CATEGORY / Blog

25Jun

2019

carstuff / Blog, Tires, Towing, Travel, Uncategorized / 0 comment

6 Tips To Extend Our Car’s Gas Mileage

As the prices of gas remain high, knowing how to extend the gas mileage of your car is crucial. Through stretching your gas tank further, you may reduce the times you should fill up every month, which may help you stick to your set budget. It’s important for people who bought non-efficient cars when the prices of gas were cheaper. However, no matter what type of car you’re driving, you may always use extra money every month and cut back your gas expenses, which is a good way to save more money.

To increase your gas mileage, keep these following tips in mind:

Inflate Your Car’s Tires Properly

Under-inflated tires may result to using more gas as your car moves. See to it that your tires are inflated to the indicated pressure in the user’s manual for best balance between traction and gas mileage. This would translate to significant savings as under-inflated tire may cost you 5 MPG or more.

Get Rid of the Excess Weight

You would be surprised on how much all the junk in the trunk of your car may weigh. If your car features a front-wheel drive, putting more weight on rear axle may mean that the front wheels are not getting as great grip as they must be. This reduces your car’s gas mileage. In addition to that, extra weight means that the engine should work a bit harder to move your car, which can also reduce gas mileage. If you are carrying lots of weight, lightening loads will help you get 1 or 2 miles more per gallon.

Replace Spark Plugs and Air Filter

Replacing spark plugs and air filter during a car checkup will not just help the car last longer, but also it may help the car’s engine burn gas in a more efficient manner. For many cars, it costs less than fifty dollars if you are comfortable with the DIY approach for car maintenance.

Use Only the Recommended Motor Oil

Never think that using old kind of motor oil would work for your car. The reason behind it is that its engine is made to work best with a particular type of motor oil. If you are using a heavier weight oil, it might cause too much friction, which may result to engine working hard and burning more fuel. So, check the user’s manual of your car and know what specific oil to use.

Check the Gas Cap Seal

Rubber seal on gas cap would break down in the long run, which will enable oxygen to leak in the gas tank. Due to this, it will cause too much air in your engine and would pull gas from the tank, which will burn more gas.

Drive Below or at the Required Speed Limit

If you want to improve your car’s gas mileage, make sure to pay attention to your speed limit. Driving slow saves you money and also may help prevent accidents on the road.

The Bottom Line

You do not need to go out and buy a new fuel-efficient or fuel-saving car to save on gas. There are lots of things you may do boost your gas mileage and using those tips above will surely help you enjoy savings, particularly if you drive several cars draining the monthly budget of your family. Remember to take your car for regular tune-ups and checkups as this will help you save a good deal of money. A car that does not run at optimum level may cost you a lot in the end.

This is a guest post from the repair pros at Tow Truck Palo Alto, CA.

31Jan

2019

carstuff / Blog, Tires, Towing, Travel / 0 comment

5 Tips to get the most out of your vehicle’s tires

We all know that a good set of tires can be very valuable. You want to ensure that your car tires stay damage free so that you can get the most out of them for as long as possible while feeling safe driving. The following are five tips to keep your car tires safe and prevent the need for help from a local towing service:

Don’t Drive Over Potholes

This might seem like common sense. However, during travel, at times we may be just concerned with getting from point A to B. You might be tempted to take that side road, but don’t do it. Driving on potholes is the easiest way to puncture a tire. If you find yourself on a road with potholes, put your hazards on. Then reduce your speed to 10 to 20 miles per hour. The slower you can go the better. That will help you avoid dangerous craters in the road.

Beware of Construction Debris

Unfortunately, construction debris is everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving in a city or a back country road. It can be in the form of broken glass, mirrors, screws, or virtually any sharp object. Be sure not to drive — or drive very carefully — in any area that looks like it has debris.

Always have a Proper Spare

Having a “donut” tire in the car can be okay in a pinch. However, you are not supposed to drive more than 50-100 miles with it on. Wouldn’t it be better to just replace your tire with a regular spare. Then you can continue on driving. Make sure, however, that you tighten the lug nuts after 25 miles of travel. If you can’t make the change to a spare on your own call roadside assistance near you for help.

Go For the New All Weather Tires

Having the new all weather tires can prevent you from having to change from spring to winter tires. This really is not something that people usually make the time for anyways. They usually end up driving their all seasons in winter and getting into an accident. Or they wear the treads of their winter tires during summer heat.

Make Sure to Get your Alignment Checked

A car can be off balance too. If it is, then you are wearing certain tires faster than others. Make sure that you avoid this catastrophe and get your alignment properly balanced.

Guest post by Aurora, CO Towing Pros

10Dec

2018

carstuff / Blog, Towing / 0 comment

What to do when your car battery dies

car battery

If you have tried to turn your car and the battery was dead you know how frustrating it can be. There are some things that you can do to jump-start the dead battery and get your car running again.

Make a Call

If the battery is dead, call a friend with jumper cables. If no one is around called road assistance. They can come and jump-start your car. You should also keep a portable car jump start in your trunk and make sure it is charged. If no one is around you will be able to start the battery on your own.

Cold Water

In the colder months, the temperature can kill the battery. Before the winter temperatures come to have your car battery tested. An older battery has less power and may not start when the temperatures get too low. It may be wise replacing the battery before the low temperatures hit. When the weather is cold try to bundle the trips to the store. Short tips can have a negative impact on the battery.

Keeping the Battery Alive

There are some things that can be done to keep the car battery alive and allow the car to have more power. If the car is not running, shut the radio off. This is doing nothing but draining the power for the battery. Make sure every time you leave the car the headlights and interior lights are off. Leaving them on can kill the battery in no time.

Final Thoughts

In order to avoid getting stuck, the car battery should be checked frequently. If the battery is showing signs of corrosion, be sure to have it checked by a professional. Keep a set of jumper cables in the car. If the battery dies while you are out, at least you can get a jump start home or to the mechanic to have your battery tested or replaced.

27Nov

2018

carstuff / Blog / 0 comment

Restoring an Antique Truck

Many people buy an old beat up antique truck to restore back to the original shape and color. These people love to do the work as it is almost like raising a child. To see the outcome not to mention the cost it is all worth the time and energy. People that restore antique trucks are in a league all their own.

There are certain antique trucks people want, such as Chevy’s, Ford’s and even GMC’s. Some are already restored; some are not and will take a lot of work. If buying one that is already restored, be sure to check that all of the original parts are there. You want an original, not a mock-up. Make sure it runs, take it out for a test drive, if the owner does not want to do that, then it is best to move on to another truck. Usually, there is something wrong with the engine, then again, some will buy it ‘as is’ and go on and work on it.

There are many different places one can find old trucks; try the local antique truck show; although many are just for show, you might find some that are for sale. Check your newspaper in the classified section; sometimes someone will put their truck in there to sell it. Or even go to an auction although rare you might find an antique truck there.

If you have never restored an antique truck do not be shocked at how much it will cost you. Not to mention the purchase of the truck itself, it will be expensive to find the original parts. Sometimes it will take months to find them and then you pay an arm and a leg for them. But many will buy one item at a time and then another when budget allows. This is why it might take years to restore your truck.

When you finally find the antique truck you want, try and see if there is an original title, some do not have them anymore because of how old they are, but some still do. Check around to see how hard it might be to find the original parts, some just cannot be found anymore. The older the truck the harder it will be to find parts. Most of them are out there, it just might take awhile to find them. One must really have the love and patience to restore an antique truck, as it is a ‘labor of love.’