How Temperature Extremes Affect Your Car Battery

There’s one thing that every car hates – weather extremes. Hot and cold weather affect different parts of cars in different ways. Batteries don’t normally freeze, but they’ll have trouble starting in extremely cold weather. On the other hand, they do work better in warmer climates, but it will have a hard time recharging during extremely hot weather. Batteries work the best when the temperature is moderate.

This article from eHow.com explains exactly how extreme temperatures affect your car battery. Now you’ll know what to expect during this summer’s scorchers!

Temperature Extremes

·         Batteries exposed to temperature extremes can begin to act up in ways outside of normal operations. Most people don’t realize this when purchasing a battery and don’t purchase the right one for their region’s weather conditions. Batteries continually exposed to extreme temperatures on either side of the spectrum may expand, contract, crack, bubble over or damage the inside of your vehicle. In extreme cases, they may even explode.

Affect On Battery Chemicals

·         A battery is a device that uses chemicals to create electricity. Batteries contain reactive plates immersed in sulfuric acid that gather an electric charge with one side being negative and the other positive. Battery draw causes the electrons inside a battery to flow to the positive side, and the electrochemical reaction inside helps to replenish the electronics. Temperature changes affect the electron’s movement inside the battery. Warmth excites the electrons, while cold suppresses or inhibits their actions.

Charge Release

·         The temperature also affects how the battery retains its charge or releases it. Because the cold inhibits the flow of electrons, less charge is released in colder temperatures, while more charge is released in warmer temperatures. Garaging your vehicle in colder climes allows the battery to stay warmer and start quicker.

Choose the Right Battery

·         You can find batteries rated for use in extreme temperatures, especially cold ones where it is important that the battery deliver the cranking amps needed to start the vehicle. Most batteries have a “Cold Cranking Amperage” rating on the battery or CCA that indicates the amperage the battery delivers at zero degrees Fahrenheit while cranking for 30 seconds. Choose the battery suited to your climate to ensure optimum operation when you need it.

Click the link to read the entire article from eHow.com: http://bit.ly/14cCYaP

How to Keep Your Kids from Driving You Crazy During Road Trips

Road trips are long. Kid’s in the back of the car asking, “Are we there yet?” every five minutes can make them even longer. If you can keep your kids occupied and happy you’ll be able to stay sane for the ride, as well as remain less distracted. Howstuffworks.com came up with a list of the top 10 things you can do to keep your kids happy on the road. In this blog we discuss some of the highlights:

·         Set Expectations – It’s almost so easy that you wouldn’t even think of it. Make sure before you leave for your trip your kids already know how you want and expect them to behave. Make sure they are prepared for a long ride, and give them incentive to be good, for example: allow the kids to bring their two favorite toys with them as long as they promise to behave during the ride.

·         Bring along plenty of toys – Some kids like dolls, some like sports balls, some even like books. Whatever it is they like, let them bring it. If it is something that can be played with inside the car it will give them something to occupy their time with. If it’s something involving an outdoor activity, like a Frisbee or a soccer ball, set aside 15 minutes during rest stops to let them play with it. It’ll even give you a chance to play with them and ease some of the travelling tension.

·         Reward good behavior – If things aren’t going well give kids an incentive to clean up their act. Good behavior means they get to choose where you eat that night, or else it warrant a stop at the next ice cream stand you go by. You can also use this tip in reverse. For example if your child won’t stop complaining tell them they won’t get to swim at the hotel pool that night.

·         Let the kids have a say – If you allow the kids to make decisions for certain parts of the trip it’ll keep them happier and give them less things to whine about! Let them choose the road music for an hour or two or allow them to pick a few road games to play while you drive.

·         Don’t skip the pit stops – This one is important. Too much time in the car will make anyone unhappy, kids and adults alike. Make sure to stop every two or three hours to go to the bathroom and stretch a little bit.

Click the link to read all ten tips: http://bit.ly/X1DJik

Engine Oil Myths

In order to operate smoothly, it’s essential that your engine is properly oiled.  The oil keeps the moving parts lubricated and protected from corrosion, sludge, and gunk free.  However there are many myths about engine oil and in this article, “5 Engine Oil Myths”. Here are some highlights:

·         The “W” in 10W-30 oils stands for “weight” -- the most important thing to know about oil  is viscosity  Oil is measured in single grade or multi-grade, and the oil is timed in seconds.  Example: SAE 30 means the oil takes approximately 30 seconds to flow through the tubes.

·         When engine oil turns dark, it’s dirty and should be changed – dark oil is dirty oil, which is false! Most modern oil disperses tiny particles called detergent additives. That’s why the oil appears darker. This in no way impedes the oil from performing its normal functions of lubricating and protecting the engine.

·         You should change your oil every 3,000 miles – modern detergents oils viscosities are better auto engineered to allow cars to travel 7,500 miles between oil changes.  Consumer Report has debunked this myth and driving 7,500 miles between oil changes shouldn’t harm your vehicle in any way.

 

You can read all 5 of the most popular engine oil myths at: http://bit.ly/Zgk046

Backseat Drivers

What’s worse than annoying driver? Someone telling you how to drive in your own car…aka, a backseat driver. This blog breaks down what the biggest annoyances are that backseat drivers cause.

On the road, other drivers have plenty of bad habits that irritate and distract us, but what about those coming from inside the car? The most annoying is "advice" from other passengers, and according to an Insurance.com study, spouses make the worst backseat drivers. 

