Performance Unlimited Blog

The evening started great for Bob and Linda, and for Bill and Cindy. Both couples left the kids with trusted babysitters and headed out to New Year’s parties where they would spend their time with good friends welcoming in 2013 while bidding 2012 goodbye. Bob and Linda hired McHenry Limousine Service to ride to the party in style, picking up some friends along the way. Bill and Cindy saved their money and drove themselves. In the early hours of Jan. 1, 2013, while the limo delivered Bob and Linda back home after a delightful evening, Bill took a ride in the back of a squad car while Cindy took a ride in the back of an ambulance. Of course, New Year’s Eve 2012 hasn’t passed into history books yet. But, the story above is more than likely. It will happen. The names may be different but, somewhere in Illinois, a Bill or a Cindy or someone by some other name will spoil the holiday with a DUI. Someone else will experience the, hopefully, life-saving talents of paramedics at ...

Are you planning a trip for the holiday? Maybe you’ve opted to skip the groping and full-body scan at the airport; you’ve decided to drive. Good choice – you’ll save money and avoid the embarrassment. Of course, you’ll want to drive smart. In other words, you want to make sure you arrive in time for the opening of presents and the Christmas feast. There’s never a good time to find yourself stuck on the side of the road. Christmas Eve and Christmas, however, are particularly bad days for such an event. First of all, you’re usually going somewhere special on a day such as that. Any other day, you might be late for work or miss an episode of Dancing With The Stars. But holidays, such as Christmas, only come once each year. Second of all, though we’ve had a mild winter so far, the weather can turn. There’s word that the weather may have snowy plans for us already. Dangerous wind chills and deep snow drifts can make mechanical failures an adventure and, potentially, hazar...

Performance Unlimited is well known as the place to go for superior auto repair services. However, as their name implies, Performance Unlimited is also the top performer in McHenry County for folks who want their rides to go a bit faster, a bit quicker and with a bit more torque. A walk through the shop at Performance Unlimited reveals some of the evidence that the mechanics in here know their way around a family car engine as well as a high performance power plant. Sometimes the classic Chevy Corvette over there, or the ’57 Chevy Nomad here, the 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner on the lift: these all stand as testimony to the superior knowledge and skill the mechanics at Performance Unlimited bring to the table. But performance isn’t merely limited to the horses under the hood; performance starts where the rubber meets the asphalt. Classic car collectors frequently turn to Performance Unlimited for complete restorations because they know that, when Performance Unlimited is done...

Officially, winter is not over yet. Unofficially, though we’ve had a relatively mild version so far this season, in Northern Illinois and McHenry County, there is no guarantee we won’t feel winter’s full wrath before long. With the short days and gloomy skies, our head lights are used with greater frequency this time of year. As the fine mist of dirt and road salt covers our vehicles in a gray haze that blends into the color of the asphalt we drive on, even our taillights and other illuminated signals have increased importance. Night or day, it’s good to be seen. Most vehicles are equipped with subtle hints to let you know if one of your signal lights isn’t working; your flashers may stop flashing, for instance. Usually, we’ll notice if one of the headlights is no longer illuminating the road ahead. Still, “I didn’t notice the bulb had burned out,” is not an excuse that carries much weight with many of the law-enforcement persuasion. A regular check of your signals a...

Cars now days don’t require a tune-up as often as their ancestors did. Each vehicle is different. Check with your owner’s manual or mechanic to see what’s specific to your car. Of course, if the car isn’t running smoothly, gas mileage has dropped or you notice any other abnormalities in the way it drives, it’s time to bring the car in to a trusted auto-repair shop. Spark plugs are now designed to last up to 100,000 miles. That doesn’t guarantee, however, that they’ll operate at peak performance for the duration of that period. In fact, if the car wasn’t properly tuned earlier, or is otherwise out of adjustment, the wear and tear on spark plugs can increase dramatically. Other aspects of a tune up include checking and/or replacing the ignition wires, the fuel filter, the pvc filter, adjusting the fuel injectors or carburetor and the timing. A good mechanic will also take a look at your belts, hoses, vacuum lines and other engine parts to ensure you won’t find yourself on ...