Driving Economically to Save Fuel

With fuel prices higher than ever in the UK, drivers are feeling the effects. Many are trying to save as much money as possible on fuel, so that they can still afford to drive their vehicle as much as they would like to. There are many things you can do to help making driving more efficient. Here are some of the top recommendations:

• Keep to a sensible speed. Driving too fast will make fuel consumption higher so keep your speed down. Sticking to speed limits is required by law anyway but you may want to drive a little slower than usual in order to save money.
• Don’t accelerate too fast. If you are driving at a higher speed, accelerate gradually rather than at a high speed. Make the changes of speed gradual to be kinder to your fuel supply.
• Don’t break as hard. Of course, this is unavoidable in an emergency. In general though, break gently.

Choosing to Customise a Car

It’s now more popular than ever for people to customise their cars and make them look a little more unique. This could be done in lots of ways, from changing the colour to lowering the suspension to adding a spoiler. If you want to customise your car, though, it isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly.

The main reason to customise a car is to make it look more unique and to make you stand out. However, this could make your vehicle a target for thieves and vandals so just be careful. You may need to consider more carefully where you are going to park it.

Although customisation for aesthetic reasons is popular, you may also want to think about buying an older car to improve. This will take more effort of course, so it depends on how much you are willing to do. If you’re able to do the work yourself, even better.

The Importance of an Oil Filter

Oil filters have a very important function and if your oil filter has poor quality, it can shorten the life of your engine and cause other parts to fail as well.  This small part of your car’s lubrication system plays an important role in protecting your engine from premature wear.  All the moving parts in the engine need clean oil to properly lubricate them.  Tiny bits of metal chip off of various engine parts while it’s running.  If these bits of metal are allowed to recirculate through the oil, they could break off other bits of metal, which eventually will cause erosion in the engine.  A quality oil filter helps prevent this erosion from taking place.  The oil filter cleans the oil as it passes through the filter and prevents abrasive contaminants from damaging the parts in the engine.

Why Changing Your Car’s Oil Is Vitally Important

As the tital says, changing your car’s oil is vitally important. It keeps the many components of the engine working efficiently, and it helps reduce the accumulation of varnish and carbon from collecting on the engine. As you’re aware, the engine can get very hot from the thousands of small explosions taking place every minute; oil helps pull the heat away from the combustion chamber essentially preventing the engine from blowing up. As oil collects heat, varnish and carbons during the course of protecting and keeping the engine running smoothly, it eventually becomes less like liquid and more like sludge. No matter how good the oil is, eventually it degrades as the additives get used up. That’s when you should have your oil changed.

How often and what kind of oil should be used? It will depend on the type of oil you choose to use, what kind of car, and how often you drive. This is where your owner’s manual will come in handy. The old adage suggests every 3 months or 3,000 miles. The amount of mileage you drive is more important than the amount of time. You may go on a road trip and burn through a few thousand miles in a few weeks, or it may take five months before you reach the recommended mileage. Pay attention to the odometer and how you’ve been driving your vehicle. Driving in extreme weather or towing a lot of weight behind your car will affect your oil too.

When Your Exhaust Needs Replacing…

The first and one of the most dangerous, problems with an exhaust system is a bad smell. When working, your muffler will funnel exhaust fumes outside and away from the vehicle. If there is a leak or other problem, those fumes could be stuck inside your car. This is the most dangerous problem because exhaust fumes can be fatal over time. If you smell anything out of place, make sure you bring it in to a mechanic as soon as possible.

The most obvious sign that your exhaust needs to be changed is a drastic change in the volume of your muffler. When working properly, the muffler should operate quietly in the background. When something goes wrong, it becomes a roaring monster. These loud noises are often telltale signs that you should have your exhaust system checked out by a mechanic.

The Kia Sportswagon?

Yes we know Kia’s aren’t the most desirable cars in the world, but no matter, the brand new Optima Sportswagon is still a slick looking vehicle! Few of the Concept’s little details remain, but the basic form remains mostly unaltered. We’d say it’s comfortably better-looking than, say, a Vauxhall Insignia wagon, particularly in semi-hot GT trim, complete with its 242bhp 2.0-litre turbo four, twin exhausts and biggish wheels.

What is Kia’s first go at an estate of this size will be offered with a choice of three engines when it goes on sale in the last quarter of this year. There’s a likely quite economical 1.7-litre diesel and a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol, plus the auto-only turbo of the GT. No word on performance figures yet, but bet on slow but worthy for the diesel and quite adequate for the GT.