If you’ve lived somewhere that experiences bad inversion, such as northern Utah, then you are fully aware of how much emissions are able to impact the lives of everyone who lives there. Bad air quality is a serious public health problem, and we can all do our part to make sure that we are contributing less to that problem. As far as driving goes, here are some tips you can use to make your car better for the environment…

 

Being routine with fluid changes

 

Check your vehicle’s owner manual to see how often it recommends you get certain fluids changed, such as your oil, transmission fluid, radiator fluid, or various other types of fluids. These recommendations aren’t random. They are calculated to ensure that your engine is functioning at an optimal level, which means that it doesn’t need to work as hard for the same results.

 

Check your catalytic converter, each year

 

The single most important component of your vehicle that determines the output of emissions is the catalytic converter. Essentially, a catalytic converter reduces the effects of the chemical reaction that occurs as your vehicle burns fuel. A highly functioning catalytic converter can reduce over 90% of the harmful emissions from a vehicle. Imagine if every vehicle on the road was only emitting 90% of their usual toxins. The net benefit on air quality would be tremendous. Getting your catalytic converter checked regularly is an important part of being a responsible car owner.

 

Tire alignments save on emissions

 

When getting your car tuned up to reduce emissions, aside from your catalytic converter, it is mostly a game of small changes that add up to big efficiency improvements. Making sure that your tires are filled to the proper PSI can help make improve your vehicle’s fuel efficiency by more than three percent. In addition, having misaligned tires will also reduce your vehicle’s efficiency, so it is important to consistently check on that.