Performance Unlimited Blog

You’re driving down the highway when the car hiccups. It hiccups again. Suddenly, though you’re depressing the accelerator further, the car is slowing. You turn the wheels to the right and coast through the slush until you come to a stop on the side of a quiet road in the country. This is no time to start making an emergency list. The answer to emergencies is preparation; you need a plan. And any plan worth its salt starts with an emergency kit. This should include blankets, and cold-weather clothing, such as gloves, coat, dry socks, a scarf and, possibly, boots. You’ll also want to have a small snow shovel, a flashlight with fresh batteries, emergency reflectors and, maybe even, a few snacks to tide you over while waiting for help to arrive. You may also want to carry an insulted bottle of water. Along with the shovel, you may want to keep a bag of kitty litter in the car. While the kitty litter may be useful for stray cats who make homes in your wheel wells it’s really for traction ...

Before a pilot leaves the ground he or she is required to complete a safety checklist. It’s really a great idea as pilots generally prefer to notice a problem with the plane’s controls or a leaky fuel tank before they become airborne. But, for the pilots, completing the checklist is not optional. In a sense, it’s not optional for operators of automobiles. Consider what happens when you’re pulled over because a taillight has burned out. You tell the officer, I didn’t know it was out. He nods his head understandingly as he hands you a ticket or a warning. Some officers will let you go with a verbal warning. However, they don’t have to. It’s assumed that you should be conducting a safety check of your vehicle every time before you get in and drive. In reality, how many of us actually check all the lights, brakes and steering system before pulling out of the driveway? It’s actually a reasonable idea any time you drive your car. In the winter time, the value of checking your car is even mo...

Remember last spring when you started wondering if the A/C was working up to par with the summer ahead? It’s time to start thinking in terms of your car’s heater and its ability to keep you warm. Your car’s heater is important for more than mere comfort, however. It’s also important for clearing frost and fog off the inside of your windows. In this case, an issue of comfort gives way to an issue of safety – yours, your passengers and people in other cars and pedestrians.  Your car’s heater blows warm air onto the windows and helps clear the windows when you first start the engine and helps keep the windows clear as your driving. Many cars also combine the heating benefits of the heater in combination with your car’s A/C. The air conditioning tends to dry the air. Some cars will operate the A/C in tandem with the heater to bath the windshield with warm air while simultaneously drying the air. Your car probably has the following controls used for operating the heater: a fan switch t...

Of course, it’s not a good thing if the term ‘solid’ appropriately describes the antifreeze in your car. But, antifreeze is not the only fluid you need to consider as you prepare for the winter ahead. There’s also power steering fluid – make sure it’s filled to the ‘Full’ line; windshield washer solvent (we’ve already spoken about that); brake fluid, should be clear and full, transmission fluid, transaxle fluid and engine oil. The latter fluid is the one we will focus on here, not that the others aren’t important as well; just try to imagine the outcome if you ran out of brake fluid. If the temperature drops to the extent that your oil freezes, surviving the arrival of another Ice Age is a greater concern than whether your car will start. In other words, you can rest easy – your oil is unlikely to freeze into a black cube. But, that doesn’t mean the cold won’t affect your engine oil. Oil generally doesn’t freeze but it does thicken. For the most part, oil will thin after the engine st...

Racing fans are very familiar with the excitement at Indy or Daytona, when the words, “Start Your Engines” are heard over the PA system. However, we’d rather you didn’t feel a different kind of anticipation when you turn the key on your car in the middle of a frigid winter night, hoping, but not really sure, that your car will start. One way to reduce the anticipation is to ensure your car’s engine is properly tuned. A car with worn plugs and wires, or with engine timing that isn’t set right any longer, will test your car’s ability to start in warm weather. Add sub-freezing temperatures to that equation and you’ve seriously upped the ante. Even if your car is properly tuned, that’s not an absolute guarantee that it will start. There are other factors to consider, such as: how is your batter, does the alternator provide an adequate charge, does the starter draw too much? You should check your batter. Is it more than four-and-a-half-years old? If so, probably best to replace it. Does it...