Monday, July 29, 2013

Warning Signs You Need New Tires

Start the Countdown
Just as your feet are sore after a long walk, the tires on your car take a beating every time you drive. This isn't a sign of bad driving --well, not usually -- but rather an inevitable fact of life. Tires get old and worn down. And because a tire failure while you're driving can be catastrophic, causing your car to go out of control or leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere without any easy way to get home, you want to know when your tires are in bad shape so you can get new ones before something goes wrong. Of course, if you have a mechanic look at your car periodically, he or she will probably tell you if the tires need to be changed, but there are several things you can do yourself short of a visit to your local auto center to make sure your tires are in good shape.
We've listed five of the warning signs that indicate you need new tires (in no particular order) over the next few pages.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Adjusting Brake Pedal Height and Free Play

Finding Your Proper Pedal Free Play
Most pedals (brake and clutch) should have a small amount of free play. Free play is the distance the pedal can be pressed before it makes contact on the other end. It's very small, usually less than 10mm.
What You'll Need:
- ruler
- open end wrenches
- line wrenches
- pliers
- Wite-Out or another way to mark a metal surface

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

5 Cheap Ways to Increase Horsepower

Your car is fine. It's got a great stereo, and you've been driving it long enough that the seat has that perfect butt-groove going on. You've been pretty diligent about taking care of it, with regular oil changes and trips through the car wash. But wouldn't it be nice if it were, I don't know, faster? Maybe had a little oomph when you take off from a red light? Maybe, just maybe, your car could even pass another car while going uphill -- with a little tuning. We're not talking about making your car a queen of the drag strip; I mean, that's expensive. Or is it?
There are easily five things you can do to pep up your commute or turn in a respectable time on the quarter-mile, and it doesn't have to cost more than your mortgage payment to do them.

This is the first thing just about anyone will tell you when you say you want to up your horsepower. It's kind of like those minty-fresh gum commercials with the ice swirling around, and the price is only a smidge more than a pack of gum. A kind of big smidge, but still. The idea is that cold air is more dense, so more air gets into the cylinders to mix with the fuel. More air means more combustion, and more combustion means more power, to the tune of a realistic 5- to 7-horsepower in a typical engine. This only works if the air intake is the limiting factor, however. If your engine is already sucking in big breaths of cool, fresh air, then try one of the other tricks on this list.