Cars, Vans, Trucks, Quad bikes: Car Maintenance - "9 Secrets To Maintaining Your Car"Wednesday, 8 September, 2010 |
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Robert Sikorsky's little book Drive It Forever offers invaluable tips to keep your car going the extra mile. His stellar advice could save you a year's worth of car payments or more!
The smoother you drive, the longer your car will run. Stopping and starting, fast lane changes, scratching off all lead to shorter life for your car.
Naturally, you can't drive at all without stopping and starting. But your goal is to keep moving smoothly any time that you can. Does it look like a stoplight is about to turn green? Then slow down and if possible, gently keep moving until the light changes.
Less engine idle means less engine wear, says Sikorsky. If you have to idle longer than 30 seconds, you may as well turn the engine off and start it when you're ready to roll. So turn off the car if you're waiting in parking lots, waiting on others to ready themselves for travel, if you have to go back in the house for something, etc.
And never rev up the car while it's not moving.
If you're driving in “bumper to bumper” barely moving traffic, it's wise to turn your air conditioner off. This saves a lot of wear on your car. The engine has to work overtime if the air is on and you're stopping and starting frequently.
You've probably heard that it's good to take your car out periodically for a good drive on the highway now and again, and that's good advice. This allows your engine to get fully warmed up and helps get rid of some deposits built up by short trips.
If it's below freezing, try not to take your car out on short trips of less than five miles. Sikorsky says this is one of the worst possible conditions for your car.
Don't cruise around a parking lot forever, trying to find a spot. Go ahead and park further away and get in a little exercise.
Avoid accelerating suddenly unless there's an emergency situation. Putting the pedal to the metal may get you someplace today, but tomorrow you may end up hitching a ride from a neighbor.
If possible, don't park your car headed uphill. When you're ready to start it later, the engine will have to use extra power to pull itself. It's better to park headed downhill than uphill.
Driving on dusty roads cuts your gas mileage considerably as well as adds to engine wear.
I've found Drive It Forever a valuable read! It's personal, and easy to read, even if you're mechanically challenged.
Driving in winter conditions tests your car to the limit. If something isn't working properly under the best conditions it certainly isn't going to work when it's cold and stormy. Here are some tips to keep your car running well in the winter.
The first thing to check before the weather gets cold is the anti freeze level. Not only how much fluid is in the radiator, but also the ratio of antifreeze/water content. Have a tune up done. Have your spark plugs cleaned and re-gapped or replaced.
Change to a lighter oil which will help protect your engine from
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In addition to all the practical ways, such as not speeding, keeping proper tire pressure and combining several trips into one there are many more ways you can increase gas mileage by simply taking good care of your vehicle.
Your car's air filter is very important since it maintains some parts of your car system clean and free of dirt. If your air filter doesn't work properly and dirt enters your car this might make it go through different problems, and therefore it is important that you check the filter and change it when necessary. Your mechanic can do it for you, although it is very easy and you could do it yourself as well.
It is recommended that you change your car's air filter once a year or every 15,000 miles if you live in an averagely dusty area.
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As the name suggests, these engines work on reciprocating actions of pistons. One stroke means one linear motion of the piston in one direction. When the piston moves in the opposite direction, that is counted as another stroke.
For a 4-stroke engine, the piston has to move up, then down, then up again, and then down again to complete one cycle of the engine. In that 4 stroke of the piston, the crankshaft will have turned 2 revolutions.
The 4 strokes of the piston is to complete 4 stages of the combustion cycle. As you might have
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Having been involved in an accident when my truck was only three months old, and then having re-painting done while restoring a ten year old vehicle, I've had some experience with body repair shops.
There are different types of body shops out there, as we're not all looking for the same quality of work. The first rule I'll give you is that you get what you pay for.
If you want to pay
$599.00 to have your entire car painted, that's fine. It may be
a huge improvement over how your car looked initially, but it
wouldn't have suited me in either of the cases mentioned above. I
wanted that
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