Performance Unlimited Blog

McHenry winters can be tough on your car's transmission . What can you do to spare from really hard work? You’re trying to drive out of the snow but your tires are having trouble getting a grip on the pavement below. This is the kind of thing you’ve come to expect with a McHenry winter . But it doesn’t help your vehicle’s transmission any. Sitting in one place while the tires spin is hard on your transmission. Worse yet, going from an icy surface to clean pavement can be even worse. And we see plenty of that around here in McHenry when winter rolls into town. Think about it – there’s a patch of ice and then there’s exposed asphalt. If the tires are fighting to grab hold while you’re on that patch of ice, and then you finally hit the pavement, it can have a jarring effect on the car. While you may feel the transition from ice to pavement, your car’s transmission definitely feels it. From your transmission’s perspective, it’s like getting hit with something solid. Have you ever ru...

Those 4X4s are great for offroad and getting you started in the snow of a Wonder Lake winter. But they don't make much of a difference when you want to stop. The potential for adventure is resting in your Wonder Lake driveway waiting for your next offroad excursion. Of course, you drive that 4-wheeler on the roads and highways, too, right? And why wouldn’t you, especially when winter rolls through town. It doesn’t snow everyday of winter here in Wonder Lake. But it does snow often enough that your 4-wheel drive comes in handy (though we've had some warmer days lately, that doesn't mean we won't see anymore snow this winter). If you’ve got tires that will pull you through mud and over random trails, it’s certain those tires will do an admirable job pulling you through the snow. Then again, maybe you’ve got a 4X4 that isn’t built for that kind of adventure. You’ve got some reasonable meats on the four corners but nothing like those folks who see offroad trails as a ch...

Brushing up against your dirty car during this one reason to take your car to the carwash this McCullom Lake winter. But there are other reasons that a carwash will help to protect your vehicle. It’s winter here in McCullom Lake as you rush out to the car determined not to be late for that important date. You don’t notice until you get to your destination but, as you rushed to the car, you brushed up against it. Now, as you get out of the car, you notice that there is a broad patch of dirt on your overcoat and skirt. Over the course of a McCullom Lake winter, cars seem to take on a course coat of a semi-transparent grey. It’s actually a mix of residue from dried rain and snow, with a mix of dirt kicked up from the pavement, and roadsalt with a mix of other chemicals. If you brush against that chemically charged coat of dirt, you comes off easily on whatever makes contact. For the lady rushing to her car above, this is what she discovers on her clothes – an unsightly mess.  That’s...

What special gift can you get for that special someone as Valentine's Day rolls into  Richmond ? How 'bout a car cleaning and some auto maintenance? At least make sure the car is clean and reliable before you pick up your date. The groundhog  here in this neck of the woods gave us good news last week, and the weather is cooperating with that prediction, meaning that winter will be short-lived here in Richmond. But, whatever the groundhog indicated, and whatever the weather is throwing at us, it’s time to turn our thoughts to another holiday – Valentine’s Day. As Valentine’s Day comes to Richmond, florists and candy stores will face a heavy stream of customers, as well they should. Flowers and candy are traditional Valentine’s Day gifts. You might say they’re expected. They represent a sure thing as gifts your Valentine will enjoy. But that doesn’t mean they are the only gifts you need. Taking your Valentine out for dinner is always a great way to express those three little wo...

What will the groundhog have to say about the rest of this  winter? If it's bad news (and you believe the groundhog), you might want to make sure your car, truck or SUV is up to the job. Groundhog Day just came to  Johnsburg , again. Did that furry little critter give us good news? Or did it curse us with an extended season of cold and snow. While those who believe the groundhog has some kind of mythical ability to predict the weather, and those who simply enjoy the holiday for the fun of it, anxiously await news of the groundhog seeing its shadow or not , the extent of winter weather in the days ahead is a significant question for our cars, trucks and SUVs. Warmer weather is generally easier on our vehicles. And if warm and sunny days outnumber the cold, rainy and snowy days as Spring approaches, it’s a small blessing for all our car, trucks and SUVs. An extension of frigid days throughout the rest of February and into March and even April, means that your vehicle’s engine h...

We've put some of this Wonder Lake winter behind us, but running your car, truck or SUV through a checklist to make sure it's ready for the rest of winter is still a good idea. There aren’t many good times for your car, truck or SUV to breakdown. But a Wonder Lake winter is a distinctly worse time for such an occurrence.  Cold temperatures can create hazards for you and loved ones if you’re out somewhere, particularly far from your Wonder Lake home, when the vehicle conks out. On days when the weather is really bad – temperatures are dangerously cold, the wind is blowing and carrying a blinding snow in its grip – you don’t want to find yourself in a car, truck or SUV that’s rocking with the wind, as the snow builds up outside with no heat inside. And if the engine won’t run, you won’t have heat for long, if at all. Have you prepared for such a possibility? Or are you completely at the mercy of the elements and a vehicle that won’t cooperate? The best way to avoid such a calami...

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing?  If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond  winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Most semi drivers are trying to be safe but safe driving needs to extend to the drivers of automobiles, too. Those big rigs can't stop as quickly and they pack a big punch. The big rigs that drive through McHenry on a daily basis are long and heavy – up to 80,000 pounds and 53-foot trailer. With the truck and trailer combined, the length can come to 70 or 80 feet. How does that compare to a car, pickup or SUV? The average SUV weighs about 3,500 pounds with a sedan coming in a little less than that. A pickup truck can average about 5,000 pounds. That means that a full semi and trailer weighs 16 times as much as the average pickup truck. A 2025 Chevy Impala is just over 16-and-a-half feet long. The semi and trailer can be almost five times that length. The 2025 Impala weighs just over 3,527 pounds. The semi and trailer can weigh more than 22 times as much.  What does this mean for you when you’re driving down Richmond Road on your way to Ringwood ? It means that there are some su...

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders.  Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...