Understanding The Basics Of Automotive Repairs

A car is considered as precious piece of possession by most car owners. However, it is quite obvious that these machines may often face mechanical issues if proper care is not taken of them. Although there are laws which protect the car owners from unfair auto repair estimates, it is always better to know the basic of automotive repairs. It has been observed that numerous car owners all across the US, including residents of cities like Longview and Jacksonville regularly browse through the internet to update themselves of ways to get accurate car repair estimates.

In case you are not able to diagnose the problem with your car, the only option left would be take it to a mechanic. However, there are some guidelines that you must follow to have a clear idea about the authenticity of the estimate given by the car repairman:

1. If you hear any unusual sound from your car, especially when it is not in motion try to trace it. For example, in case you hear a squeaking sound coming from under the hood, it may be possible that you will have to replace the pulley belt. On the other hand, difficulty while shifting to a different gear may be due to a problem with the transmission. Best option for you would be to type the symptoms on any search engine online and you will get a list of possible reasons behind the problems.

2. Regularly check the various electronic parts of your car, like radio, head and tail lights. If any of these malfunctions then most probably the car battery is the main reason. It has been observed that most residents in a number of cities in Texas, like Longview and Henderson prefer to take care of car battery related issues themselves.

3. It is always wise to have an idea of the estimate of repairing the defects of your vehicle. You may do this by going through various auto repair guide books. Most of these books even give you a rough idea of how long the repair will take.

4. Make full utilization of the internet by finding out the charges of various replacement auto parts. You may also visit the local auto parts store where you can get discounts if there are any.

Automobile Industry and the Recession

Automobile industry has a special impact on the daily life of the modern day man, which requires fast mobility with reliability. The rapid growth in automobile industry has had its ebbs and flows. Currently it is undergoing a recession globally. The auto industry is evolving new strategies and signing up new contracts and joint ventures in an effort to stabilize itself and avoid further slump.

There is a particular need for rationalization of taxation and customs policies in order to support enterprises producing automobile components.

Automobile and automotive parts & components manufacturers make the major portion of the automotive industry throughout the world. Automobile manufacturing sector consists of truck manufacturers, motor vehicle body manufacturers, motor vehicle parts and supplies manufacturers. This is engaged in manufacturing of automotives and light duty motor vehicles, personal utility transport vehicles and chassis, cabs, trucks, automobile and utility trailers, buses, military small and heavy vehicles and the main parts of the motor vehicle engines.

In 1997, the majority of automobile construction enterprises have passed through the lowest critical point and began to increase production volume, restructuring themselves while taking into account consumer requirements, their solvency, and the overall economic situation. Thus, in the first six months of 1997 there was a substantial increase in the volume of production compared to the corresponding period in 1996.

The global automotive industry is highly diversified and includes different sectors like manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, retailers, original equipment manufacturers, automotive engineers, spray painters, motor mechanics, auto electricians, aftermarket parts manufacturers, body repairers, fuel producers, environmental and transport safety groups and even many of trade unions.

The global leaders in auto industry are United States, Japan, China, Germany and South Korea. The United States of America is the world's largest producer and consumer of motor vehicles and automobiles accounting to almost 6.6 million direct and indirect-jobs. Automobile industry is one of the significant ones in the world that provides employment to 25 million people across the globe. This industry is largely dominated by the five giant automobile manufacturing corporations namely Toyota, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen AG and Daimler Chrysler. These corporations have their presence in almost every country of the world and they continue to invest into production facilities in emerging markets namely Latin America, Middle East, Eastern Europe, China, Malaysia and other markets in Southeast Asia. To overcome certain production costs many mainstream auto corporations have established there units worldwide.

Lease or Buy Your Car – What’s Best?

Lease cars were traditionally the domain of companies that provided a car to an employee as part of their employment package, either because a car is necessary to perform the job or, more rarely in the U.S. than many European countries, as an employee benefit.

However, lease companies realized many years ago that there was also a market for leasing cars to individuals and this part of the car market has increased its share. So basically what’s the difference between leasing and buying your car and are there any benefits?

When you choose to buy a car you probably are thinking of keeping it several years, after all a new car suffers a lot of depreciation in the first year or so, and then stabilizes. It’s also likely that if you are thinking of buying a new car you will need to finance it; a new car is often the second most expensive item you purchase after your own home.
If you keep your car for the duration of the finance period, then once you have made your final payment the car is finance-free and is yours to keep or sell. However, if you multiply the amount of the monthly repayments by the payment term and add in the initial down payment you made you will be surprised at exactly how much the cost you in total.

