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Tires and Wheels: Proper Tire Inflation

Fluid and Filters: Engine Oil

Cooling System: Antifreeze/Coolant

Fuel & Air Intake: Air Filter

Description: Proper tire inflation pressure is the specified air pressure given by a carmaker for a certain tire on a specific vehicle. This pressure specification should not be confused with a tire's maximum pressure, which is usually listed on the tire's sidewall. Some vehicles may specify different pressures for the front tires and the rear tires.

Purpose: Correct inflation pressure is critical for good fuel economy, safety, maximum tire life, and proper vehicle handling performance.

Maintenance Tips/Suggestions: For the small amount of time it takes, checking tire inflation at least once a month is one of the best investments you can make to get the maximum life out of your tires. Proper inflation can also improve gas mileage by more than 3%, when maintained regularly. Keep this in mind: Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4 percent for every 1 psi (pounds per square inch) drop in pressure of all four tires. You may want to check your tires more often during the winter months. Tires will lose about 1 psi of pressure for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit of temperature drop.

Keep an accurate tire pressure gauge in your car's glove box (many gauges at "air stations" give false pressure readings) and check the tire pressure when the tires are cold. Never trust the appearance of a tire as a gauge for inflation. A tire could be 10 psi low on pressure and not appear to be low on air. Use the recommended inflation pressure listed in your vehicle's owner's manual or on the inflation sticker found on the driver's door jamb. While you're at it, don't forget to check the spare. There's nothing more annoying than a flat spare when you have a flat tire. 

Description: The life-blood of your engine, engine oil consists of various weights mineral or synthetic oils combined with additives for engine protection. Oils may come in single or multi-grades and meet various oil performance standards. Multi-grade oils usually start out as single-grade base oils, such as SAE 10W (Society of Automotive Engineers is a large standard-setting organization for the automotive industry). Then viscosity-index improvers are added to modify viscosity. The end result is an SAE 10W-30 oil capable of flowing like a 10W oil at cold temperatures and a 30W oil at higher temperatures. The American Petroleum Institute also has classifications for oil, which are intended to address the formulation for different engine applications. You may see these designations also mentioned in your owner's manual or on the oil filler cap of the engine. The SH designation was designed for 1996 and older engines. This designation is now obsolete. The API SJ designation was introduced in 1996. Oils with an SL designation can be used to cover both SH and SJ applications. The most recent oil performance designation to be released is ILSAC GF-4. The new GF-4 oils provide significant performance upgrades and meet a stringent new specification that was jointly developed by auto and oil industry experts. Engine oils meeting this new standard began to appear in the marketplace during summer 2004. According to automobile manufacturers, these oils should provide gasoline-powered car engines with several benefits:

• Improved oxidation resistance, which means less oil thickening
• Improved deposit protection so that the engine won’t form harmful deposits as quickly
• Better engine wear protection
• Better low-temperature performance over the life of the oil.

Purpose: Engine oil lubricates, cleans, and cools critical parts of the engine. The oil's additives also help to suspend dirt, where it can be drained at the next oil change.

Maintenance Tips/Suggestions: Be sure to use the correct oil as recommended by your car’s manufacturer. Oil grades have changed over the years and you will want to make sure you use the right oil for the best engine protection. Periodic oil and filter changes keep your engine clean on the inside. Motor oil can become contaminated by dust, metallic shavings, condensation, and even antifreeze. Additives break down over time and can also act as contaminants. The best advice is to follow the guidelines provided in the vehicle owner's manual, but every 3,000 miles or 3 months is a good rule of thumb for oil and filter changes. Many car manufacturers today are recommending extended oil drain intervals for some drivers. However, if you regularly make short trips in your car, drive in stop-and-go traffic, idle for extended periods, drive in dusty or dirty air conditions, tow a trailer or live in a cold-weather region, it's best to stick with a 3,000- mile/3-month regimen. If you change your own oil, be sure to properly dispose of all waste. A single quart of used engine oil has the capacity to pollute 250,000 gallons of ground water. Never pour used oil down the drain or into the ground. Not only is it illegal, it's also harmful to the environment. Used engine oil is converted for new uses, such as industrial fuel or lubricants. Put used oil into original oil containers or other clean, plastic closed containers, with the contents clearly labeled on the outside and bring the used to oil to a facility that accepts used engine oil.

