Performance Unlimited Blog

By all means, enjoy your time with family and friends this Memorial Day . But don't forget to reflect on the true purpose of the holiday. Today is Memorial Day here in Johnsburg and throughout the country. It’s time to light up the grill and enjoy the unofficial first day of summer. Of course, that’s not the actual purpose of this national holiday. Some seem to think Memorial Day is about veterans. That’s only partially true. We celebrate our veterans, specifically, on November 11 , each year, the anniversary of the day WWI ended. But Memorial Day is a somber event when we consider that it’s about the veterans who paid the ultimate price for the liberties we enjoy every day. Memorial Day is about those who gave their lives in the defense of America and our liberties. This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t enjoy a barbequed meal and the company of friends. It even makes sense that we would enjoy some pleasurable outdoor activities, weather accommodating. But it does mean that we shoul...

It starts with timely auto maintenance The Indy 500 is a test of endurance, not just for the drivers but also for the cars. The same is true for you and your car. And the key in both cases is timely auto maintenance . This coming weekend, we’ll all have a chance to watch one of the premier sporting events in America each year. Of course, we’re talking about the Indy 500. The Indianapolis 500 race was first run in 1911 – 115 years ago. Of course, the cars go a little faster now than they did back then. The average speed of Indy cars in 1911 was 74.6 mph. Average speeds these days are more than 234 mph. These dramatic increases in speed demonstrate awesome technological improvements. The chief difference is that the engines in Indy cars today are vastly more powerful. In 1911, the Marmon Wasp , which won the first Indy race, had an engine with 110 horsepower. Today’s Indy cars run twin-turbocharged V6 engines that put out more than 700 horsepower. In other words, Indy cars today run m...

Summer is rolling into McHenry . That means hot days are ahead. Now is the time to have your car, truck or SUV's AC checked. What kind of summer can we expect this year in McHenry? Will we have a blistering-hot summer or a milder version of the season in the summer of 2026? Yes, it’s still more than a month away. But it’s still coming. Not only is summer coming to McHenry, it’ll be here before you know it. In fact, summer-like weather is likely to come our way before the official first-day of summer arrives Sunday, June 21. And when summer weather arrives, there’s something you want from your car, truck and SUV that you don’t so much need the rest of the year. AIR-CONDITIONING!!! Many people turn on the AC when the outside temperature tops 70 degrees. Some roll down the windows until the temperature approaches 80 degrees. Wherever you fall in that scale, when it gets hot outside, you’re probably going to want the air conditioning to do its job when you call upon it. The average t...

You've got all your standard Mother's Day gifts - flowers and candy. But you could give mom her car maintenance and a cleaning that will keep her safely and reliably on the road when she pulls out of her Wonder Lake driveway. Ask someone in the floral business and they’ll tell you that Mother’s Day is the busiest holiday of the year. After all, almost everyone has a mother. And, as Mother’s Day rolls into Wonder Lake, no doubt you’ll be buying some flowers and candy for your mom.  Another Mother’s Day ritual, whether in Wonder Lake or not, is to take mom out for brunch or dinner. Maybe you’ll swing by mom’s house and pick her up to take her out to a diner and maybe a ride in the country. Would you expect mom to push papers and empty coffee cups out of the way as she slides into the passenger seat beside you? You could sweep all that junk onto the floor of the car before mom gets in but then she’ll be looking for a clean spot among the garbage for her feet. Of course, you may...

Kentucky Derby horses have more in common with Richmond automobiles than you might think Horses running in the Kentucky Derby this coming Saturday receive the finest care. Your car, truck of SUV is running a different race, so to speak. And if you want it to keep running reliably, you want to give it the finest automobile maintenance. Look at those ponies run! Yes, even though this is a blog dedicated to maintaining automobiles, it’s timely to point out that horses will be running this coming Saturday, May 2. It’s a thrilling event to watch, even if you’re watching on your television in Richmond , and must be twice as exciting for those who are participating, whether a jockey, a trainer or an owner. Of course, there are some similarities between horse racing and auto racing . In auto racing, the amount of power produced by an engine is referred to as “ horsepower .” No doubt, this is a reflection of how automotive engines were compared to horses in the infancy of the automotive age....

It would be nice if your car would change its own oil right there in your McCullom Lake driveway. It's not likely and you may want to accept the responsibility of making sure it gets timely oil changes . Imagine someone who takes their car out of their McCullom Lake garage frequently to wash and wax the vehicle in their driveway. They bring it in for regular maintenance, have the tires, suspension, steering and brakes checked on a regular basis. You’d think they take their car’s maintenance pretty seriously, wouldn’t you? What if you found out they seldom or never had the oil changed? They pulled out of their McCullom Lake driveway, day after day, kept their vehicle looking tip-top but never changed the oil. Would that make any sense? Of course not.  Engine oil is the lifeblood of your car's engine It wouldn’t make sense to do all that other maintenance and not have the oil changed. There isn’t any other maintenance procedure that’s as important as having the oil changed. Engin...