Engine Performance
With fuel prices at or near record high levels, engine performance is once again on many motorists' minds. Very few could afford to consciously waste money on fuel. That's why most will want their engines to perform at peak efficiency, to make sure they're getting eveiy possible mile out of every gallon of fuel they put into their tanks. Many of the conventional so-called tuneup adjustment chores, like setting the ignition timing and idle speed, are no longer necessary and are often impossible to perform on today's computer-controlled vehicles. Recommended replacement intervals for wear items like spark plugs have been stretched by the OEMs to 30,000 (conventional spark plugs) 60,000 miles or more (Platinum Tip Spark Plugs). Yes, the tuneup as we once knew it is dying a slow death, but we haven't reached the point where there's a label on the hood stating there are "no user serviceable parts inside." There are still several things you can do to make certain your engine performs at maximum efficiency.
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Let's begin with the obvious stuff. Is the Check Engine light glowing? It's surprising how many vehicle owners will choose to completely ignore the light, especially if the vehicle continues to run properly. Modern engine management systems can compensate for a variety of system malfunctions or outright failures, so the engine will usually continue to run until it receives service attention. But, it shouldn't be expected to deliver peak performance under these circumstances. Therefore your wasting fuel = money. Some things never change, such as the need for periodic preventive maintenance. A tune-up is one job that's changed a great deal over the course of automotive history. The outdated term is still widely used by many people to describe a service procedure that's supposed to make an engine run better. What most motorists really need when they ask for a tune-up, though, is something other than preventive maintenance. Unless a motorist is actually following the scheduled maintenance recommendations in his vehicle owner's manual, he's probably asking for a tune-up because he's experiencing some kind of driveability problem. The vehicle might be getting hard to start, not getting the fuel mileage it once did, hesitating or stalling, knocking or not running with the same zip and power as before. Or, his vehicle may have failed an emissions test. So what the vehicle probably needs is an engine performance analysis -- and maybe a new set of spark plugs, too. A simple maintenance type tune-up (a new set of plugs) may make an engine easier to start, improve fuel economy, lower emissions, restore lost pep and power, provided engine performance deteriorated because of worn or fouled spark plugs. If the problem lies elsewhere, a new set of plugs alone won't do the trick. A "tune-up" under these circumstances would be a waste of time and money. The first thing you should ask, when you feel your vehicle needs a tune up is to think, "Why do I want a tune up". If there is any reason other than scheduled maintenance, you have a performance problem that will require additional testing to identify the cause (or causes) of the problem. Only after the performance problem has been diagnosed should any parts be replaced.
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