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Welcome to the AirCare news release archive. The AirCare program regularly sends press releases to keep our stakeholders, the media and the public up-to-date on general AirCare information.
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Car Care Cuts Pollution
(Sep-16-2003)
Looking after your car not only saves you money; it benefits the whole community by reducing pollution. A badly tuned car can potentially pollute 10 times more than one that is well maintained.
The B.C. Automobile Association notes that a poorly maintained vehicle can increase fuel consumption by as much as 50 per cent. That’s more of your money spend on fuel and more emissions put into our air.
Some tips from the BCAA and others:
- Change engine oil every 5,000 km or six months (or 12,000 km if you regularly do long-distance highway driving). In either case, use an energy-conserving oil suited to the season. Check your owner's manual for its recommendation.
- Check tire pressure monthly. An under-inflated tire has a greater rolling resistance, and a 20% drop in pressure will increase fuel consumption by about 10 per cent.
- A faulty cooling system thermostat can dramatically increase fuel consumption. Have it checked periodically.
- And, of course, make sure your vehicle gets to and through its AirCare test. AirCare identifies more than 100,000 excessively polluting vehicles every year, and has cut vehicle emissions by 35 per cent.
Some driving tips to reduce pollution:
- Don’t warm up your car unnecessarily. Keeping the engine speed down, until its normal operating temperature is reached, is a more fuel-efficient way to warm up your car.
- Accelerate gently and never exceed posted speed limits. Putting the ‘pedal to the metal’ can produce more than 40 times the emissions of normal driving. About 50 per cent of the fuel consumed in city driving is used during acceleration. Driving on the highway at 90 km/h rather than 120 can reduce fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent.
- Combine errands into a single trip rather than making several trips throughout the day. Because an engine consumes more fuel during its warm-up period, try picking up groceries and the dry-cleaning on your way home from work instead of making a special trip for each errand. Failing that, try to shop as close to home as possible.
- Avoid excessive idling. Shutting off and re-starting the engine generally consumes less fuel and emits less pollutants than allowing a car to sit idling for long periods of time. Try to avoid idling your vehicle for more than 30 seconds.
- During city or low-speed driving, use air conditioning sparingly. Shutting off the air conditioning and rolling down the windows will save you fuel. However, at highway speeds, an open window will substantially increase drag and increase your vehicle’s fuel consumption.
You'll find more tips from BCAA at www.bcaa.com and from AirCare at www.aircare.ca
For more information, contact:
Rashpal Rai
Public Relations
Envirotest Canada, contractor for AirCare
Rashpal.Rai@bc.etest.com
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