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Show Auto maintenance tips for cold weather sand in the trunk for better rear wheel traction in the snow? Add another one percent to four percent to your gas consumption. Dirty, heavy weight summer oil, like molasses in January, can really drag down your engine. If your car requires winter weight oil, change it and the filter for cold weather driving. driv-ing. Finally, give the engine its seasonal preventive maintenance. A tune-up can improve gas mileage by up to 25 percent It all adds up, as stated by Robert L. Martin, Institute for Transportation Transporta-tion Research and Education, University Uni-versity of North Carolina. Addressing Address-ing a Tune-Up Manufacturers Institute In-stitute conference, he reported a 92 percent discrepancy rate among 20,152 vehicles tested in their state by the Institute. This represents fuel waste estimated at nearly one and a-half a-half million gallons over a five year period. Cars don't take kindly to cold starts, short trips and stop-and-go operation when the thermometer drops into the teens or below. While we can't do much about the weather, weath-er, there are a few things we can do to improve performance and fuel economy during winter driving. Check tire inflation. Tire pressure decreases one pound for every 10 degrees temperature drop; six pounds of underinflation may cost three percent in gas mileage. An improperly operating choke can have an even greater effect on fuel economy. It also can cause spark plugs to foul, compounding the inefficiency. Is the car slow to warm up? The cooling system thermostat may not be working properly. A cold running runn-ing engine loses five percent to 10 percent of its fuel efficiency. Engine wear is accelerated, too. Are you carrying 100 pounds of |