Try selling your car and you will undoubtedly be unhappy with the value you are offered. If you then subtract the amount you could get for your vehicle from the total you have paid, and then divide that amount by the number of months you have had the car; you get to find out the monthly cost of keeping the car.

In addition to that there has been the cost of keeping it running; you will have had to get your car serviced fairly regularly and there may have been repairs that had to be done, so the total cost of buying your own car can be very expensive.

Comparing Auto Insurance Coverage and Rates

Why is Comparison so Important?

Everyone has been in a situation where they have purchased something from a store and then a little while later, across town, they see their new purchase on sale in another store and realize that they have missed out on a saving. Auto insurance can be as frustrating but even more costly if a person rushes into committing to the first policy they see.

Comparing insurance companies will allow the car owner to look at the rates being offered, but also the different policies available. It is important to weigh up cost versus cover. Sometimes the cheapest deals may not provide the client with the cover they need. It is important therefore for a person to know exactly what kind of cover they need before looking at quotes.

Comparing Companies Online

In today's world the first step most people will take is to scour the internet for answers and rightfully so as there is a wealth of information readily available, all at the click of a mouse. There are two main ways to compare companies online:

Use a Search Engines

By typing in "cheap auto insurance" into a search engine, a huge array of results will appear on the page. By clicking on a company and entering all the relevant details, a person can obtain a quote in minutes. This can then be noted down before moving on to the next company on the search results page. It is important to remember that by using different search phrases and search engines, varying results will be shown so it is well worth trying out a few variations before calling it a day.

Comparison Sites
It seems there are comparison sites for practically everything these days and auto insurance is no different. The benefit of using such sites is that it is not as much time and effort as scouring a results page. The information only needs to be submitted once on one form in order to gleam multiple results of quotes that are presented in an easy to understand way (usually in the form of a list) so all the information can be seen at a glance.

Whilst the comparison sites are extremely useful, they do not produce every single result and for that reason it is best to combine both methods of comparing companies online.

The First Car Led to The First Mechanic

The first car was created and it was good. A few days later, it broke down. That was bad. This led, of course, to the creation of the first mechanic.

From the time German Engineer, Karl Benz, invented the first practical automobile to use an internal combustion engine, there has been a need for mechanics. A mechanic is defined as someone who provides repairs or maintenance to a machine. Benz's made his first auto in 1885 and the history of the auto mechanic begins there for all practical purposes. Machines will break and they will do so even faster without care. Mechanics have always been with us and they have always repaired the engines we have used to help us with our work.

Automobiles were something totally different right from the start and the early mechanics were the same ones who had been repairing the horse drawn vehicles that they replaced. It did not take long for this to change. The automobile engine was something new and much more complex than the simple wagons and carriages. As automobiles quickly began to spread out, mechanics began to specialize in their repair and maintenance.

An example of how rapid this spread was can be seen in the fact that auto mechanics formed a union in Seattle, Washington in 1917. A year later, this union had 250 members, but in just two year's time, 1920, membership had grown to 500. Although auto mechanic unions never really caught on in the same way they did in the trucking or construction trades, these figures show how quickly the field of auto mechanics was growing.

Used Car Dealers Insurance: Consider These Coverages When You Shop For Your Dealership

This articles discusses the different coverages that are available for used car dealers. Certain coverage or limits discussed here may be suitable for the used car dealers in Illinois. There are thousands of used car dealers in Illinois with about 700 registered used car dealers in the City of Chicago. Coverage types and limits may vary according to state.

Generally speaking, used car dealer insurance is expensive because of the fact that the insurance company has no idea of who will be sitting behind the wheel during test drives. Also, liability coverage limits for used car dealers are higher than those in personal auto insurance. In the State of Illinois used car dealers must maintain a minimum liability limits of $100,000 for bodily injury per person, $300,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $50,000 property damage per accident (100/300/50). The State of Illinois does not require more than the statutory limits of $20,000 bodily injury per person, $40,000 bodily injury per accident for the uninsured motorist.

The following is a list of mandatory and optional coverages that owners of used car dealerships need to consider as they shop for insurance coverage.

