Performance Unlimited Blog

It’s cold in Wonder Lake today – really cold. The temperature at 1 p.m. was -15-degrees Fahrenheit. Now that’s cold even without considering the windchill factor (-40 degrees). This means that frostbite is a real concern when you’re outside and your skin is exposed for even one minute. Bundle up. And even then, the cold will penetrate your gloves, hat, boots, coat, etc. The best bet is probably to just stay indoors. But what if you just have to go out somewhere? What about your car? Should you let your car warm up for a while before you drive? One good reason to allow the car to warm up a while, assuming you can safely lock the doors and wait inside, is so that you’ll have some heat when you get into the car and head off to your destination. It also helps, if the engine is warm, to defrost your windshield so you can see where you’re going. But, for the car’s sake, should you warm it up before you drive? Is it an ‘old-wives tale’ that you should allow the car to warm up at least f...

McHenry was on the receiving end of a snow storm last weekend. All this snow has made driving a more treacherous adventure than usual. It helps, of course, if you know how to deal with driving on icy, snowy, slippery roads. Slippery roads create the biggest problem when you have to stop. Your car is liable to slide on the ice or snow rather than stop as quickly as you intended. One way to avoid this problem is to control how fast you’re going. The faster you drive the harder it is to stop, even on a dry road. Add snow or ice to the road and you’re liable to have a ride carnivals can’t compete with, only their rides are controlled and yours won’t be. So slow down when the roads are slippery. This is a good time to mention slowing down to those driving 4-wheel-drive vehicles. Yes, 4-wheel drive can help you get out of a ditch or a pile of snow. But 4-wheel drive won’t help you at all on slippery roads. This is why we see so many 4-wheel-drive vehicles in the ditch on snowy roads; t...

Undercarriage wash helps to preserve vehicle’s chassis In the winter, you’ll often find that, on bright, sunny days, there’s a line of cars, trucks and SUVs at the carwash. Folks want to wash away the salt and road grime. They want their car, truck or SUV to look all shiny and new again. They want to lean over the car scraping the frost off the window without getting their clothes all dirty. But, there’s another good reason to run your car, truck or SUV through the carwash. That salt and road grime can damage the finish of your vehicle. More than that, it can work its way into the frame and chassis of your car and do damage that can undermine the foundation of your car, truck or SUV. Running the vehicle through the carwash helps to clean the road salt and grime from your car. But, it’s important to get the undercarriage wash, too. There are weep holes in the underbody designed to allow water to escape. But, in the winter, packed snow and ice can block the weep holes trapping t...

The price of gasoline in McHenry has fallen recently with a precipitous decline in the price of crude oil on the stock market. Paying less for gasoline, you may feel inspired to drive more. Or, maybe you just don’t give it a second thought when reason or opportunity suggests climbing behind the wheel. The result is that you’re liable to put more miles on your car, truck or SUV than you did this time last year. When you drive more the periods where maintenance of your vehicle is recommended, or required, come closer together. It’s important to remember that, based on the calendar, you’re liable to need oil changes for your car, truck or SUV, sooner than usual (some people have their oil changed on a schedule where the mileage is seldom a factor – to determine the schedule for changing your oil, look in your vehicle’s owner’s manual). Changing the oil is one of the more critical aspects of maintaining your car, truck or SUV but it’s not the only one. Other maintenance procedures to c...