Performance Unlimited Blog

Winter is coming. Time to start thinking  about winterizing your car , truck or SUV. Think of it as mechanical insurance . It’s a frigid night in January. The wind is cutting like a knife. All you want to do is run out to your SUV, jump in, start the SUV and, as you start to get some heat in there, drive home. But, when you try to start the car … NOTHING! Or, maybe your car will start but your wipers are leaving big streaks and, apparently, you windshield fluid is frozen. You’re driving but your struggling to see where you’re going. Then again, your pickup truck may start but you’re not getting any heat out of the vents. Not only are your shaking from the cold, but the windshield keeps fogging up and, once again, you can’t see where you’re going. Your antifreeze may have frozen . Your tires may not provide the traction you need on ice and/or snow-covered roads. Your brakes aren’t up to the task and the slippery conditions make it dangerous when you want to stop. You may also find y...

This tire should have been checked a while ago. Now, it needs to be replaced. McHenry drivers should pay attention to worn tires, adjust air pressure properly and have their wheels aligned. As they pulled out of the McHenry driveway and headed for Route 31 , Dan tilted his head a little as though he were pondering a particular point. Julie asked him, “What are you thinking about?” “Shhhh,” Dan said. “What …? I just wanted to …” “Don’t you hear that?” Dan asked. “Hear what?” Julie asked. “I don’t hear anything,” Julie said. But then the traffic on 31 made room and Dan picked up speed. “Oh my, what is that?” Julie asked sounding alarmed. What they heard was a roar from the back of the car that got louder and louder as they picked up speed. “We must be dragging something,” Julie said in alarm. “No. That sounds more like a bearing ,” said Dan.  He pulled over, got out and looked around but couldn’t see anything. “Well, whatever it is, we need to get the car in and have it looked at,” s...

When you pull out of your Ringwood driveway , you want to know that your car, truck or SUV will take you reliably down the road. One maintenance procedure many forget is to have the transmission serviced . If your car, truck or SUV didn’t have a transmission, every time you pulled out of your Ringwood driveway, the car would struggle to get you going. A transmission provides the engine with a series of gears to turn while you drive. Yes, it helps you to go in reverse when you want to backup. You can put it in park so it shouldn’t roll out of your Ringwood driveway when you shut the car off. And you can put it in neutral so the wheels aren’t engaged while the engine is running. But the hard work the transmission performs is when you driving forward. The gears are progressively larger. It’s easier for the engine to move the car when it engages a small gear to get you going. But that small gear won’t spin the wheels on the pavement fast enough for you to keep up on a highway. And, while ...

Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, is upon us. Make the most of the occasion; load up the car and head out of your McHenry   driveway for some late summer fun, such as watching stockcars race at one of the oval tracks in the area. It’s sad to think that the unofficial end of summer is on the horizon here in McHenry but what can you do? What you can do is take advantage of the days of summer that remain. Making the most of the waning days of summer could lead you out to the backyard for a BBQ and party with friends. You can play some cornhole, listen to some music and eat some burgers, brats and dogs. And when the sun sets, you can recline with some mellow music and chat with friends under the stars by the fire. Then again, maybe you should go somewhere and partake of some outdoor activity. You can do something that will fill you, family members and friends with fond memories to help you bear the bitter days of winter a few months in the future. For those who are drawing a bla...

One way to check the health of that car out in your McCullom Lake driveway is to monitor the car's fuel efficiency . When you pull out of your McCullom Lake driveway, you’re spending money. When you speed up to pass a slow vehicle, you’re spending more money. The reality is that every drop of fuel your vehicle burns costs you money to get there. If you haven’t thought about it this way, you may not want to know how much it costs you to drive somewhere. After all, will it help you to know that a 3-mile trip from your McCullom Lake home to Jewel in McHenry may cost you 48-cents to get there and another 48-cents to get back? Of course, the cost of that trip, in terms of fuel consumption, depends on some variables. For instance, what was the cost of fuel per gallon ? How many miles per gallon (mpg) do you get in your vehicle? How heavy is your foot on the gas pedal when you drive? Were you stuck in construction traffic with the motor running? The idea that the trip would cost you 48-...

On dusty summer days, Johnsburg drivers will find that the array of car filters they have protect the car and them from the dust in the air. Here it is – midsummer in Johnsburg where, on those dryer days, we tend to experience some dust in the air. This is particularly true when the wind is blowing. This isn’t to say that Johnsburg experiences Depression Era Dust Storms , like those that covered the Great Plains in the 1930s and had people wearing scarfs over their nose and mouth.. But, the dust in the air tends to go everywhere. This isn’t necessarily the same as pollution – manmade particles in the air. But it can cause problems for you and for your vehicle. Dust is a major factor that has influenced auto manufacturers to install an array of filters in vehicles to protect passengers and mechanical components. Even if you can’t see the dust with the naked eye, it’s often there. It’s only a question of how much dust is in the air. With its bank of filters serving as a suit of armor...