GARAGE LIABILITY: Provides protection for liability resulting from the maintenance and the ownership of the garage (ie because of ownership/use of a Covered Auto, and because of "Other than Covered Auto.") Basically Garage Liability provides protection for the premises (ie slip and fall) and for auto accidents. Again, Garage Liability limits for used car dealers must be maintained at 100/300/50 in Illinois.

AUTO LIABILITY: Provides protection for the used car dealer in the event of being sued because of an auto accident. As mentioned earlier there is a minimum limit in each state, and the State of Illinois requires 100/300/50 from all used car dealers. This coverage is almost always included as part of the GARAGE LIABILITY.

DEALERS OPEN LOT: Provides physical damage coverage on vehicles that are owned by the dealer. Physical damage coverage includes Collision Coverage (if/ when vehicle collides with another object, or overturn) and may also include one or more of the following coverages: (1) Comprehensive or other than collision coverage which encompasses all other losses resulting from anything other than collision, (2) Specified Cause (less coverage than in 1) which includes certain coverages specified in the policy such as fire, lightning, explosion, theft, windstorm, hail, flood, mischief and vandalism; or [3] Fire and Theft (less coverage than 2). Insurance companies may set coverage limits per vehicle (for example, the policy may contain a limit of $25,000 per vehicle, maximum 275,000 for the lot.) This limit may be a problem for certain dealers that sell expensive vehicles.

Coinsurance Clause: This is the percentage which will determine if you are fully covered on a partial loss. If your policy states that your coinsurance is 90%, then the coverage on the Dealer Open Lot listed on your policy must be 90% or higher of the actual value of your inventory, in order for the insurance company to pay your loss in full.

Example: An SUV was a total covered loss with a value of $35,000. If your policy states that you have 90% coinsurance, and your actual inventory was $300,000 at the time of the loss, then you need $270,000 (90% X 300,000) for you to be 100% covered on that loss. Let us assume that your policy has only $200,000 coverage on dealer open lot. These numbers mean that you had only 74% coverage of the amount you were supposed to have (200,000/270,000). In that case, the insurance company will pay you only about $25,900 for the lost SUV (35,000 X 74%), without considering any deductible.

Car Racing

Car racing, also known as motor or auto racing is a fascinating motorsport in which cars, drivers and manufacturers compete against each other for the first place. It has many fans all over the world and its history is a rich one. Things started more than a decade ago when in 1887, Georges Bouton managed to race in his own auto vehicle for approximately 2 kilometers. In spite its place in the history, many do not acknowledge it as a contest, because the contestant had no opponent and he drove alone.

The early history of races was dominated by France. Competitions like Paris -Rouen and Paris - Bordeaux - Paris turned this country into the place where fans but also manufacturers gathered to support their favorites. In fact the first contest where contestants from all nations were invited was the Gordon Bennett Cup. The big names in the auto industry tried to prove their supremacy even before the Second World War. After the war the competitions became more serious than ever and several international races were held each year.

There are several categories of car races, each having their own group of supporters. For example those who love extreme speed are definitely fascinated with the single - seater races. They are also called open-wheel because the wheels are not covered. Kart racing is another category of single - seaters, but the costs of the both the vehicles and the tracks are smaller in this case.

The category of sport car races includes many famous competitions around the world, like 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Dayton and so on. In this case the cars have to compete on long distances and usually require two or three drivers. Each continent has its own preferences in what concerns these types of competitions. For example in North America the most famous contest of this type is the stock car racing. These autos resemble production ones, but in fact they are modified after strict regulations to be able to reach high speeds.

Best Car For The Money

The best car for the money is the one that not only tops the charts with the auto reviewers but also pleases the consumer through lower ownership costs. To have the best of both worlds, a vehicle you can rely on for performance and safety as well as is cheaper to drive and maintain creates a win-win situation.

As with most industries, the automotive world is ever-changing and the following examples are proof of this fact. As long as technology creates changes, the consumer is going to see on-going changes as well.

As an example of this, according to US News, where Ford used to predominate in the larger SUV and truck categories, the best car for the money in the small compact division is the Ford Fiesta. And, now the GMC Silverado 1500 corners the market for best truck for the money today.

Following you will see the complete list of US News Best Cars for the Money List:

Right behind the GMC Silverado 1500 comes the Suzuki Equator for the best compact pickup truck. The Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma are close runner-ups in this same category.

