We are living at a time when the cost of living is increasing at an alarming rate, and there seems to be no end in sight. Everything is rising from the food on our plates to the petrol in our cars. This means that many of us are going to have to make cutbacks in every aspect of our lives, the car being one of them. However, short of getting a new car with a smaller engine, or a hybrid or electric, there are many ways you can improve the performance of your car and make it much more economical to run, and not all of them are overly complicated. Some of them you may be able to do yourself. So, we have listed a few ways you can improve the performance of your car:
The Weight Factor
Obviously, if your car weighs more, then it is going to use more gas. So, this means you need to do all you can to reduce the weight of your car. Most people have a lot of junk in their car that they do not need. If you are always driving around with bags of stuff in the boot, then you need to get rid of this. You need to declutter your car as much as you can. If you really want to reduce the weight, then you could take out the spare tire and jack – if you have one. You could even go so far as to remove the back seats if you never use them. Another thing to consider is when you fill up. Do you need to fill it to the top, or would it be more economical to fill the tank only halfway and refuel more often? This may work pretty well if you live quite near to your gas station. The most important thing though, is to ensure that you have no excess weight in your car.
Your Driving Style
One key thing to look at is yourself. Your driving style can either be extremely economical, or it can waste a lot of gas and money. Things such as harsh braking, quick acceleration, fighting the clutch, driving in too low a gear – if you have a manual, and a wide range of other things can affect not just your fuel consumption but cause you to create a lot of wear and tear; the tires will need changing more regularly for one. So, maybe it is time you were honest with yourself and started changing those bad driving habits for more measured and calm driving. #
Performance Tires
When you buy a car, you usually are given standard tires. There are definitely not the best tires you can buy. If you want a better-performing car, then you need to invest in high-performance tires. To get the best tires, you need to know about your own driving style and buy tires for the right conditions, such as the climate. When you get high-performing tires, they take into account all the nuances of your particular driving conditions. The right tires will improve handling and offer you tighter steering.
Alloys
Alloys serve a double function. They make a car look better and more expensive, but they also have much higher performance too. Alloy wheels are created with aluminum and nickel, which means that they weigh a lot less than the standard steel wheels. This makes them a lot easier to steer than the standard, as well as removing a lot of pressure off of the suspension again, making the cart a lot easier to handle. The compound used for making alloy wheels is a lot more durable too. Alloys have the effect of increasing your miles-per-gallon ratio.
Only Use High-Quality Oil
Cars are machines with a lot of moving parts. Machines made out of metal need oil to lubricate all the moving parts and stop them from riding and grinding against each other and causing a lot of friction and unnecessary heat. Standard oil is clearly a lot better than no oil. You can use standard oil on a car. However, it will not protect the car and keep it running in tip-top condition the same way high-quality oil will. High-quality oil is thinner than the standard, and that means it is more durable to stressful situations such as heat and pressure. Thinner oil lubricated the part better too, without getting clogged up. Synthetic oil is probably the best type of oil as it is specifically made for the purposes of performance engines.
