A cheap version of car air con – use a cold water spray gun to spray a fine mist of water into the air flow of the cold air blower. When air is passed over cold water it cools, so you get an air conditioning effect. Just a little tip for those who don’t have a fancy air con system in their car. It’s been so hot lately even having the windows down is still hot. Why not try out my little tip!?
Just a quick blog today. You may have noticed we are all currently going through a typical British Summertime weather system. Baking hot for days followed by rain for days, followed by sun for days, and it goes on. This is the time to be aware of the hidden dangers caused by this dry and wet period. The first showers after a dry spell will bring the oil that has accumlated on the road to the surface, this makes it potentially slippery so please take care. Even though there may not seem to be many puddles, the oily wet surface can be just as bad. My wife, who happens to be a good driver, (brownie points for me), had a slight scare today, which could only be oil on the road, I am glad she is okay.
Watch your speed limit and drive safely!
Looks like the government and those greedy oil companies are once again hiking their prices. Not content on making billions of dollars they have to make billions of billions of er…well, let’s just say, we are helping to line their pockets because we still rely on petrol for our cars! I heard about the electric car, I heard about it years ago, seems strange it has not yet become the family car, especially in this day and age of rapid technology. It must be our world leaders being too busy fighting over oil to want to help us save money and the environment too!
So in light of this our petrol blight, here are my 10 top tips to help you save a little petrol, or at least try to help it stretch further.
1. I am not meaning to sound like a cheat, but walking or riding a bicycle to work is the ultimate petrol saver! It may not help my business but it’s good for you and the environment. So for those car lovers, please read on!
2. Think before you buy. If you are looking to save money, then you will need to think more about your location and not the latest fashion accessory. If you are a city dweller, then you need a car economical for driving at low speed, short distances. Maybe look into the new hybrid cars. The car works as an eclectic car until it reaches a certain speed and then the fuel engine kicks in. If you are in the country and drive fast, long distances, maybe a diesel would help. The diesel is more expensive, but the car will go further. Although, some people still love the sound of petrol engine, so if you’re one of them, keep reading on.
3. Car sharing. I was fortunate early on in my career to be working with a colleague that lived near me. We cut our petrol costs in half and certainly helped my friend to justify why he needed his 4×4 land cruiser!
4. Some say that driving with your windows down will cost you more in petrol. I am not sure if it has been proven, but the theory is true. Having your windows down creates “drag” or more wind resistance. That means more resistance in the forward motion so the car works harder and uses more fuel.
5. If you want accept tip number 2 then you will probably use your air con (if you have it), to help keep you cool in summer. Well this definitely uses more fuel as it needs to run an air conditioning compressor. That uses power from the engine, which again, makes the engine work harder and uses more fuel. If it’s really hot I would try a combination. If you are driving slowly around town, open your windows. You get cool and there is less drag on the car. If you are on a motorway, use your blow fan on the cool setting.
6. Correctly inflate tyres. If you have ever had a bicycle and tried to ride it on a flat or under inflated tyre you’ll know how much harder your legs have to work. Same sort of principle with a car.
7. Make sure your car is regularly serviced. A good serviced car will mean it runs at optimum performance and not work harder with, for example, a clogged air filter.
8. Try to drive as smoothly as possible. If you are a bit of a “boy racer” you will probably use up more fuel and create more wear on your breaks, clutch and tyres. Try to change gear smoothly and stay constant on your accelerator. This is more efficient and means the car is not working harder.
9. Similar to the previous tip, try to observe your speed limit a little more. The faster you drive the more fuel you use. I did hear about the speed of 56mph being the most economical speed to drive. But with the range of cars out there, I can’t say that it is necessarily true.
10. Keep your car clean! How much stuff is in your boot> By reducing the extra weight in the car will help keep the vehicle light. Ever notice how slow you car feels just after you have put a full tank of petrol in? Just an example, and I am not saying don’t fill up to a fuel tank, just check you are not carrying any additional weight.
Some people may laugh when they read this, and to those people I say, keep reading. But for many others, changing a flat tyre on the roadside can seem quite daunting.
If you are stuck on the side of the road, your priority is your own safety and for that you should always keep a roadside rescue phone number in the car. But maybe you are not a member of a vehicle rescue company; maybe you couldn’t afford the extra cost to your insurance policy, or simply just didn’t think to join. What will you do when you get a flat tyre far from home or in the middle of nowhere? Do you know how to change a tyre, probably yes, but would you prefer someone else do it for you, probably yes. This is a simple case of confidence. It’s not rocket science, but it’s just not that nice to be alone in a situation you’re not comfortable with.
Here I am going to tell you how you could avoid this predicament and give you 10 steps to get out of it if you are caught unprepared. The next time you leave home on your own, you should feel a little more confident that you can get yourself back home if you suddenly get a flat tyre! Oh, and to those people who are laughing…I am sure you wouldn’t be laughing if a relative or close friend was stuck on the side of the road and you knew they were not confident. You should have told them about this blog post or even shown them how to do it instead of waiting untill they got stranded.
Flat Tyre Prevention
1 - Periodically check the condition of your tyres. The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm. This webpage describes tyre law nicely and shows you a video of how to check tyre tread. http://www.kwik-fit.com/uk-tyre-law.asp
2 - Periodically check your tyres are inflated correctly. Tyre pressure values are sometimes shown on the inside of the driver’s door, or under your bonnet. But you should check your operator’s manual. Over or under inflated tyres can drastically reduce the life span of your tyres and create dangerous driving conditions.
3 - Check your spare tyre is inflated to the correct pressure and is in good condition.
4 - For simplicity, you can purchase a can of “tyre weld” from your local garage. If you have this handy in the car and you suddenly get a flat, this can help you avoid the 10 step procedure below. This little can has a tube that fits onto your air valve and re-inflates your tyre and at the same time the gas works its way towards the puncture and seals it. This is a temporary fix until you get yourself home and can change your tyre there. This won’t work for large holes or side tyre wall damage.
10 Step Tyre Change
1 - So you’ve got a flat tyre, the first thing is safety. If you have a warning triangle in your boot, put it out to warn oncoming traffic and turn on your hazard lights.
2 - Remove Spare tyre, wheel spanner and jack. The wheel spanner and jack are normally together and should be with the spare tyre, if not; check other car compartments, (in the boot or in the engine bay).
3 - If you are able to “chock” the wheel, which means something to place in front of one of your wheels to prevent the car rolling after you have jacked it up.
4 - Using your wheel spanner, “crack” the wheel nuts. This means, plug the end of the wheel spanner onto the wheels nuts and push anti-clockwise hard, only half a turn. If one of your wheels nuts looks different from the rest, it’s probably a “locking nut” to prevent your alloys getting pinched. You need to find your locking nut key to put on the wheel spanner, (it might be in the glove box).
5 - Locate the jacking point under your car. This point is normally 6-8 inches from the wheel arches. If you can’t find it, just look for a strong flat area that won’t damage your car.
6 - Place the jack under your jacking point making sure it is balanced and wind the jack up until you raise your car off the ground, enough so that you raise the flat wheel off the ground.
7 - Using the wheel spanner remove the wheel nuts and remove the flat tyre. It can sometimes be a little tight when pulling a tyre off the car, so don’t worry.
8 - Place the spare wheel on and screw on the wheel nuts, just with your hands.
9 - Lower the jack and remove it.
10 - Tighten the wheel nuts with the wheel spanner. JOB DONE!