The Lexus RX 350 takes the cake for the best luxury midsize crossover. Cousins in this category would be the Acura MDX and the Audi Q5.

Infinity EX will give you complete value if you are in the market for the best luxury compact crossover. Volvo XC60 takes a close second in this category of best cars for the money.

Best full size SUV for the money is the Chevrolet Tahoe, according to US News. This SUV offers the feel of a full sized truck but seats 9 passengers comfortably and has plenty of cargo to carry all the necessary essentials.

The Tahoe's sister SUV, the Chevrolet Traverse wraps up the category for best mid-sized crossover.

The best car for the money in the best compact crossover is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. Although Mitsubishi is a less popular vehicle here in U.S., this crossover proudly wears this crown.

The Hyundai Elantra Touring ranks best in its class. This wagon will prove to be the best vehicle for the money, according to MS News.

And now, in the minivan corner, we have Kia Sedona. Kia is happy to take away the honors for best minivan from well-known brands such as Toyota and Honda.

If it is value as well as a sporty car you would like, the Mazda MX5 Miata will run circles around its competition when it comes to the best sports car for the money.

The best hybrid car for the money is hands down the Toyota Prius. With the latest ingenuity as well as safety features, this hybrid is first in its field.

Now, if you are looking for a little more luxury added to your long-term value, you will want to check out the sedan proudly named the Buick Regal.

And, if luxury is your preference, but you would like a little smaller vehicle, the Volkswagen GTI steals the award for best upscale compact car for the money.

The best family sedan would go to the Ford Taurus. The Taurus offers the most value for the cost of the vehicle as well as high performance.

Next, the best mid-size for the money is the Chevrolet Malibu.

The Honda Fit takes home the blue ribbon for the best Hatchback in its class. The best compact car for the money is the ever-popular Honda Civic.

The Diesel Cars

Of late and in the next few years to come, there have and there will be a slew of diesel variants of cars from almost all auto majors entering India. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki all plan to bring in diesel versions of their new cars into the Indian market.

The Indian car buyer has changed his way of thinking. The present-generation buyer does not really break his head thinking of the high maintenance cost and pricing while opting for the diesel car. Technology has improved, the fuel efficiency has also shown a significant change and the changes apply to diesel cars as well. One does not have to think too hard. It has become unnecessary now and belongs to the yesteryears. Diesel cars have their own marketplace within the Indian market.

Mercedes-Benz's new E-Class in diesel, BMW's diesel models, the Hyundai Sonata Transform diesel, all indicate the growing diesel car trend. Then, we also have the diesel variant of the Maruti Suzuki SX4 which will soon grace the Indian roads. A look at the actual sales figures reveal that luxury car makers like BMW, Mercedes and Audi sell more diesel variants compared to their petrol counterparts. The Toyota Fortuner with the diesel heart entered India only to push out the Honda CR-V petrol variant that was ruling the SUV segment till then. Toyota is one car maker that sells around 99 per cent of its cars as diesel variants. The advanced diesel technology can deliver the power and torque figures that everyone likes like no other.

Buy a Car With Bad Credit With No Money Down

You've got bad credit and dealer after dealer is wanting money down. To buy a car with bad credit, with no money down, you need to know a few things.

First, there are only two reasons that a dealer would want a down payment...

The most common reason is because it adds profit to the sale. The other less common reason is because it's needed to lower the total amount financed for approval by the lender.  Trying to figure out which is the real motivation to pressuring you for cash is a little difficult so long as, you are depending on the dealer to get you approved.

Most people think that if they have bad credit, they have to use the financing offered through the car dealership. After all, the local bank won't give you a loan right? This is a common mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars in outrageous finance charges.

Let me fill you in on a little BIG secret...

Car dealerships mark up the price of the car. Everyone knows that. Did you know that they ALSO mark up the interest rate? Yes, they do. They submit your credit application to lenders. The lender responds with an offer. Let's say that they approve you for a rate of 9%. Guess what? The dealer, knowing that you know you have bad credit will try to convince you that you are approved at 12%. The 3% difference becomes nothing more than profit that the finance manager gets paid a commission on. Guess you pays for it... you. Your payments go up 10, 20, 30, 50 or even $100.00 per month simply because the dealership marked up the interest rate.

