Performance Unlimited Blog

It's winter, it's nighttime and it's cold out. But, though this Interstate battery is a few years old, it was recently checked and it should start this car throughout the coming winter. An article by Interstate , a manufacturer of one of the best-selling automotive batteries in the country, states that a car, truck or SUV battery loses 33 percent of its power when the temperature outside falls below freezing “and over 50 percent of its power when the temperature falls below zero.” Here in Richmond, IL, the temperature does both on an annual basis. The temperature doesn’t just fall below freezing and zero once or twice. For the prior, we’re liable to have extended periods where the temperature in Richmond is below freezing. Some years, the temperature falls below zero with significant frequency. For instance, in 1985, a meteorological event known as a Mobile Polar High created a cold-weather condition where records were set for the coldest days. We don’t have to go b...

It’s all a matter of the laws of physics; when liquids are cooled, they tend to thicken. In some cases, they thicken until they become solids. This is the case with water and other fluids. In the case of oils, they will not freeze but they can thicken substantially. These are important considerations when another McHenry winter is approaching and you want your car to continue running in spite of the cold and elements. We all know that water freezes at 32-degrees Fahrenheit or below. If the temperature never reached this level or lower you wouldn’t need antifreeze for your car. Rather, the fluid in your radiator, that then flows through your engine, would only need to serve as a coolant ensuring that the engine didn’t overheat. According to Wikipedia, the minimum point where antifreeze will freeze is 36-degrees-below zero. But this depends on the quality of the antifreeze. Typically, antifreeze is rated to freeze at 34-degrees-below zero. But, if it’s old and weak, it can freeze at ...

Haven’t winterized your car, truck or SUV yet? Here comes some serious incentive, if we believe the weather reports. A blizzard is bearing down on the Midwest with accumulations to 18 inches in some states. Now, most weather reports suggest that, here in the McHenry County area, the storm will either stay mostly to the North or will have blown itself out before it gets here. That’s good news, especially if you haven’t winterized your car, truck or SUV yet. The unusually warm autumn we’ve experienced may have lulled some people into a false sense of hope that winter would take a pass this year. More likely, it simply occupied minds with more pleasant thoughts and worries about preparing the car, truck or SUV for the cold months ahead were neglected. If the approaching storm is more of a lamb than a tiger, it can still serve as a needed reminder to have your car, truck or SUV winterized. Failing to do so can leave you stranded on a dark, frigid road a month or two from now. You could...

There’s a reason tires aren’t hard, smooth donuts that slip easily; tires are rubber with tread designs so that they can grab the road and help us get going when we accelerate and so they can help us stop when we hit the brake pedal. Over the years, through trial and error, tire makers have designed tire tread patterns that are particularly good for grabbing the road. In some cases, they design tread patterns for auto racing where going fast is more important than stopping. They also make tire tread patterns for use with off-road trucks and SUVs, and they make tread patterns that are better for grabbing the road in the snow and over ice. Tires are rubber for a reason The problem with tires is that, in order to grab the road, they’re made of rubber, a substance that is softer than the road, whether the road is made of asphalt or concrete. Off-road trucks and SUVs may drive through mud and rivers but generally they also go over rocks and gravel that is harder than rubber. As tire...