Description: The most common formulation of antifreeze is green in color and uses ethylene glycol as a base with anti-corrosion additives mixed in. The ethylene glycol part of the formula provides crucial anti-freezing characteristics and the additives deliver the anti-rust and anti-corrosion capabilities. Beginning with 1995 models, most GM vehicles started coming from the factory filled with an extended-life antifreeze, trademarked as DEX-COOL®. Distinctively different in appearance, DEX-COOL®, and its aftermarket equivalents, is an orange/amber color. It still uses ethylene glycol as a base, but contains a different additive package than standard green-colored antifreeze. This coolant is designed to protect cooling systems for up to 150,000 miles or five years. Other antifreeze formulations include silicate-free for Japanese cars and phosphate-free for European cars.     

Purpose: When properly mixed, antifreeze and water provide excellent anti-freeze, anti-boil and anticorrosive properties.   

Maintenance Tips/Suggestions: Check your owner's manual for antifreeze usage specifications. Antifreeze, when mixed at a 50/50 ratio with water, provides excellent anti-freeze, anti-boil, and anti-corrosive properties. In extremely cold environments, the ratio for standard ethylene glycol can go as high as 70% antifreeze, 30% water. With DEX-COOL®, the maximum ratio of antifreeze to water is 60/40. Although DEX-COOL® type antifreeze can be mixed with standard ethylene glycol antifreeze, DEX-COOL® loses its 5 yr/150,000 life. As such, it's best not to mix antifreeze types unless absolutely necessary. All coolants must be diluted with water at the proper ratios and should not be used full-strength. Full-strength antifreeze actually has a lower freeze point than when mixed with water. Generally, standard ethylene glycol type antifreeze should be changed every two years or 24,000 miles. Even though the coolant freeze protection may test OK with a hydrometer (freeze protection only drops with extreme dilution, not with age), the additives break down over time. When changing coolant, it also presents an opportune time to replace bad cooling system hoses. Leaking, brittle, spongy, cracked, or rotted hoses should be replaced before new antifreeze is installed. Hose clamp connections should also be checked to ensure that they're secure and free from leaks. If you decide to service your cooling system yourself, use extreme caution: Opening a hot radiator or coolant reservoir/overflow tank can cause severe burns. Be sure that both the engine and cooling system are cool before you begin any heating/cooling system maintenance or repairs. Because of lower hood profiles and cramped engine quarters, it's also possible that your car may be equipped with an air bleed for the cooling system. Unless the cooling system is bled properly, air may stay trapped in the system and cause erratic temperatures, or in extreme cases, engine or cooling system damage. If you're unsure about any aspect of cooling system service, don't take a chance. Have your car looked at by a professional service technician.

Description: The typical fuel filter for most fuel-injected cars consists of a high-pressure canister filled with filtering media. Filters may have clamped, threaded or special fittings to ensure reliable connection to the fuel system. Filters for carbureted engines may be located at the inlet of the carburetor or inline. Filters for carbureted engines do not need to withstand the same pressures as those for fuel-injected engines. 

Purpose:  Fuel filters trap harmful contaminants that may cause problems with carburetors and intricate fuel injectors. Fuel filters for carbureted engines only clean the fuel before it enters the float bowl. Injection filters, on the other hand, clean the fuel whenever the fuel pump runs (unless the fuel injection system is a ?returnless? design). Fuel moves continuously up the supply side, through the filter to the fuel rail or throttle body. The fuel that doesn't make it into the engine returns to the tank and the whole process starts over again. With a full tank of gas, the filter may clean the volume of fuel in the tank many times before it's all used.  

Maintenance Tips/Suggestions: On carbureted cars, replace the filter once a year. On cars with fuel injection, some carmakers don't recommend replacing the filter at all during the first 100,000 miles of "normal" driving. Since ?normal? usually constitutes severe driving because of less than normal conditions, it's best to replace the filter every two years or 24,000 miles. A contaminated filter can restrict fuel flow from your car?s electric fuel pump, eventually taking a toll on its life. Frequent filter replacements remove all doubt about whether the filter may cause other problems down the road. Most filters on domestic cars and trucks hide underneath on the frame or body. Just the opposite is true on the imports. They usually put their filters somewhere in the engine compartment. If you decide to change the filter yourself, be careful. Fuel injection systems maintain pressure in the lines that must be relieved prior to filter replacement. Don?t forget that gasoline is extremely flammable. Procedures vary for relieving pressure. Also, some filters require special tools to replace the fuel filter. Because of these technicalities and because of most filter locations, it?s best to have your car?s fuel filter replaced by a qualified service professional.

For more information please visit: Car Care.org