Florida the posted speed limits were between 55 – 70 mph. I actually drove about 75 mph most of the way. I only got 27 mpg and about 350 miles on one tank. I lost almost 100 miles distant per tank! I couldn’t believe it.

– Use overdrive gears. Overdrive gears improve the fuel economy of your car during highway driving. Your car’s engine speed decreases when you use overdrive. This reduces both fuel consumption and engine wear. Most automatic transmission cars will have an overdrive button right on the gearshift. Look for a “D” and/or “O/D”. You will see a light on the dash indicating weather it’s on or off. Check your owner’s manual to be sure. If your car has a tachometer, you should be able to tell by watching your engine’s rpm speed on the highway. Buy switching the overdrive on, your rpm’s should drop significantly.

– Use cruise control. For longer trips using cruise control can help you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, reduce your fuel consumption. Set it to 55 mph on highways.

– Avoid unnecessary braking and acceleration, and improve your fuel economy by 5 to 10 percent. In city driving, nearly 50 percent of the energy needed to power your car goes to acceleration. Go easy on the gas pedal and brakes. “Jack-rabbit” starts and sudden stops are wasteful. Let off the gas early when approaching yellow and red lights, stop signs etc… Most fuel-injected cars will cut off the fuel supply to the engine while you slow down saving you even more gas.

– Combine errands. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for a car to reach normal operating temperature. Until then, your car is using almost twice as much fuel to keep the engine running!

– Remove excess weight from the trunk. Avoid carrying unneeded items, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk reduces a typical car’s fuel economy by one to two percent.

Maintain your car

Keep your engine tuned. Studies have shown that a poorly tuned engine can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10 to 20 percent depending on a car’s condition. Follow the recommended maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual; you’ll save fuel and your car will run better and last longer.

– Keep your tires properly inflated and aligned. Under inflated tires on a car is like running on the beach with no shoes. Car manufacturers must place a label in the car stating the correct tire pressure. The label usually is on the edge of the door or doorjamb, in the glove box, or on the inside of the gas cap cover. If the label lists a psi (pounds per square inch) range, use the higher number to maximize your fuel efficiency. Under inflated tires cause fuel consumption to increase by 6%.

– Change your oil. Clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine. Change your oil as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

– Check and replace air filters regularly. Your car’s air filter keeps impurities in the air from damaging internal engine components. Not only will replacing a dirty air filter improve your fuel economy, it also will protect your engine. Clogged filters can cause up to a 10% increase in fuel consumption. Imagine running up a flight of stairs with only using one nostril in your nose to breath.

Gas Cards

Check out gas card offers from gas stations and credit card companies. The can save you an additional 1% to 5% off every gallon or earn you free gas. One of the best cards out there right now can be found http://valueauthority.com/savegas.htm

If you put 20 gallons in your car at $3.00 per gallon, that’s $60. A 5% cash back would save you $3.00 making your effective cost per gallon just $2.85. It’s like getting a free gallon of gas with every fill up!

Fleet Maintenance Management is a critical position in any company that has a number of commercial vehicles. The individual responsible for the management and maintenance of fleet vehicles performs a variety of functions. It is imperative that companies such as delivery drivers or even taxi services know what is going on with their vehicles at all times. Preventative maintenance, order/vendor logging and fuel economy are among a few of the issues that fleet maintenance managers deal with on a daily basis.

One of the most important duties of a fleet maintenance manager is the maintenance of vehicles. With the number of vehicles many companies have on the road each day, maintaining quality vehicles is important. Regular and controlled fleet vehicle maintenance can assist in more efficient and lower cost repairs, fewer technical problems and more efficient tracking, management and budgeting of the fleet. An outstanding fleet vehicle maintenance program can save time and money by ensuring that vehicles are safe and on time.

Repairs and downtime for fleet vehicles can cost your company a considerable amount of money. High-quality fleet vehicle maintenance can mean the difference in your company’s reputation being one of top-notch service rather than undependable service. Preventative maintenance and scheduling routine maintenance or repairs can extend the life of your fleet vehicles. Many fleet vehicle managers find that using a specialized software program is the best way to organize these needed elements.

With the high cost of fuel today, fleet managers also take into consideration the fuel usage among the vehicles. Fleet maintenance software programs often have features that enable the manager to appropriately budget for gas. The ability to log and track the mileage of drivers can give the manager a good idea of the average fuel consumption of each vehicle in the fleet.

Fleet maintenance managers occupy important positions within a company. Most managers within top U.S. companies recommend the use of high-quality fleet maintenance software programs. These programs enable the fleet managers to keep detailed records and logs of everything that happens with each vehicle. For companies whose primary service depends on well-maintained vehicles, organization and tracking of the fleet and expenses is obviously a key responsibility. Your company’s business reputation is important and it is essential that the fleet manager is able to accurately maintain an exceptional level of quality of all vehicles in your fleet.

With all of the products available on the market, the fleet maintenance management needs to examine the company’s needs to find the product best suited for them. The manager may choose to examine some of the top products by taking advantage of free trials offered by most companies. During the free trial, you are generally capable of performing the full range of functions in order to get a good feel for the product. This is a critical first step in choosing the software program that is right for your company