CAR CRAZY

I was prompted to discuss this subject after a fellow Gidblogger raised a question on the benefits of a tyre cleaner/protectant. In order to know how it helps, lets find out how the tyres are made first. Ever wondered why the tyres that we use only come in black? Well, here’s why. There are two main degrading agents that attack our tyres and rubber trim. The two degrading agents are UV light waves and ozone.

Both of these two degrading agents attack the long hydrocarbon chains that make up the rubber, and by breaking these bonds it will somewhat shorten the molecules which would result in the loss of elasticity and other possible problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Feeding your car wheels is easy, just give them a fresh new tyre every 10,000 to 30,000 miles. The wheel will consume the tyre tread over a period of time dependent upon it’s hunger level. If you drive the car rather enthusiastically, the wheel will get very hungry and eat the tread very quickly, If your driving habits are more conservative, then your wheels will have less of an appetite and only pick at the tyre.

One of the questions most often asked is “What do I use to clean my wheels?” The correct answer is use the least aggresive cleaning method possible. If you keep up with the accumulation of brake dust, a simple car wash solution may be enough. If you allow the brake dust to build up, then you will have to resort to stronger cleaning agents. Read the rest of this entry »

How many of you out there have had an experience of their vehicles being stolen? A large number I guess, and trust me, you do not want this happening to you. During my history of working in the sales of motor vehicles, I’ve encountered many cases amongst my customer’s, who had their vehicles stolen.

This scenario can swing two ways; One, maybe I will get a repeat order from that client, Two, the client (who is very depressed) would still have to continue contributing to his loan for the next six months before he gets his claim from the Insurer’s and this is always the saddest part. Imagine you not having a car, but you still have to pay for that car loan.

Anyway, this is a worldwide crime that affects car owners and it is also one of the reasons why insurance rates go up. From my observations, you’re probably better off trying this : Read the rest of this entry »

Walking into a tyre shop often is to say the least confusing for those of us who don’t buy them that often. For most, as long as there are four tyres on the car, we’re satisfied.

When taking a stronger interest in the type of tyres you mount on a car, we find there’s more to tyre buying than just bringing the car in to the shop and having four new ones put up. A tyre is an important functional part of any vehicle, besides the engine. Read the rest of this entry »

Like so many other places in the world, I have encountered that the city centre has the tendency to breed a whole generation of potholes. Many stories have been heard about cars loosing control in many of those potholes, ending up in the workshop. We swerve around them and pray that nothing is broken after hitting one of them.Let’s say, even though you didn’t break anything, there could still be some amount of damage to the vehicle. Hitting potholes, rubbing curbs or bumping concrete parking stops, eventually you’ll find that things are no longer straight anymore. You notice your car pulls to one side or the other, or it seems at times to be fighting with you when you want to turn or try to maintain a straight course. I’m sure most of us have experienced this, one time or the other.

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People usually spend thousands of dollars buying accessories to beautify and upkeep their vehicles. Some of these “accessories” can have their good points and some may have bad points. With a little care and understanding, a lot can be achieved, even with the smallest stuff. Let’s take the Car Cover for example. It can protect your car if used and handled in the right way.

Car Covers can protect your car in the great outdoors from the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation, acid rain, bird droppings, wind borne particles, sun fading, the claws of animals and even the prying eyes of the thieves. Inside your garage, a quality cover provides a barrier against airborne dirt and foot borne varmints. Read the rest of this entry »