Your vehicle's emissions are the pollutants that it is releasing into the atmosphere. Depending on where you live, you will face certain requirements that your vehicle will have to meet in order to be deemed legal to drive, known as an emissions test. However, beyond making sure that your vehicle is able to legally drive on the road, reducing your vehicle's emissions goes hand in hand with improving your vehicle's fuel efficiency and performance. By doing a few of the following tasks, you can help the environment and your vehicle at the same time.

Change the Air Filter

One of the easiest things that you can do to ensure that your vehicle releases fewer emissions into the air is to have the engine's air filter replaced regularly. The air filter will keep out dust and other debris from the engine's air intake, and when it becomes clogged will cause the fuel in the engine to burn less cleanly, creating more emissions and reducing the fuel efficiency and the performance of your vehicle. You can check your owner's manual to see where the air filter is located and how to replace it yourself, or you can have it professionally done to ensure no complications.

Gasoline Choices and Additives

Another easy way to reduce the emissions produced by your vehicle is to invest in high quality gasoline. Higher octane gasoline and specialty fuels will have fewer impurities within them, which means that your engine will burn cleanly and will not have gunk buildup in the engine, which can negatively impact performance and fuel efficiency. In a similar vein, you can purchase fuel additives at most automotive parts stores. There are many different types of additives available, and each of them performs a different function: look for cleaning agents and additives that are designed to reduce the emissions of your vehicle.

Oil Changes

Similar to having the engine's air filter replaced every so often, you should make sure that you change the oil in your vehicle as well. Oil acts as a lubricant, and over time can become clogged with contaminants that can gum up the inner workings of your engine, decreasing performance and increasing emissions. Consult the owner's manual to figure out the time or distance traveled between oil changes that is recommended for your make and model. You should also check your vehicle's oil levels occasionally, even if you aren't near the recommended time or distance for an oil change, to ensure that the oil level is adequate, and add oil as necessary. Contact a service, like Benchmark Motors INC, for more help.