Performance Unlimited Blog

Not too many years ago, car owners expected to get about 30,000 miles out of a set of spark plugs. Today, with advances in automotive design, 100,000 miles or more is not uncommon. Spark plugs are an essential part of a combustion engine found in most automobiles. They are designed to fire an arc of electricity across two contact points. That arc initiates an explosion of compacted air and fuel particles. The explosion forces the piston down from its high point in the cylinder causing the crankshaft to turn. That motion is transferred, through the transmission and other parts to the wheels. When operating under optimal conditions, spark plugs are relatively durable. When a vehicle is not operating at peak performance, often, the lifespan of the spark plugs are shortened. Of course, the shortened lifespan of spark plugs is not the only problem with a poorly operating engine. There is a long list of problems that could cause a car’s engine to run poorly. These include problems with sens...

“Hey, Hey!!” yells Jack Brickhouse over the car radio as Willie Smith slaps a three-run, 3rd-inning homer to help propel the Cubs to another division-leading victory. It’s July 12, 1969, and the temperature is nearing 90-degrees here in the Chicago area. Of course, you have your car windows down. Rolling the windows up on a day such as this is just crazy. Inside the car would quickly turn into a sauna. There are some folks driving around with their windows up. At one time, that was the Lincoln and Cadillac crowd. On this hot day in July, 1969, however, more than half the people with new cars have paid extra for the optional auto air conditioning. A few others have gone to Sears to install an after-market auto air conditioning unit that fits under the dashboard. Still, many folks simply roll the windows down and sweat it out. Today, in 2013, auto air conditioning is standard equipment on virtually every car. We don’t have to roll the windows down and dab at our sweaty necks with a h...

With some exceptions, motorcycle riders make better drivers. The skills they develop and refine to stay safe on motorcycles translate to behind-the-wheel driving, too. In a sense, those skills are the antithesis of the level of attention drivers have while texting. To put it simply, qualified motorcycle riders are hyper attentive when compared to many drivers of automobiles. Hyper-attentive driving means that they are actively trying to see everything that is going on while they ride or drive. At an intersection, they’re watching to see if someone will run a red light in their path. After all, the price of an automobile-vs.-motorcycle collision is fairly obvious. The motorcycle rider is going to lose that battle with a two-ton vehicle. Someone in a car may not have the same sense of vulnerability in terms of potential accidents. After all, they’re protected by metal on all sides. Unfortunately, that sense of security is largely illusionary. If that weren’t true, states wouldn’t compile...

What do you have planned for this summer? Are you going somewhere on vacation? Will you drive there? Maybe you’re not taking an extended trip but still planning to make same day-long excursions. In either case, you’re certainly expecting to have a good time at your destination. You may even expect to enjoy the drive. The last thing you want to deal with while driving to the Milwaukee Zoo, fishing in Northern Wisconsin or even doing something closer to home in the McHenry County or Northern Illinois region is to have your trip interrupted by car trouble. Who wants to sit on the side of the road with the flashers on watching the other cars go by while you wait for a tow truck? There are a number of automotive problems that could cause a costly inconvenience during your trip. For instance, you could have … •    A flat tire •    A car that overheats •    Engine belts that break •    Radiator hoses that burst (this could also lead...