All Entries in the "Maintenance Tips" Category
Why Cold Weather Hurts Your Truck’s Gas Mileage
It’s that time of year again – colder temperatures are coming. During the winter time, most truck owners notice a 5-10% drop in fuel economy. Since truck fuel economy is already pretty low, going from 16 MPG to a little better than 14 MPG means an extra $25 to $50 in extra gas every month…and most truck owners notice that right away.
Why your truck gets bad mileage in the winter and what you can do about it.
It’s frustrating, but it’s something most truck owners have learned to live with. However – there are some things you can do about lower gas mileage in cold weather. First, though, we have to know why it happens.
5 Cheap Performance Tips For Your Truck
Do you enjoy tweaking your truck to squeeze out every little bit of power? Who doesn’t. When Henry Ford built the first Model T with a pickup bed in 1925, somewhere someone was trying to figure out a way to make it a little faster.
Of course for truck owners, it’s not really about speed…it’s about power. Power to tow, haul, pass on the freeway, head up to the mountains, or show that snob in the Range Rover who thinks his wittle SUV is fast who really has the big motor.
Cheap truck performance tips – 5 ways to go faster for less than $50
The most common truck performance accessories are air intakes and exhaust systems. However, if you’re short on cash, or if you don’t feel like spending half your truck payment (or more) on an aFe air intake, here are some ideas for making your truck more powerful without spending more than $50.
2500 Mile Oil Changes Because You’re Running E-85? P-shaw
Last week a Toyota dealership dropped a link on Twitter with the warning “Did you know you have to change your oil twice as often if you’re running E85?” (or something like that ).
The link went to a page that advocated a 2,500 mile oil change frequency for truck owners using E85. Of course, there was no explanation as to why E85 users needed to change their oil twice as often, just that they should. THAT, ladies and gentleman, is why dealership service departments get a bad wrap. Instead of explaining why 2,500 might be a prudent choice (and it might), they make a blanket statement. I say p-shaw. This recommendation is, at best, paranoid.
First, here’s why this recommendation was made.
Caring For Your Truck’s Leather Interior
Leather seats are the ultimate when it comes to truck upholstery. Comfortable and classy, leather is also unfortunately a little harder to keep looking good over time than simple vinyl or fabric. Not only does the sun conspire to burn your legs (and behind) if your truck is left exposed to its hot rays in the afternoon, but the UV light and heat can cause the leather to crack and fade over time, leaving a wrinkly-looking mess that might eventually tear.
Keep your Tundra leather interior looking new.
Obviously, depending upon the climate you live in, it can take a long time for your leather to end up in that kind of condition. With a little bit of effort, however, you can take some steps now to prevent your leather seats from ever succumbing to decay.
Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher Review
Curious as to how much I could improve the paint on my vehicle using an orbital polisher, I decided recently to pick one up and try my hand at it. I had heard many good things about dual action polishers, and the model that was most often recommended to me by friends in the detailing business was the Porter Cable 7424.
Porter Cable Polisher model 7424.
Orbital dual action polishers are great for newbies because their rotation is designed to be random. With a random action polisher, there is little chance that heat will build up under your polishing pad and burn into your paint (unlike a regular rotary polisher). In other words, it’s virtually impossible to damage your paint with an orbital polisher.
