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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1978-04-05, Page 25PUTfING KEEPS US FIRST We'll care for your car this season to keep you smiling WE'RE YOUR TOTAL SERVICE CENTER J.L.McCutcheop Motors Ltd. GM CHEVROLET Phone 887-6856 BE A GM TEST DRIVER .Brusselt TRAVEL WITH CONFIDENCE THIS SUMMER! We'll Check Check these Troublespots to ensure that you have trouble free summer driving IGNITION SYSTEM EXHAUST SYSTEM COOLING SYSTEM CHARGING SYSTEM CARBURETOR BATTERY TIRES REMOVE SNOWTIRES SUSPENSION STEERING Should you neglect this maintenance, REMEMBER, tve offer complete road service! BILL McLAUGHLIN MOTORS LID. Phone 527.4140- CAR CARE SECTION 5B Antigiemissions equipment now improved Tampering with devices hurts performance, cuts fuel economy, increases pollution There's a lot designed into today's, automobile engines that make them the cleanest ever on the road. But it takes some work on the part of the owner to keep them that way. The automobile engine provides motorists with a good combination of per- formance, economy and low emissions, says. the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers As, sociation of the'United States, Inc. "If you attempt to change any one of those functions, it will be done at the detri- ment of at least one and possibly the other two," says Harry B. Weaver, manager of the Environmental Activi- ties Department for MVMA. Most of the people who tamper with the engine or emission controls are at- tempting to get better per- formance, more "guts and go." Motorists may get the performance boost, but they will pay the penalty of poor- er fuel economy and possibly an upsurge in pollutants coming from the tailpipe, Weaver says. Controls work But there really is no need to tamper with the anti-pol- lution equipment because to- day's pollution controls work, they do not hurt per- formance and they do not hurt fuel economy. In fact, the latest emission equip- ment has enabled automo- tive engineers to improve fuel economy. , "Drivers of late-model cars could not be more wrong if they think that a few simple adjustments to today's emission control equipment can increase their car's performance and fuel economy," Weaver says. "The best advice is to follow the service manual and keep the car in good running or- der to maintain peak fuel economy, high performance and low emissions." Regular inspection and maintenance of a car's pol- lution controls improve gas mileage, produce better car performance and help meet clean air standards. The cost to the car owner is recovered in great• part through im- proved fuel economy. Motorists who think that tinkering with the engine of their late-model automobile will impiove their perform- ance probably remember the early days of anti-pollution equipment, basically adjust- ment modifications to the engine. Catalytic converter The advent of the cata- lytic converter on most auto- mobiles built since the start of the 1975-model year — a technological revolution -- enabled automotive engi- neers to retune engines to achieve that good combina- tion of fuel economy, per- formance and clean air. The catalytic converter actually is a small chemical factory, taking hot exhaust gases, hydrocarbons and car- bon monoxide, and passing • them through and around platinum and palladium to • change noxious gases into carbon dioxide and water. One of the developments being tested today is the three-way catalytic converter Which also helps control emissions of Oxides of nitro- gen, EquipMent in use today has allowed automakets to reduce the amount of hydro- carbons from today's auto- mobiles by 89 per cent from uncontrolled models of 1960 vintage. Carbon monoxide emissions have been, cut by 82 per cent and nitrogen (Aides by Si per cent. Fu- ture developments, promise even greater reductions. Tune-up Hest test "Servicing'today's modern anti-pollution equipment is best left to an experienced mechanic," Weaver says. "The emission controls on the newest cars are highly complex systems that require adjustment by competent mechanics since they are built into the engines them- selves. For an amateur to fool with them would be folly." The tune-up is the. best assurance motorists can'have that their cars are nursing the most miles possible out of a gallon of gasoline, are operating at the highest per- formance level and emitting the fewest pollutants. Tests have shown that owners who maintain their cars for the best fuel econ- omy also are the ones. driving the least-polluting or "clean- est" automobiles. Motorists won't be able to service most of the anti- pollution equipment them- selves but mechanics, in the course of a tune-up, will make sure that the car is both fuel efficient and non- polluting. What can go wrong Here are some of the things that can go wrong and foul up your car and the air at the same time: • A clogged air cleaner not only reduces fuel econ- omy because the engine can't get enough air to maintain a proper air-fuel ratio, but the output of carbon monox- ide also is greatly increased, • Misfiring caused by faulty spark pings or distrib- utor points hurts perform- ance, can cause the catalytic converter to overheat, cuts into fuel economy and lets more unburned, hydrocar- bons foul the air. • Faulty timing not only makes a car sluggish or hard starting, but increases, pollu- tants in the exhaust. • A delay in changing oil and oil filter past manu- facturer's recommendations hurts the general efficiency of the engine. A, well-run- ning engine will last longer and operate at its best for a longer period. "Keeping your car in good sense,- says MVMA's Wea- working order makes good ver. "It's also worth dollars and cents in your pocket."