The cost of gasoline stays high in Japan and the past few years have been tough for many automobile owners. I came across an article online about fuel efficient improvement methods and would like to share it here. One of them is that we should make sure to check a tire pressure. If it is inappropriate, tires will change their shapes and that will make cars eat a lot of gas.
If the shape of a tire changes drastically, their rolling resistance will increase and cars will use more gas. Japan Automobile Federation[JAF] states that the energy efficient rate will decrease by 2 % in urban and by 4% in rural when we drive with tire pressure of 50kPA(0.5kg/cm2) lower than proper value. For example, a car has fuel efficiency with 20 kilo meter per a liter. The car needs about 500 liters gas to run 10,000 kilo meter. On the flip side, if the car lowers its fuel efficiency by 4%, it will be 19.2 kilo meter per a liter. In that case, the car needs about 521 liters. If the gas price is 160 yen per a liter, we will need to pay 3,360 more yen.
That's why JAF makes a suggestion that we try to check a tire pressure on a monthly basis. I know that this method might be a drop in the bucket, but I believe that the information is very useful for everyone. in the near future.