Performance Unlimited Blog

Last week, this blog discussed the season of the pothole. Every Spring, the potholes appear as winter’s damage emerges from the slush, snow and ice. But this is the rebirth of another season here in McHenry. This is known as the season of the roadhorse. This equestrian animal doesn’t require water, a bail of straw and some oats every day; rather, this horse stands rigid from dawn to dusk and back to dawn again. In recent years, different breeds of the roadhorse have appeared. Where, at one time, a roadhorse was a four-legged creature with a flashing-orange light for a head, today, the roadhorse is often plastic. It may have a flashing-orange appendage but it always has a reflective coat that our headlights pick up starkly in the dead of night. Where you find the roadhorse you often find two-legged critters known as road workers. These species, using a variety of mechanical equipment, will tear up the road and build it back new again. By the time they’re done, the road is usually a ...

One sign of the arrival of Spring is the advent of baseball season. This is an especially pleasant time of year for Cubs, Sox and Brewers fans in the area since baseball generally means warmer weather and the end of winter weather. But this is also the season of the pothole here in McHenry. Potholes are the product of winter weather but don’t put all the blame on the season; you and your car, truck or SUV share some of the blame. How is it possible that you would play a role in the crumbling of McHenry roadways? To understand, we need to look at how potholes form. For our purposes, it can be narrowed down to a three-step process. The steps are as follows: Rainwater, melting snow and ice seep into the asphalt. As it runs through, it moves into the roadbed gravel and the soil beneath. The weight of vehicles passing above forces the water down.  As the moisture in the asphalt, roadbed and soil freezes and thaws, it causes expansion and contraction that erodes the roadbed under ...

You’re in a hurry. You grab your coat, purse and keys and rush out to the car. There, you fumble to get the key in the ignition. You fire up the car and you’re off. How many times have you done this? What’s missing? When’s the last time you’ve looked your car over to see if everything is good to go, whether you’re in a hurry or not? Do you have a tire that’s low on air? Are your lights all working? Is something leaking under your car? Is something hanging under your car? For most of us, we realize we have a flat tire when we hear that “Thump-Thump-Thump” and feel a pull on the steering wheel. We suddenly notice a little darkness on one side in front of our car and realize a headlight is out. Or, we see flashing lights in our rear-view mirror and discover a taillight, brake light or turn signal has burned out when one of McHenry’s finest is tapping on the driver’s side window. Something leaking under the car could indicate a problem that would otherwise find us stuck on the side...