Driving Practices that Ensure a Healthy and Long Living Engine
MANILA: All over the internet you will find many advisory articles talking about car care tips. Most of these articles talk about your car exterior appearance and other about its interior maintenance. Out of the entire lot there are only a few writing pieces that guide you through, how to best maintain your health, its fuel economy and the likes. This is one such car advisory note that is more concerned about your car’s health then about its appearance.
Today we’ll be discussing few driving practices that will ensure a healthy and strong mill. In addition, these driving tips despite extending years of your car’s engine will have a positive impact on its fuel economy. Thus, by adopting the below mentioned commuting regime you’ll be spared from the burden of paying heavy engine repair bill and in some cases even from the expense of buying a new car.
So, apart from adopting basic car care regime, try and mold your driving skills in such a manner that they go well along with your car’s mill fitness and well-being. Note, that the following tips will not affect your daily commute majorly, and as said above, will bless you with a long living powertrain.
DRIVING PRACTICE No.1 –
Maintain low RPM & don’t stick to a particular speed: Now, this tip here is basically for the ones with a new car. We know that buying a new car is a great experience altogether and you have the craze to show its attributes to all. But at the same time remember to treat its newly integrated engine with respect. When given adequate amount of time the engine molds itself to smooth as well as adverse driving conditions. All we are asking for is to keep the throttle at low RPM and keep on varying the speed timely.
Continue the said practice through the entire break-in-period that mostly last around till first 1,600 kilometer. As after the said time frame all the engine parts will get used to your driving practice. One part in particular that requires time to set itself is the piston rings. Over the time frame of ‘break—in-period’ they shape themselves to fit properly in the cylinders. A missfited piston ring can disturb your car’s fuel economy figure terribly.
DRIVING PRACTICE No.2 –
Engine warm-up is must during winters: If you live in cold areas or if the winter season in your state is a rather brutal, then a proper engine warm-up before going out is a must. Cold weather conditions not only take toll on our life but also on our car’s health. Car battery carries low charge, oil gets thick and cold, plus the gasoline burning also requires greater efforts during this season. Under such conditions, what most people do is leave their car idle till the time engine temperature falls to normal. But this practice has its own side-effects, like excessive emission of hydrocarbon pollutants and poor mileage. Instead we suggest leaving your car on for around 30 to 40 seconds and then after a while drive it off gently to the desired destination.
DRIVING PRACTICE No.3 –
Low speed is the key to better engine health: Yes, it is true. The more you press the throttle the harder your engine has to work in order to deliver the desired results. So, it is better to keep your zooming around zeal under control and instead bless your car engine with a long life. 80 to 88 kmpl is considered as the ideal cruising speed for most of the cars. However, if you are planning to push beyond the said limit then you should be aware of the fact that your engine has to pour in 70 to 160% more horse power. In addition, higher speed leads to more usage of fuel and applies great pressure on piston and other engine parts.
DRIVING PRACTICE No. 4 –
Proper gear usage is a must: Appropriate usage of the transmission is must for a healthy and long living engine. So, because transmission box is in direct connection with the engine and hints it about driver’s speed requirement, it is always advisable to select proper gear in accordance with required speed. Here, we like to mention two such phenomena, first is called lugging that is caused by selecting high gear at lower speed that causes shaking and tumbling. Second one is called engine braking, wherein the driver downshift to lower gear and then releases off his foot from gas paddle, in order to slow down. It is a wrong practice and severely damages your car’s engine. Though, it is good for immediate slow-down effect but the same puts a lot of stress on transmission and clutch. Plus it is advisable to use the brake pedal to control the speed.
DRIVING PRACTICE No.5 –
Don’t use your car as a towing vehicle: Here’s the last and final piece of advice, never ever load your car with excessive luggage. As the same can eat a chunk of your engine’s life and may also affect mileage capacity adversely. Towing heavy objects or towing across rough roads and hills create an added pressure on the mill and the same can even result in severe internal damage. Remember your car is meant to commute individuals along with some nominal amount of luggage. Don’t confuse it with pickups that are powered with bigger mill and are designed to tow heavy luggage.
One can consult the user manual to get in-depth knowledge on loading capacity of his/her car. Also, here we’d like to mention that excess luggage damages the mill & cutting back on the same improves gas mileage and reduces engine load.
That’s all we have on engine well-being front, try and integrate these practices in your daily commute. And believe us someday they’ll surely pay you off well.
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