DO's, DON'T's & SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
DO:
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WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT! Make every occupant wear their seat belt. In a crash, everything in your vehicle becomes a projectile and that includes human bodies. Don't let a projectile hit and kill someone in a survivable crash. If seat belts don't save lives, then why do race car drivers all wear seat belts?
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LOOK AT YOUR TIRES every single time you walk to your car, whether at home or in a parking lot. Blowouts are the number one cause of rollovers and underinflated tires can lead to blowouts, especially at high speeds on hot roads. Never drive on underinflated tires! If you need air, come see us. We'll air them up for FREE.
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Carry a gallon of drinking water in your vehicle. If you break down, either you or the vehicle may need it! Although distilled water should be used in your radiator, drinking water will not hurt it during an emergency.
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Carry a few basic tools in your vehicle, i.e. pliers, 2 adjustable wrenches, straight and phillips screwdriver, flash light, etc.
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Always let your engine idle for at least 30 seconds when it's cold or 5 seconds when it's warm, before driving......longer if you're using a petroleum oil and/or in a cold climate.
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Check your engine & transmission oils and coolant level on a regular basis (1st of each month, every Sunday, etc.). Whatever interval you can remember. If your vehicle burns or leaks any fluids, check it even more frequently.
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Keep your spare tire properly inflated, ensure you have all the emergency tire changing tools in your vehicle and learn how to change a flat tire.
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Change your transmission fluid/filter. Your first automatic transmission fluid and filter change should be around 70,000 miles and about every 70,000 miles thereafter. This will significantly extend the life of your transmission, possibly making it last 200,000 miles or more.
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Be a courteous driver! I don't know where that was lost, but let's bring it back.
DON'T:
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Leave children or animals in a parked vehicle whether running or not, for any amount of time!
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Give up your right of way. Other people expect you to exercise your right of way and when you do something they don't expect, an accident is more likely to happen.
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Rev up your engine when it first starts, warm or cold. Some people think it's good to do this because the oil gets to the engine's components quicker. WRONG! While it does get there just a little quicker, it's NOT good! You are running the engine at more revolutions without oil and under a heavier load, creating MORE engine damage. You'll never see any respectable, professional race team deliberately rev up the engine when it first starts, whether it's drag racing, stock car, sprint car, Indy car, monster trucks, etc.
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Turn your steering wheel if the tires aren't rolling. Sometimes you can't avoid this, but if you can avoid it, it will extend the life of your expensive steering and suspension components.
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Be so hard on your brakes. Let off the gas early and brake more gradually by pumping the brake pedal (light pressure then release, then light pressure then release). This significantly reduces the heat that rapidly builds on your brake parts and reduces the wear and warpage
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Use the clutch for braking (except in emergency)! Clutches are to make it move, not stop. Brake's are much cheaper and easier to replace!
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Keep switching oil brands based on whatever's the cheapest at the time. Different brands use different additives and these additives can clash and create sludge (a thick, pudding like substance), which will eventually lead to engine damage. Of course this doesn't mean you can't change brands, it just means don't keep going back and forth.
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Go on any road trip without first making sure your car is road trip ready
Myth's & Truth's:
SYNTHETIC OIL DAMAGES SEALS: FALSE! Synthetic molecules are smaller and more uniform than their petroleum counterparts. This is one reason synthetic oil is a better lubricant, because it gets into smaller places, thereby providing more lubrication. High mileage seals are going to be worn and though they may still seal in petroleum oil, it is possible that the smaller synthetic molecules will seep through. This isn't all that common in high mileage engines that have been well maintained.
SYNTHETIC OIL ISN'T WORTH THE MONEY: FALSE! Please refer to the "Amsoil" tab on this webpage
YOU CAN'T SWITCH A HIGH MILEAGE ENGINE TO SYNTHETIC. FALSE! Try it, what have you got to lose? It will provide the same benefits to an old engine that it provides a new engine, however, if the engine already burns or leaks oil, it will burn and leak the synthetic even worse.