The truth is this. You can buy a car with bad credit with no down payment and also with lower interest rates by simply avoiding the dealer finance department altogether. If you know where to look and prearrange your financing (yes it's done everyday), then you can have the confidence to walk into a dealership, pick out the car of your choice based on the amount the finance company preapproves you for and had the dealer a check. This puts the power of negotiating price in your favor.

Automotive Maintenance Tips - Give Your Car a Longer Life!

Keeping your car in good condition is not only important for its long term durability but also for your safety. Driving in a car which is not roadworthy will not only cause you problems with the authorities, but also put your life at great risk. It is for this reason that this article offers all car owners crucial automotive maintenance tips to help them fix any problem with relative ease.

Automobiles, just like any other type of machinery, are prone to developing mechanical problems every now and again. Although you may have your trusted mechanic who attends to such problems, it is also important that you also take some time and learn a few things that could save you on a bad night. Better still, learning some tips on automotive maintenance provides you with important information necessary for proper maintenance of your car.

To replace wiper blades, pull up the windshield wiper arm so that the arm and the blade are sticking out perpendicularly to the window. Depress the tab which attaches the blade to the arm using a screwdriver. Fix the new blade onto the wiper arm using a new attachment and turn on the wipers to test.

A Philips screwdriver and a rag are enough to give your car a new air filter. Remove the clamps or screws on the top of the air filter housing using the screwdriver. Use a clean rag to clean the air filter housing, install the new air filter, and clamp the air filter housing's lid back.

To change the battery use battery pliers to loosen the nuts attaching the red and black cables to the battery terminals and detach both cables. Remove the battery hold-down clamp using a socket and ratchet and get the battery out of the battery tray. Use a wire brush and battery-cleaning solution to clean all corrosion on the battery tray, hold-down clamp and battery cable connectors. Place and secure the new battery, spray the terminals with anti-corrosion solution and firmly attach both cables to the rightful terminals.

The Evolution of Electric Motor

A number of factors have contributed to tremendous changes in the economics of working as an independent mechanic. For nearly a century, being a mechanic has been a stable profession that could earn a decent wage. But now across the board, from automobile to heavy machinery to electric motor repair, it is becoming harder and harder to earn a living as a mechanic.

As the industrial revolution changed the landscape of production, machines proliferated around the world. There were machines in factories. There were machines on farms. There were machines for transportation. There were machines at sea. Regardless of who made them, what they were for, or what they cost, all those machines had one thing in common: they all broke down.

That meant that everybody who bought a machine had to have a way to fix it. Most of the early machines were simple, straightforward designs. They were intuitive to a person with a good mind. They were even designed to be easy to repair. After all, a company that sold threshing machines all over the United States didn't necessarily want to have mechanics all over the United States to fix them.

When Henry Ford used an assembly line to speed up production and slash the price of an automobile, he not only revolutionized transportation, he created a need for a professional class of automobile mechanics all over the country. The cars were made with a working man's mentality in mind, and they were made to be easy to work on and repair. But the proliferation of the automobile meant the proliferation of the service station.

For decades, what went on under the hood of an automobile was the province of the mechanics who worked in service stations. Those mechanics were generally men of little or no formal education. But they were good with their hands, and they understood machines. A hard-working mechanic could earn a good income; and being a mechanic was good, honest work.

Repair industries for all kinds of motors grew along with the automobile mechanics. During the 1950s as the suburbs were built, machines for the home proliferated. Home appliances were invented and churned out. A city family lived in an apartment or townhome; but a suburban family had a lawn to mow and needed a lawnmower. Small gasoline engines and electric motors in home appliances all needed repair. That meant jobs for the mechanically minded.

Best Selling Car Accessories

One website from where car enthusiasts can buy the best interior accessories like consoles, cargo liners, floor mats and dash covers is Saxo China. A long list of interior car accessories like floor mats/carpets, mirrors, steering wheels, seat covers and floor liners are grouped under wholesale car accessories. Car owners, nowadays pay more attention to the exterior of their car than the interiors of their car. But equal importance should be given to the interiors of the car as it displays your style of living and your sense of liking.

Comfort, safety, handiness, enhancement can be added to the looks and durability of the car by exterior car accessories. When you go for sporting, simple driving, romantic country drive or cruising, you'll want your vehicle to look the finest. This can be done with a wide range of car accessories. According to the make or model, the car accessories could be modifies to fit them.

