how to
How to maintain, fix and customize your ride, be it a sports car, pickup truck or jalopy.
How to Change Gears in an Automatic Car
If the title of this article made you do a double-take, don't worry. Generally speaking, it's not the driver's responsibility to change gears in an automatic car. The fact that the car can shift gears on its own is the whole reason people choose to drive an automatic transmission instead of a manual transmission or "stick shift" vehicle. So yes, most of the time, you don't have to worry about changing gears in your automatic car. However, there are a select few instances where you'll want to manually shift into lower gears (that's what the mysterious "1" and "2" on your shift lever are for) for safety and efficiency. In addition to these instances, understanding how and why automatic cars change gears when they do allows you to become a more informed and more efficient driver.
By Dr. Ethan Levi8 years ago in Wheel
Smart Ways to Prevent Your Children from Ruining Your New Car
When you become a parent, there are a number of sacrifices you have to make. These sacrifices include having to childproof everything you own, from your house to your car. This can be a great source of headache, especially if you just got a brand new SUV. You're torn between wanting to share it with the family you love and wanting to keep it to yourself so nobody else can ruin it. Thankfully, there are ways to prevent your children from ruining your new car. Taking these steps will help you find the right balance and extend the life of your new family vehicle.
By Joseph D. N. Kendrick8 years ago in Wheel
Can You Wash Your Car When It's Cold Outside?
Proper car maintenance in cold weather is a tricky beast to handle. On one hand, using water to wash your car when it's cold out can be a huge gamble. If the temperature is below freezing, you risk turning your vehicle into a giant ice cube. On the other hand, your car is much more likely to need a good cleaning during the winter months, as road salts and grimy snow can cause rust and other serious damage to your vehicle's exterior. We all know the serious effects of salt on your car, and how to protect your car from salt. Even still, some experts recommend cleaning your car as often as every other week during snowy weather.
By Joseph D. N. Kendrick8 years ago in Wheel
How to Change Your Oil
Keeping track of your oil is one of the simplest, yet most important aspects of car maintenance. The quality of your oil affects everything else about how the engine runs, so you can't slack on replacing it when it needs to be replaced. Paying attention to your oil levels is one of the easiest ways to make your car last longer.
By Joseph D. N. Kendrick8 years ago in Wheel
How to Keep Car Floors Clean
When it comes to big purchases, few are bigger than getting a new, or at least new to you, car. To keep your new car fresh or restore some life to your beater, we've gathered the top tips to getting your car carpets clean, and keeping them that way. The carpet, after all, is a spot in your car that everyone forgets to clean. Keeping car floors clean is a sure way to increase the resell value of a car and keep that new car feeling longer.
By Stephanie Gladwell8 years ago in Wheel
How to Purchase the Best Motor Oil for Your Car
Whether it's to take care of a brand new Lexus or to extend the life of your 1998 Toyota, good car maintenance is simply a fact of life. It's important not to overlook any aspect of car care, and that begins with changing the oil. Motor oil is perhaps the most important component in your vehicle's internal combustion engine, as it lubricates and cools the thousands of moving parts that work together to power your vehicle; though not an unusual way to make your car last longer, it's still important. It's not enough to simply pick up the first oil you see on the shelf and then forget about it: you must regularly check your oil levels, adding or replacing oil as needed, and you must use a good quality oil that meets the requirements of your vehicle.
By Joseph D. N. Kendrick8 years ago in Wheel
What You Can Use to Clean the Inside of Your Car
Your car is the modern-day version of your stallion. It's your buddy that helps you travel from place to place. That's why car care is something that you should take pride in, especially if you own a fancy car. It makes your car last longer, you know.
By Skunk Uzeki8 years ago in Wheel
Changing a Tire: For Dummies
Changing a tire is an important skill to have. If one is ever in an accident where a person’s tire is blown, this skill could help get them out of a predicament. Whether you find yourself in a rush with a flat tire, or in a deserted area far from a professional, you need to be prepared to deal with a flat tire on your own. The end result of knowing how to change a tire is getting to own the feeling that you can do what over sixty percent of Americans can not do, and a new tire. In order to understand how changing a tire works, we can divide it into the following steps: jacking up the car, taking the old tire out, and placing the new tire in.
By Kayla Myers8 years ago in Wheel
How To Get Out of a Speeding Ticket
Getting pulled over by a cop can be an anxiety-ridden process. And speeding tickets, one of the most common driving mistakes that will get you pulled over, can be costly, but also avoided. The hardest part sometimes is staying calm and keeping your composure as the police lights reflect off your mirrors. But if you follow some of these important suggestions, you will be able to get out of a speeding ticket.
By Madeline Zenk8 years ago in Wheel
How To Erase All Your Personal Data from Your Rental Car
Everyone who has ever gone on a major long-distance trip has, at one point, rented a car or considered renting one. Car rentals are a necessity in many situations, but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily safe. There are lots of things you should know before buying or leasing a car, but what about when renting one?
By Skunk Uzeki8 years ago in Wheel
Smart Ways to Reduce Your Car Insurance Premium
The United States is a place that has plenty of beautiful open roads to enjoy—but in most states, you have to have car insurance in order to drive. This is a good thing. In the event of an accident, your vehicle insurance is what will make sure that medical bills get paid, that cars get fixed, and more.
By Buddy Brown8 years ago in Wheel
