car

Benefits Of Automotive Maintenance

I’m sure most of us have realized how much longer cars seem to be running these days. 30 or 40 years ago when a vehicle hit the 100k mile mark, it was essentially worthless. So why is it that cars are running for so much longer these days? Some may say it is due to technological advancements in the manufacturing sector, or maybe the quality of parts used in building the vehicles. There is some truth to both of those sentiments, but I believe what is much more responsible for vehicle longevity is the evolution of factory recommended maintenance.

What is Factory Recommended Maintenance?

Factory recommended maintenance is a collection of vehicle services recommended to be performed on your vehicle at specific mileage intervals. Vehicle repair facilities have been recommending some form of these services for years. Only recently though, have manufacturers been publishing detailed maintenance schedules, commonly found in a vehicles’ owners manual. These schedules usually consist of common fluid changes and other general maintenance, but your manufacturers recommendations will include more specific preventative services.

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The Effects of Modifying You Car

Car modifications are becoming increasingly popular, especially with younger drivers. It is a well known fact that under 21′s struggle to get low prices on their car insurance as it is, but by making a modification to their car, they could see their premium increase by 139%.

Modifications can take place in many forms, for example, engine backing (which allows the engine to run at higher speeds), adding a turbo or even adding some alloy wheels to your car. These modifications can be extremely expensive and time consuming, and if not done correctly, could higher your insurance by miles. So the question is, is having a slightly more powerful engine worth paying so much money for? Read the rest of this entry »

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Are Alternative Fuels Compatible With Your Car?

Today, when fossil fuels have become key aspects of our economy, when every time there is a conflict or disaster in a fossil fuel producing country, fuel prices go through the roof, never to come down to the original prices again, it is time to find alternative fuel sources for our vehicles. There are many cars on the road today that run on combinations of fossil fuels and other fuels like electricity, others do not use petrol at all.

Vehicles are being driven all over the world using, alcohol, electricity, biodiesel, LPG and many other options. Many of these are adaptable to the car we are using now; it is not a matter of buying another car but a carburetor kit or some gaskets or something else that is simple to exchange. In fact in many countries and cities the government will give you a reward or will pay for the transformation just to reduce the smog levels in their country or city. In Hamburg, Germany, people are paid not to own cars, they ride on bicycles and the city has a superb transportation system that runs on electricity.

Diesel fuel is probably one of the dirtiest and most contaminating fuels. It is not a fuel, it is oil. Diesel vehicles use a powerful pump that pulverizes the fuel before reaching the injectors; it is the explosion of the pulverized fuel that moves the engine. If your pump or injectors are not in perfect shape and coordination you will see black smoke coming out of your exhaust. This happens mostly in large trucks, buses and heavy vehicles, diesel SUVs are not that bad. A diesel fuel system is complicated and requires constant maintenance to prevent pollution up to a certain point but along with bunker it is probably the most notorious.

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