Performance Unlimited Blog

In anticipation of the summer days ahead in Wonder Lake, you may have turned on your car’s AC to make sure it works before you need it. You don’t need it now but you will. The problem is that, when you check your car’s AC on a cooler day, you can’t make an accurate assessment of how well your car’s air conditioning works. The cooler weather in Wonder Lake doesn’t challenge your car’s ability to cool the air in your vehicle. So, even though you’re pleased by the cold air that comes out of the vents, you can swear by the idea that it will come out of the vents that cold when you really need it. In reality, your car’s AC doesn’t cool the air; it removes the heat. A fan cycles the car’s interior air through a coil filled with coolant. According to the laws of physics, heat moves towards the cold. The coolant in the coil is cold. The air in your car is, presumably, hot. As the coolant passes through the pipes inside the coil it picks up the heat from the air passing through the coil’...

"Get your motors running, head out on the highway. Looking for adventure" ... will take you straight to Green Street Cruise Night in downtown McHenry from 6-9 p.m. on Mondays throughout the summer. “AAARRRRRR, AAARRRRRRR, AAARRRRRRR” Yes, that’s what Tim ‘The Tool Man’ Taylor, on the 1990s television show ‘Tool Time’ would say if he heard that Green Street Cruise Night was revving up for another year of hotrods, hot cars, hot dogs, hot music and hot fun in McHenry. And, the character played by Tim Allen, would be all-the-more thrilled to know that the excitement starts 5 p.m. next Monday, May 22. Different Mondays will feature a different category of competition each week. However, a wide array of types and makes will fill the city parking area in the Southwest corner of Elm Street (Route 120) and Green Street. The event will also feature music, raffles, giveaways, food and beverages (the latter two for sale). Numerous area car clubs are also involved, including the ...

Rich had the car in a McHenry area auto repair shop for an oil change and some other work recently. When he came to pick up the car, the auto repair technician pulled the car out front and brought the key into the office/waiting area. “I took a look in your radiator – it’s all brown in there,” he said. “You probably want to have your radiator flushed soon.” That’s a very good idea. Most of the time, we think about checking the antifreeze in October or November. But, this time of year, we tend to refer to antifreeze by its other name – coolant – and it’s a good idea to have it checked before the weather gets too hot. When the coolant is all brown, there’s a good chance that it won’t work to its intended capacity. As antifreeze, it should be good to 34 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-37 degrees Celsius). As coolant, it should be good to 265 degrees Fahrenheit (129 degrees Celsius). But, it’s the same liquid. Coolant is antifreeze and antifreeze is coolant. That means that the tempe...

There are roads in and around McHenry that are downright brutal on a car’s suspension and steering. Thankfully, your car comes with shocks and struts to dampen the jolts of a bad road. Imagine if cars were designed without shocks and struts. Every single part of the car would bear the brunt of that jarring sensation when the car hits a pothole or bump. Not just every part of the car, but every occupant of the vehicle, too. The reality is that, with shocks and struts designed and built into your car’s suspension and steering system, you’re probably not aware of half of the bumps, potholes and other road hazards that make McHenry roads a potential automotive torture chamber. It’s not that McHenry has roads that are any worse than other places; they aren’t. But, you don’t only drive in McHenry, do you? Wherever you’re driving, your car has to negotiate all the irregularities that appear in a road over time. Unfortunately, even with shocks and struts, some portion of those jolts st...

The nest inside the housing for this Johnsburg car's air filter is a clear sign that this car needs a new air filter. Here, it's obvious. In your car, it might not be as obvious. The air intake on a car is filtered and for a good reason. All the dirt, debris and particles that are filtered out of the airstream by that filter could do serious damage to your car’s engine. Even though the damage will probably be gradual, over time, it will add up. That unfiltered Johnsburg air can also have a negative effect on how the engine runs, which can also damage the engine. How, you ask? How can unfiltered air cause problems for you under the hood? After all, it’s the same air you breath. What makes your car’s engine so special? First of all, the human body doesn’t have the same close tolerance between metal parts. In fact, if you’ve been fortunate, there are a minimal number of metal parts in your body to begin with. Second of all, you don’t breath air at the same volume as a ca...