RideLust

The two most important parts of a car are generally the most neglected. First and foremost are the tires. Seriously, most people could give a shit what kind of rubber they put on their rides even though they fail to realize that tires are what keeps them on the straight and narrow. The second thing is their oil. Now granted the old adage of changing your oil every 3,000 miles doesn’t really apply on today’s cars as they’re usually good for around 5k per change. However I know some people who haven’t changed their oil in 15,000-20,000 miles!! People that’s like the equivalent of eating a stick of butter and a pound bacon everyday and thinking that your heart is not going to eventually explode. Oil is the lifeblood of any car and to ensure your rides longevity it must be tended too regularly. I know the most I’ve gone is about 8,000 miles, but what about you guys… what are your thoughts. Are you still in the 3,000 mile club or do you simply not give a shit and change it once every 2 years…

Hat tip: VWVortex.com

The Ferrari 458 Italia. Image: IFCAR

Free scheduled maintenance has helped manufacturers like BMW and Volkswagen sell cars for years. In most cases, the “free service” offer is more hype than substance, since manufacturers drag out service intervals to 10,000 mile, requiring the motor savvy (or paranoid) among us to buck up for every other oil change. Worse, there’s all sorts of absurd restriction on most plans, so that manufacturers don’t have to pay for wear items like brake pads or rotors. Still, the idea of free anything is enough to make most buyers feel warm and fuzzy, and now buying a Ferrari can give you the same warm and fuzzy feeling of satisfaction. Read More…

Are you the type who takes your car to the dealership for routine care and maintenance?  Do you prefer to do everything yourself, from oil changes to brake jobs?  Maybe you fall somewhere in the middle and use an independent local mechanic or a franchise like those specializing in tires or transmissions?  Whatever your choice, you likely have a very strong opinion why it’s best.

When I was newly licensed, I asked my dad to teach me a few things every good gearhead should know.  I learned the ins and outs of oil changes (complete with hot liquid down my arm), the proper way to jump a battery, how to change a tire using those frustratingly inadequate little scissor jacks, and how to swap out spark plugs among other things.  I will be the first to tell you I still have a lot to learn but I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes from a good bit of grease and brake dust under your nails. Read More…

*Photo Credit: Argonne Science & Engineering

Today’s automobiles are packed with so much technology that frankly it’s a bit overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all wonderful stuff, but man oh man are our cars becoming advanced. In fact our cars are so complicated now that basic tinkering is almost impossible. I remember a time when you could open a cars hood and know immediately what everything did. Things like the alternator, power steering pump, brake booster, plug wires… these were all things that could be fixed and or dealt with in ones own garage. Nowadays though even something as simple as an oil change or brake job can be a hassle. Hell, the only reason to open the hood now is just to make sure the engine didn’t fall out. These are no longer fully mechanical machines like their predecessors were, and as such, they require very special equipment when it comes to diagnosing and fixing any issues. Technicians nowadays are not what most would consider the typical “grease monkey”, but highly skilled individuals who operate multi-million dollar equipment on a daily basis.
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We all have assumptions. We think New York is the most expensive place to own and maintain vehicles (gas prices, maintenance costs, etc) but you might be surprised at what other areas actually have a high cost of car ownership.

Hawaii (surprisingly) is the most expensive- from insurance to depreciation. It’s not so sunny over there when you see those numbers, huh?

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Back in the stone ages of motoring, cars came with real instrumentation, typically including a tachometer (to measure engine speed), a speedometer (to measure road speed), a voltage gauge or an ammeter (to measure voltage or current to the battery), an oil pressure gauge, an oil temperature gauge, fuel gauge and a coolant temperature gauge. Over the years, car makers realized two things: it was cheaper to replace functional gauges with idiot lights, and people actually paid more attention to idiot lights than they did gauges. Thus was born the modern instrument panel, which now typically includes a speedometer, a fuel gauge and (maybe) a temperature gauge and tachometer. All of the other critical information your car can display to you is now done via the driver information display or via idiot lights.

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Now that winter is upon us, and most of the US is dealing with cold, snow or some mixture of both, here are two videos that prove the merits of winter tires over their all-season or summer-only counterparts. If you live where the white stuff falls on a regular basis, you really do need to invest in a good set of winter tires, as these videos dramatically demonstrate. If the winter tires help you avoid a single accident, you’ve recovered the cost of buying them.

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Do you believe in reincarnation? For automobiles, at least, there’s documented proof of its existence, in the form of Porsche’s Classic Workshop. Cars show up at the end of their lives, and roll out the doors reborn as new. It doesn’t matter which type of Porsche you drive, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a street car or a race car; if it needs restoration, the Porsche Classic Workshop is the place to take it. The Workshop stocks over 35,000 parts, for vehicles as recent as the 993 variant of the 911. If a part is no longer available, the workshop has the ability to recreate it using the original documentation and tooling. In some cases, duplicate or equivalent parts are sourced from Porsche suppliers.

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Need new skins on your car? Better buy them quick, since prices have already gone up this year and will increase again next month. Goodyear, Bridgestone and Cooper have all announced October tire price increases, directly related to the supply of rubber available on the market.

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Wouldn't it be good to know what a repair should cost?

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was an app that told you, based on local rates in your area, just how much a specific repair should cost? Wouldn’t it be even better if it broke things down separately by parts and labor? How about if it gave you steep by step directions, compiled by mechanics and complete with photos, on how to do the repair yourself?

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