Performance Unlimited Blog

Four-wheel drive is more and more common in cars, trucks and SUVs on the roads of McHenry County these days. With the winters we face, they make good sense. Four-wheel drive can go a long way to helping you get your car, truck or SUV going on ice- and snow-covered Midwestern highways. There are serious advantages to a four-wheel drive car, truck or SUV. These benefits also, generally, apply to all-wheel drive vehicles. But, there are also drawbacks. What are the benefits? Traction: Clearly, having four wheels turn when you’re trying to get going on a slippery surface is better than having one or two drive wheels turning. With the snow and ice we regularly find on McHenry County roads, all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive frequently comes in handy. It also comes in happy during other seasons when we take our vehicles off paved roads, on purpose or by accident (hopefully not the latter). Breaking: A car, truck or SUV with all-wheel drive, or four-wheel drive, can maintain better...

Winter in Richmond is an abuser. It beats the heck out of the roads and they pass along the beating to your car, truck or SUV. These are good reasons to have your steering and suspension checked when winter is over – to see what kind of damage winter roads have done to your vehicle. However, you may not want to wait for spring to ensure your steering and suspension are in good working order. Winter driving on the roads in and around Richmond comes with hazards, hazards created by all that ‘stuff’ winter throws at the roads. For instance, there’s ice and snow that make the roads slippery. A slippery road could cause an accident. But, while you may not get in an accident when you find the car slipping, you may slide into a curb or slide off the road where other issues can test the durability of your steering and suspension. You’ll also come across blocks of ice on a Richmond winter road. Hit that block of ice hard and a weakness in your steering or suspension could break. You could l...

Winter in McHenry is a test for a car, truck or SUV. Parts undergo the extremes of severely cold temperatures. Rain, snow and ice assault the vehicle from all sides. If the charging system is weak, winter can provide the breaking point. On the other hand, this is one place where a tune-up can make a big difference. Imagine that you are trying to start your pickup truck on a January night when the temperature in McHenry drops to 15-below zero. Let’s also suppose that your battery is several years old; it’s not as strong as it used to be. When the temperature drops, the viscosity of your engine oil thickens. It’s harder for the starter to turn the engine so it can start. This is where a weak battery can leave you stranded on the side of the road. How does a tune-up play a role in this scenario? With a tune-up, the car will run optimally. It will run better. It will start easier. So, if the battery is weak, and the SUV needs a tune-up, they may conspire to defy your wishes that the ...

Water freezes at 32-degrees Fahrenheit.  Gasoline also freezes. However, there is not a single temperature you can assign to gasoline when it comes to freezing. You can’t say that gasoline will freeze at 70-degree-below-zero Fahrenheit, though that may represent a temperature where some gasoline mixtures will freeze. The point is that, in spite of the ability to withstand the extreme colds a Johnsburg winter will throw at it, fuel lines that carry the gasoline from the gas tank to the engine’s carburetor or fuel injectors can freeze. If the fuel line freezes, the gasoline, liquid or otherwise, may not be able to pass. The engine will starve for fuel and won’t run. The reason gasoline mixtures freeze at different temperatures is that all gasoline mixtures are not the same. Water is made of two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom – in other words, H2O. But different gasoline mixtures have different additives. Some are made with ethanol. The hydrocarbons in gasoline can crystalize b...