Car audio systems are a crucial and essential part of an automobile to make it live. A term used mostly in mobile entertainment, it is becoming very popular these days among youngsters. The radio/CD player/stereo are the most common and familiar types of car audio systems which are referred to as the Head unit. A stereo or a CD player is always found in a car. Nowadays, speakers in a sedan are found either at the bottom of the door or in the rear parcel shelves. The most common place for keeping the speaker, before stereo system was introduced, was in the centre of the dashboard positioned towards the front window. Power needed for playing music is provided by the Amplifiers. To deliver appropriate current or voltage to more power consuming amplifiers, a large gauge cable is used. It is also an essential part of a music system. You should take great care connecting a single amplifier with too many speakers when using cheap car equipment. High-power car audio systems consume more electricity. To resolve these problems, alternators can be upgraded to enhance the current capacity of the car. When you want to provide substantial power to the audio system of the car; capacitors are the best option.

Benefits Derivable From Choosing Auto Salvage

The automobile industry is the largest in the world and also generates the most waste. The nature of the waste generated by the industry is such that there is bound to be some sort of environmental disaster if landfills were to be created to get rid of them. Auto salvage helps to avoid such unpleasant issues as it makes it possible to retrieve reusable automotive parts from junk vehicles while non-reusable parts are well disposed with the environment put in focus. This ensures that wastage is kept at the minimum.

Auto salvage gives you a great way to get rid of your end-of-life vehicle (ELV) without any stress and in a cost-effective manner. As a matter of fact, it is better to go for this than allow a junk vehicle to create a nuisance on your property or for the environment.

When thinking of going for this option, it is important to use a reliable car salvage yard that has vast experience when it comes to dealing with junk vehicles. Professional mechanics will examine the state of a junk vehicle once it has been received to see if it can be repaired and sold. Otherwise, the service will then go ahead to salvage some parts that are still useful. But, if the junk car is found to be totally useless, it is shredded for its different metals.

It is important to know at least a little about the auto salvage industry. The rising scrap value has made the auto salvage market very competitive. It is not uncommon to see adverts of scrap car disposal services, which are looking for customers with scrap cars, when flipping through the sections for classifieds in newspapers and magazines. Some of the companies offer to collect scrap vehicles for free while some others are willing to pay for them. Whatever service you decide to for, ensure that you verify its genuineness online and it abides by government regulations with regards to auto salvage yards dealing with ELVs.

Brakes on Used Cars

When purchasing a used car it is important to make sure everything is up to date, safe, and running correctly. One area in particular where cars can see a lot of wear and tear in is the brakes. Having a mechanic professionally examine the brakes before purchasing the automobile would be ideal, but not everyone buying a used car will have that kind of money or an opportunity to do so. That is why it is important to understand the basics of the braking system and to be able to do some on site troubleshooting on your own. First, let's examine how a braking system works.

The foot pedal uses two different kinds of forces, those of leverage and hydraulics. The leverage force is simple; the side of the lever that we push our foot down on is twice as long as the other side, therefore, the force that transfers to the hydraulics system in twice that force we applied, or 2F. That force applies the brake fluid into two cylinders which uses a hydraulic system to convert and multiple the forces to the master cylinder. The master cylinder is designed to deal with the majority of the problems that the braking system may face. This is why a leak is especially dangerous, because if the force isn't properly transferred the whole system can malfunction.

Now that the technical stuff is out of the way, here are some simple steps you can take in examining the brakes of the used car you wish to purchase:

Press down on the pedal
Spongy brakes are a strong indicator that there is air in the brake lines, so see how they feel against your foot. How do they sound? A squeak is a bad noise and a grinding sound is even worse. Both indicate the brake linings are very worn and will need replaced. How far before hitting the ground do the brakes stop? If the car has power brakes it should not require excessive force and the pedal should stop a few inches before hitting the floor.

7 Tips On Saving Fuel

Oil price is soaring and it certainly looks like it will not be staying at a constant price for long. I remembered last year around June, the price per litre of Shell 98 was around $1.70 SGD and just recently when I was refilling fuel. It costs about $2.12 SGD per litre; an increase of almost $0.40 SGD per litre. Not to mention that the price is still rising. There are a few alternatives that we can do.

