Performance Unlimited Blog

As another Johnsburg winter fades into the  the rearview mirror, it's time to think about whether your vehicle is up to date on its oil changes with summer heat approaching. This is the last week of April; it’s fairly safe to say that this Johnsburg winter is behind us. The days of worrying that you’ll have to dig your car out of the driveway after a big snow are over. The slush and ice are not likely to appear on the roads again until next winter. But it’s not quite time to stop thinking about the maintenance your vehicle requires because of winter. As winter rolled into Johnsburg, any smart car owner started thinking about preparing their vehicle for the season ahead. It was vital to check your anti-freeze so you know it won’t freeze when the thermometer seriously dips in the months ahead. You wanted to make sure that you had good wipers and plenty of washer solvent so you could clean the windshield while driving on winter roads. You wanted to check the charging and starting syst...

Driving safely will go a long way toward helping you avoid crashes, such as this. But, it's just as important to have good brakes when you need them. This is the time of year in Wonder Lake to have your brakes checked. You approach a red light, move your foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal and gradually apply pressure. The vehicle begins to slow as you smoothly come to a stop behind the white line on Wonder Lake Road. In front of you, cars are zipping by on Route 120. It’s a good thing you stopped. Imagine if you hit the brake pedal and, instead of feeling the increase of resistance as you applied pressure, the pedal simply fell to the floor. What would you do? Would you have time to use the emergency brake? Would you enter the flow of cross traffic just in time for someone to hit you broadside while they were doing 70 or 80 mph? That could be bad. It could be very bad. Of course, you could possibly avoid driving into cross traffic by steering the car into a tree instead. Bu...

As winter fades from McHenry, it's time to prepare you vehicle for summer. That includes having your wheels aligned. Whatever the weather in McHenry today, one thing is for certain; the last dregs of winter are fading into the rearview mirror. Warm and sunny days are ahead. You and, hopefully, your car, truck or SUV have survived without too much damage. Of course, it’s likely that the steering and suspension of your vehicle has taken a beating over the winter months. Winter in McHenry and surrounding areas tend to rough up the steering and suspension of cars, trucks and SUVs. And, even if the components survive the experience, it’s entirely likely that the alignment of your vehicle is no longer quite aligned. Alignment of a vehicle’s steering system is the process of ensuring that the wheels track properly, that the vehicle remains on course without significant corrections and the steering is responsive. If the car, truck or SUV is going down a straight, smooth road, without any p...

The Richmond winter of 2024-25 is slipping into the past and, hopefully, without any April surprises. That means it's time to check your car's suspension and see how it did  through pothole season. Ahhhhhh. Another Richmond winter is over. No one will blame you if you take a deep sigh of relief. Of course, the effects of winter may persist a little. Winters in Richmond are tough. They’re cold, icy, snowy and generally yucky. They’re hard on people. But winters aren’t just hard on people; they’re also hard on our homes and cars. The cold, ice, snow and road salt collude to attack your car from its body to its undercarriage and all parts in between. But winter is also tough on your car’s suspension.  Snow and ice make for uneven surfaces. In the meantime, the effects of the cold, snow and ice on the pavement is often disruptive, you might say. Cracks appear in the pavement. Potholes appear, too. If you drive on brand new concrete roads every day, your car’s suspension might last...