How To Keep Your Car In Good Condition For Trips

It's really important to take proper care of your car since gas prices are always on the rise.


When you travel, proper car maintenance is even more important. Some basic and inexpensive maintenance checks will make your road trips safe and very fuel-efficient.


Here are some things that you have to pay attention to.


The gas caps. About 17 percent of the vehicles on the roads have gas caps that are either damaged, loose or are missing altogether, causing 147 million gallons of gas to vaporize every year.


Not-quite-flat tires. If you drive with tires that aren't inflated well, then it's like driving with the parking brake on, which means that in every gallon of gas, you waste a mile or two.


Old spark plugs. A vehicle can have either four, six or eight spark plugs which fire as many as 3 million times every 1,000 miles, resulting in a lot of heat and electrical and chemical erosion. A dirty spark plug causes misfiring, which wastes fuel. So you need to replace spark plugs regularly.


Unclean air filters. A dirty air filter will keep air from passing and would create a mixture, so there would be too much gas being burned for the amount of air, resulting in a waste of much gas and the engine to lose power. If you replace a clogged air filter, you can improve gas mileage by about 10%, which saves you 15 cents per gallon.


Here are some driving tips that can help you save gas money.


Don't be an aggressive driver. Aggressive driving can lower gas mileage by as much as 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent on city streets, which wastes 7 cents to 49 cents per gallon.


Don't idle. Sitting idle just gets you 0 miles per gallon. One to two minutes of warm up is enough.


Observe the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. For every mile over 60 mph, you will an additional cost of 10 cents per gallon. If you want to maintain constant speed on the highway, you should use cruise control.

When you're in the market for under hood or under car repair, AAA Car Care will deliver the best work for your automobile.