Modified Cars for a Sustainable Future – An Eco-Friendly Guide to Custom Cars

As you are driving on your local freeway, you take a look in your rear view mirror and spot a beautiful car speeding up to you. Taking a closer look, you find that what you are seeing is not a regular car but the driver has taken the time to customize the looks and functions of the car completely! It looks funky, sounds loud, and you probably think that the car is polluting the environment. Think again. Most car tuners today modify their cars for 3 main reasons: 1) for aesthetics, 2) for performance, and 3) To increase the cars fuel efficiency. This article discusses the latter.

Most people love to modify their cars to advance its performance and handling. Tuning your vehicle allows you to personalize your vehicle based on your expectations and driving style. Modified cars are becoming popular today not only to perform well but to also to be efficient and maximize the use of gasoline. There are a few modifications you can do to your car that will increase your cars fuel efficiency, and these modifications are of the “Do-it-yourself” variety.

Over inflate tires:

OK, this is not really a car modification but rather a task. Ensuring your tires are properly inflated can drastically increase your miles per gallon (MPG). In fact the US Dept. of Energy states that “for every 1 pounds per square inch (PSI) decrease in pressure, you can expect to lower gas mileage to 0.4{450b18fb4e8f5b95db3807a9753b1e0519d3e4d461dd68e5594bed7fc3eeb7ae}.”

If you want mileage gains, run your tire pressure above recommended psi levels. With more inflation pressure, the tire bulges in the center of the tread and creates a smaller, skinnier contact patch with the road. Theoretically this should mean less rolling resistance and increased mileage.

Aerodynamic BodyKits – Aeromodding:

To significantly reduce the amount of power required to go down the road is to smooth airflow at the rear of the vehicle in order to reduce drag. Aeromodding is a term used to modify the shape of your car by using the principles of aerodynamics in order to improve fuel economy. This involves streamlining the rear of your car by either buying a capping kit or by creating a kit yourself.

Body kits are the most common aeromod method to reduce vehicle drag while enhancing the overall aesthetics of your car giving it that designer look. Almost all aspects of a car’s external appearance can be modified with body kits. They can be separate parts or whole packages for a complete makeover. Front bumpers are used to increase the down force on the car to keep it to the ground when traveling at high speeds. Low front bumpers also give the car customized look that will turn heads and also increase the value of the car. A combination of good lightweight front and rear bumpers and side skirts is a great way to increase a car’s aerodynamics. By reducing the amount of air that goes to the car’s underside, a lot of unnecessary drag can be avoided. The benefits of aeromodding are free horse power, free speed, free reduction in emissions, and free fuel.

Other modifications:

Some other car customizations you can do to increase the efficiency of your vehicle are: Installing a spoiler (rear wing), lowering your car, engine modifications, streamlining protruding car body parts such as side mirrors.