The agency polled 500 drivers, and 34% of women said their husbands are the worst backseat drivers, followed by their mothers at 18% and friends at 15%. Men responded similarly: 40% said their wives are the worst passengers, with 17% listing friends and 15% mothers.

Both men and women ranked children fairly low on the list, especially teens. Only 7% of respondents listed adult daughters and 4% sons. Even lower, only 3% cited teen daughters and sons.

According to Insurance.com's study, the biggest annoyances include:

•    Comments on driving speed: 47%

•    Gives directions: 29%

•    Talks too much: 19%

•    Pushes imaginary "brake" with foot: 15%

•    Fiddles with radio or CD player: 10%

•    Talks on phone or texts: 7%

•    Sings: 6%

•    Eats: 3%

 

Family therapist Jane Greer recommends that passengers think before they speak. "Rather than commenting on how fast or how badly someone is driving, speak to the impact it is having on you. So instead of saying, 'You're going too fast,' say, 'I'm feeling scared and unsafe, this is making me uncomfortable, please slow down,' " she said in a statement. If that doesn't work, you can always try the ejector button.

Article courtesy of: http://bit.ly/14pp1Um

The Car of the Future

What does the car of the future look like? We have all wondered it at some point. Will it drive by itself, or communicate with other cars to avoid accidents? The infographic below from InsuranceQuotes.com paints a picture of what the car of tomorrow may possibly look like. Take a look and see how it compares to today’s cars.

Click the link to read the original article from Mashable: http://on.mash.to/107IRat

How to Keep Your Car from Overheating

Use these easy maintenance tips this summer to avoid breaking down from your car overheating.

This summer is one of the hottest in recent memory, and is already creating a flurry of awful news stories about people leaving their dogs and even their children in hot cars to overheat, and even die.

While we hope readers are using common sense about dogs and children, we know that car care in extreme heat is not always obvious, even when you consult that phone book in your glove box known as the owner's manual.

So here are some basic things you should know about caring for your car and avoiding unnecessary catastrophes or repairs.

1. If you battery is three years old, consider replacing it as a matter of preventive maintenance. Batteries get stressed in extreme temperatures, and the older they get, the more stressed they get.

2. Have your cooling service checked by a mechanic or the dealer if it has not been looked at in two years. This system is critical to keeping the engine cool and the air conditioning system working right. Let it break for lack of simple maintenance, and it is not cheap to fix or replace.

3. If you are driving, and especially if you are stuck in traffic, and the temperature light goes on and you are in the danger zone, turn off the air conditioner immediately and open the windows. If the light stays on, turn the temperature selector on the system to the hottest setting. This will redirect some of the heat that is trapped in the cooling system. If the light stays on, pull over and call road-side assistance. Stop driving. If the light goes off, you should be okay to drive the car to a mechanic.

4. Make sure you have fresh coolant in your radiator to start the summer, not just water. Have the radiator checked specifically for corrosion.

5. Look at your tires. If you have worn or cracked tires, you are asking for big trouble in very hot weather. Not only could you blow the tires, but a blow-out at high speeds could cause you to crash, rollover and possibly hit another vehicle.

6. If you drive long stretches of road on a summer road trip or business trip, keep a gallon jug of water somewhere in the car. It could come in handy if you have a radiator leak, or you get stuck waiting for help.

Article courtesy of http://aol.it/YZGLnz.

How Long Do Tires Last?

Tires are important. They are your car’s connection to the road, and it’s important that tires stay in good shape to keep your car running smoothly. But how long do tires really last? This article from Cars.com will tell you how:

We would expect at least 50,000 miles from the tires that come with any new vehicle, but tire life depends on so many factors that it's impossible to give anything other than broad guidelines.

Among the factors are the quality of the tire, the treadwear rating, whether it is a performance summer tire or an all-season tire, the type of vehicle it is mounted on and how it is driven. Performance tires may grip like leeches on dry pavement, but they tend to wear out faster than tires with less rolling resistance. If you drive your vehicle like you just stole it that also will wear tires faster. The Tires 101 information in the Cars.com Advice section, found here, will help you sort out the different types of tires and which is best for your driving style.

Driving for extended periods on underinflated tires shortens their lifespan, as will driving a vehicle whose wheels are out of alignment. If you never or seldom have your tires rotated, that also can accelerate wear, especially the tires mounted in front on a front-wheel-drive vehicle. They not only carry most of the vehicle's weight but also carry most of the load in braking, cornering and jackrabbit starts.

Though we would expect at least 50,000 miles from original-equipment (and quality replacement) tires, the reality can be quite different. Owners of late-model Honda CR-Vs have complained to us, for example, that they had to replace all four tires around 20,000 miles. We also hear complaints from people who bought replacement tires that were supposed to last 50,000 miles or more but were good for only 30,000 miles. In other words, there are no promises.

Here are some additional guidelines: You don't have to spend lavishly on tires, but don't automatically buy the cheapest ones either. Tires are the only part of your vehicle that are supposed to touch the ground, so make sure they're up to the task. Choose tires that have high treadwear and traction ratings, and bear in mind that performance tires with higher speed ratings may not last long. A balanced combination of wet traction, ride comfort, low noise levels and a high treadwear rating will probably be your best bet.

Article courtesy of: http://bit.ly/13x3aNS