Gas saving tips
With the increasing cost of gasoline prices these days, every one can use a few tips on how to get more mileage per gallon on a tank of gas. So we have ask a few experts on how a regular Joe can go about getting more mileage out of their tank of gas. First, fill up your tank in the morning or evening when the air is cooler. Gas tends to expand when it is hot and you will end up getting a less gas if you fill up during the day time. Second, park your car where there is shade because this will prevent gas from evaporating under the heat. Third, turning off your air conditioner and rolling down the windows may be a good idea to save gas when you are on a slow drive on the regular streets. However, you should keep your windows closed when driving on the freeway because open windows cause air drag, reducing your mileage by ten percent. Fourth,
Avoid heavy traffic and routes with lots of traffic lights. The shortest route is not always the most fuel efficient if you have a lot of stops. I guess its not good to be the turtle when you are trying to save on gas. Fifth, walk when you can. Second, check your car suspension because proper car alignment or wheel alignment helps. Bent wheels, axles, bad shocks, broken springs, and such create engine drag reducing your gas mileage. Seventh, figure which station in your area has the best prices and go to that station. Eighth, replace your air filter when you need to. Read your car owner’s manual for the best period of time to replace your filter.
Car accident – what to do
When you get into a car accident, you need to move your car to a safe nearby location. But don’t leave the scene of the accident. Just move your car after you are able to ascertain that no one is hurt and that you have reached an agreement with the other car to move your car to the side of the road. If someone is hurt call 911 immediately. If you want to play it safe you can contact the police to find out if they need to come out to file a police report or if you just need to go to that station to do it.
Once you start talking to the other party in the accident, ask for the identification and proof of insurance. Do not admit fault. Just be calm and polite and exchange the information and let your insurance company deal with who is at fault. Write down the license plate, make and model of the car. Then when you get home, call your insurance company and report the accident.
Cheap car parts
If you are trying to fix your car yourself, you know how difficult it can be and how expensive the parts can cost. If you think you are up to the task and have figure out what you need to do to fix your car and now you need to just buy the parts, one good place to buy your parts is off of ebay. After figure out the exact part that you need, check around locally to see what the part goes for. Then go to Ebay and do a search for the part and see what people are bidding for the part. Before you bid on the part, check the seller’s review and see if he sells what he promises and takes returns if the customer is not happy. If everything checks out then give it a try.
Dangers of text messaging
As more and more people acquire smart phones, more and more people are getting in car collisions while they are texting and driving. This has prompted local governments to pass legislation banning the practice of texting and driving. In response to this need, companies are developing applications that enable consumer’s phones to read out loud text message and allow drivers to dictate orally text message responses. Hopefully this will help reduce car accidents and the need for costly car repairs.
Repairing small dents
Repairing a small dent on your car is not a difficult task. First lets define what is small dent is. Its a dent less than 18th of an inch deep. First, remove anything that my obstacle your ability to work in that area. If there is rust use a dual action sander using a corse grit paper to remove the rust. Then sand and strip the paint surrounding the dent. After that you ill need to apply body filler or spot putty to the area. Apply the body filler in ten even coats. Try to apply the filler so that it is consistent with the contour of the car. Once the filler hardens, sand it down with a 80 grit sandpaper using a sanding block. This step is to shape the filler so that it matches the contour of your car. Once this is done, see if you need to use more filler or not. If you think you are done you will need to switch to 180 grit sandpaper to get to a nice smooth finish.
Leak down test
A leak down test tells you how well your engine’s cylinders are sealed. It measures pressure loss. The test requires that you remove all spark plugs.The crankshaft is then turned so that each piston is at top dead center. This allows you to test each cylinder. Most people start with cylinder number one and follow the engine’s firing order.
A threaded coupling attached to a leakage gauge is screwed into a spark plug hole. Compressed air (80 to 90 psi) is then fed into the cylinder. There should only be a 5 to 10% leakage if the engine is in great condition. 20% of leakage is consistent with a pretty good engine and anything more than 30% is trouble. The test is fast and esasy to do and helps you location where pressure is being lost as you just listen for where the air is going out.
Dangerous cars
A recent survey of dangerous cars found that tiny cars and those in the category of low level sedans are riskier than cars in other categories. The results showed that bigger cars because of this overall mass generally fare better in collision crash test but could be more prone to rolling over. So which cars were on the list for top dangerous cars in 2010? Well here they are: Chevrolet Aveo, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Cadillac STS, and the Mercury Grand Marquis. This is not a complete list.
Headlight cleaner
Are your headlights getting dull and do they not appear to be as bright on those foggy days and at night? Chances are you probably just need to clean them. A headlight lens cleaner can make them as new. There is no need spending a lot of money to replace your headlights when you can clean them. Here is a list of some very good lens cleaners to use:
- Crystal View Chemicals
- Permatex Kits
- Novus Plastic Polish
- Meguiar’s Scratch X 2.0
- Bon-Ami Cleaner
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Welcome to Slash Auto, a automobile portal featuring information on car repair and mechanic service for your car. We will be filling out our website with useful information and was to maintain and protect your car for the long run. Hope you like our site and keep coming back for car maintenance tips.