7 Ways to Ensure Optimum Performance of Your Car (in Australia, Gold Coast

Introduction

Ow ya goin’, mate! Greetings from the Gold Coast! We here at 4tune Automotive thought it would be neighborly to share a bit of automotive information with you. 

We want to help you have as pleasurable driving experience as possible. That being so, we want to offer up a few tips to help you take care of your car. 

Keep Up With Its Maintenance

A car is a machine, albeit an increasingly complex one. We often hop in for a drive or an errand without giving it a second thought. We rely on it to get us from point A to point B and be quick about it.

Many of us never stop to think that our machine just may need some standard machine maintenance if we are to count them reliable. Following is a list of seven things you should be doing regularly to ensure optimum performance out of your car.

Car Care Tips:

Check Tires

This tip is for drivers who do not have an on board tire pressure gauge. The air in your car tires changes with changing weather conditions. That is to say they change with air temperatures.

If the air temperature increases by say 10 degrees, the air pressure in your tires also increases roughly 1 pound per square inch (psi). If the temperature drops 20 degrees, the tire air pressure drops 2 psi,

If these changes go unchecked, the tires can become dangerously under inflated. Under inflated tires can cause handling problems, particularly with sharp maneuvering.

Tires that are run low on air will wear more quickly. If there is a suspension issue, they will also wear unevenly. Uneven tread wear is visually easily detectable.

So, if you see your tires sitting lower than they are supposed to, air up. Have them checked by a professional if you do not have a tire gauge.

Simply adding air without measuring it is not a good idea either. Over-filled tires create dangers equal to under inflated tires.

Check Your Battery

Cars with serviceable batteries need them checked regularly. Lead acid batteries constantly recharge themselves. When they do, they create gasses.

This process consumes water. As the water drops, the recharge cycle suffers. Less and less starting power is created. This gradually weakens and drains the battery of needed water.

When water is added to a battery that is low in water, the water restores the battery’s recharge cycle. Failure to add water to these serviceable batteries eventually kills them. Do not ignore the‘Battery’ warning in your car

Check Engine Oil

Car professionals everywhere will tell you that a car engine’s lifeblood is the motor oil. Oil is the coating that protects car engines internally. Running engines generate tremendous heat. This heat is created when internal engine parts come into contact during the internal combustion process.

As cars age, engines tend to develop external engine oil leaks. They also start to have internal engine oil leaks. This causes the engine to burn oil.

The engine is losing oil both ways. This loss causes engine oil levels to drop. When oil level drops, so does the level of protection it normally offers.

Running an engine that is low on oil damages it. Continually running an engine with low oil leads to engine failure. The motor heads call this a blown engine.

When you check your oil, check it for two things. First, make sure the engine oil is at the full mark on the dipstick.

Next, check its clarity. Clarity means clean. As clarity diminishes, so does the usefulness and viscosity of the oil.

Viscosity is a fancy college word that means thickness, or as the manuals say, ‘resistance to flow’. Oil thickness reflects its protection strength.

As the engine is run repeatedly between oil changes, viscosity breaks down due to heat. Be sure to get it changed at the recommended intervals.

The minute you see any irregularities in the oil on the dipstick get it to a car care professional whether it is time for a scheduled change or not

Check Coolant

Engine coolant, as its name implies, cools the engine by removing engine heat as it circulates through the car radiator. Without sufficient coolant, engines will overheat. Continual overheating causes internal engine damage.

Check your engine coolant when the engine is completely cold, NEVER when the engine is hot. This is a fairly simple check. Locate the engine coolant reservoir on the sidewall of the engine bay. Slowly remove the cap and visually make sure coolant is at the level indicated on the reservoir. If it is low, add some.

Check Other Vital Fluids

Transmission fluid checks are a little more complicated but easily doable. Start the engine and let it idle in park as you check the fluid level with the dipstick.

Like your oil, the transmission also has a dipstick. It is located back near the firewall or near the windshield. Check it exactly as you do the oil.

Pull out the dipstick; wipe it clean; re-insert it making sure you push it all the way in. Withdraw the dipstick and check the level.

The fluid should be between minimum and maximum marks on the stick. If it is low, use a flex funnel and add some.

Brake fluid checks are similar to the coolant check in that you check the reservoir full mark. If it is low, use a screwdriver and pry off the sleeve that holds the reservoir in place and add some.

Dot3 or Dot 4 is the brake fluid you need based on your vehicle. NOTE: These fluids must be specific to your vehicle year, make and model.

Check Belts and Hoses

Use a strong flashlight to check your belts and hoses. Look for cracks or fraying on the belts. Examine the hoses as closely as possible for signs of leaks. Squeeze the hoses to test flexibility and strength.

Keep the Engine Tuned

Engine tune-ups maintain engine performance, and are beyond most car owners’ mechanical knowledge and skill set. Different engines use different tune-up parts.

Check your Owner’s Manual under Engine Maintenance to see what tune-up parts your car needs. Most will need spark plugs, air filter and a fuel filter at the very least.

Visit your friends who specialize in car engine tune-ups https://4tuneautomotive.com.au/.