1. To stop driving - for those who have been driving, you will be saying it's crazy! Cars are just like your legs; they carries you around places. However, what we can do is to try walking, cycling or hopping on a bus for short trips.

2. To change to hybrid car - this is one viable option where you can adopt and yet some were saying that it takes much more fuel to produce a hybrid car.

3. To change the way we drive - this is possibly the immediate option that we can adopt. By changing your driving habits you can improve fuel economy and there are many tips which you can use to start saving dollars and not pennies. Changing your habits and you'll see a substantial savings at the pump - without the need for a new car.

Let us look at ways on how we can change our driving habits as well as tips on how we can save fuel. These tips not only help you to save fuel, but also help you to contribute your bit towards saving our planet.

Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated

Keeping the tires at the right pressure not only increase your safety while driving, it also promotes fuel efficiency. The PSI number at the side of your tires shows the maximum pressure of the tire and is not the proper inflation level for your car. Your vehicle manufacturer will list the recommended tire pressure in your owner's manual or a sticker on the doorjamb of the driver-side door. You will notice that if your tires are underinflated, you will experience the extra drag on your car and this translates to more fuel usage.

Follow the Recommended Maintenance

It is important to follow your car manufacturer's servicing recommendations. A vehicle that is well maintained means it will operate with greater efficiency. This not only improves your overall vehicle performance, but it will improve your fuel economy as well. Proper maintenance also means using the right octane gas and the recommended grade of motor oil. A fuel with a higher and inappropriate octane rating does not translate to more power. Using the recommended types for your vehicle will give you optimum fuel economy - and can translate to more saving for you.

Avoid carrying excess weight

Heavier vehicles require more energy to move, so carrying around excess weight will also affect your mileage. Keeping your boot or back seat clear of unnecessary items can reduce weight to your vehicle and increase fuel efficiency.

Drive smoothly

Aggressive driving can use as much as a third more fuel, so avoid accelerating or braking too hard and keep steering smoothly. The fewer heavy brakings and flooring of the accelerator, the more fuel you save. It is important to plan your trip and to avoid the rush when driving. Always give yourself extra time to get to your destination and drive in a "steady and smooth" manner. This not only gets you safely to your destination, it also helps you to save fuel.

Motor Oil Testing, Tips for Car Engine Care

By carrying our regular motor oil testing you can make a big contribution to extending the life of your car engine and help boost performance. Tests on engine oil for vehicles can be simple, and carried out at home or a more involved oil analysis done using a kit or in a laboratory.

One of the often repeated sayings about good engine care is to carry out a regular oil change, say between 3-5,000 miles, whether you are running a family car or a fleet of vehicles for a company.

Oil can only hold so much dirt, and whether you do a lot of short trips around town or longer distance runs, eventually the accumulated dirt will lead to increased friction. This will eventually result in wear and tear on the moving parts and can be very costly if major repairs are needed.

So setting up a regular motor oil testing programme for your vehicle is a good way to go and will help avoid more serious maintenance problems later down the line, particularly if it results in damage to the car engine. A regular test will allow you to work out the normal pattern for your style of driving in your car.

One way of testing your engine oil is to take small samples and placing a drop of the oil in the centre of a sheet of white blotting paper, and this can give you an indication of when you may need to do an oil change. When you have put new oil in the engine, take a sample and use this as a reference for future samples.

Relatively new, clean oil will most likely show up as a yellow to light orange spot on the blotting paper, while engine oil which is due for a change will be a darker colour, closer to light brown and there will probably be a more defined dark, sooty ring.

Over time you by carrying out these simple motor oil tests you will get a feel for when it's time to do a motor oil change for your vehicle. If you are buying a second hand car you may want to be confident about the state of the engine. Again you can take a drop of oil from the engine and place it onto blotting paper. A lighter grey ring around a darker ring may indicate some water in the engine.

If you are looking for a more sophisticated and sensitive motor oil testing approach then you can go for an analysis which passes light of varying frequencies through an oil sample. The chemical components of the oil sample can be analysed under ultra violet and infra red light, and it will be a better predictor of potential future problems for your car engine.

As an example, this motor oil test will show up dirt in the engine when it reveals traces of aluminium contamination in the sample. Over time this dirt will accumulate and cause damage to moving parts such as piston heads. A timely oil analysis can save you from problems in the future and let you know when to carry out an oil change.