Six gear cars

Archive for February 13th, 2010

5 Benefits Of Wheel Alignments: Why To Get Your Wheels Aligned Regularly

Regular wheel alignments are an important part of conscientious car maintenance. Unfortunately many car owners fail to understand the importance of good wheel alignment and therefore don’t have their alignment checked often enough.

Here are five reasons why getting regular wheel alignments is good for your car your bank account and your peace of mind.

1: Better gas mileage. When your wheels are aligned properly it cuts down on rolling resistance which means that you car doesn’t have to work as hard or burn as much fuel in order to move forward. This is good news for everyone: Not only do you spend less money on gas but you also get the satisfaction of knowing your car is responsible for less pollution.

2: More mileage out of your tires. Even the slightest problem with your alignment can have disastrous effects on your tires. If your tires have too much or too little toein the degree at which they point in toward each other at the front like a person who stands pigeontoed a narrow strip on each tire will wear down very quickly causing you to have to get new tires sooner. By getting regular wheel alignments you ensure that your tires wear evenly making them last as long as possible.

3: Tire warranties still apply. The problem with your tires wearing from poor wheel alignment is that it usually voids your warranty on the tires. Most warranties only apply to the quality of the goods. In other words if the tires wear out too soon because of something other than poor quality then the manufacturer is not responsible. Failing to get wheel alignments often enough is considered to be negligence on the part of the car’s owner and usually means that the warranty is voided.

4: Less wear and tear on other parts. Having the wheels out of alignment can be stressful on the rest of the car too. It means that you continually need to put pressure on the steering system in order to keep the car straight and when you brake you often feel the car pull even more sharply indicating that the brakes are needing to work harder on one side than the other.

5: Easier to drive. One of the biggest advantages of having your wheels aligned properly is that your car is easier to drive. No annoying pull to one side or the other. It’s much easier and more pleasant to drive a car that has had regular wheel alignments.

As you can see there are many reasons why a car owner should be sure to get regular wheel alignments. Not only does having your wheels aligned properly save you money on gas tires and other potential repairs but it also gives you better peace of mind to know that your car is being cared for properly.

About the writer:  Andy West is a freelance writer for DAE which offers wheel alignments and domestic automotive maintenance in the Houston area.

Understanding Body Kits And Other Car Aftermarket Products

As you plan to spend on your car after you have bought it you will have a wide variety of products to choose from. If you are a car enthusiast you should enjoy this process of understanding evaluating and choosing a product.

The process starts with understanding a product. For some products such as car body kits this is not such a difficult step. However for several other products this will take some effort. Also there is the issue of how deeply you will understand a product. You can get either some superficial knowledge or indepth detailed knowledge. You may not have the time to understand all of them fully but you should take time to understand them as much as you can.

Car aftermarket products can be categorized as below:

1. Products that enhance the looks of the car
2. Products that enhance the performance of the car
3. Products that do both

Is it that simple? Well not quite. Because several products do both but are really used for only one of the two reasons.

Body kits are primarily used for improving the looks of the car. In general products that improve the looks impact the color scheme of the car and the styling of the car. They may also include adornments.

Products like engine pulleys only enhance the performance and are not visible and so have no visual impact. In general products that improve the car performance improve the aerodynamic performance the engine performance the performance of other car parts such as lights or the control and handling of the car.

Amongst products that improve both performance and looks are products such as projector headlights that look great and also flood the road with light at night. Another such product is a camber kit. Though the kit by itself is not very visible if you change the camber of your car by a significant amount it will be clear you have got a camber kit installed.

Another example is a cold air intake that is used mostly because it improves engine performance but since the air intake has a visual component it also enhances the visual appeal of the car.

You can find a wide range of car aftermarket products at www.ilovebodykits.com

About the writer:  Louie Liu has been in the car aftermarket products industry for 5years. He has specialized in body kits headlights cold air intakes and other aftermarket products. He has deep knowledge of a wide range of products including knowledge of benefits of body kits and other products product options and how to choose a car aftermarket product. You can learn about a wide range of body kits and other car aftermarket products at his site www.ilovebodykits.com.