3 Ways to Do a Basic Tuning of Your Car

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

You don't need to be a mechanic or an engine enthusiast to perform basic maintenance on your car. You can save money and hassle by learning a few easy-to-remember steps to keep your car in good shape for up to a year. Enough with the emergency calls on the weekend, enough with the desperate roadside assistance. Regularly carry out inspections and tuning and your car will always be reliable, safe and ready to hit the road.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Performing a Basic Check

Step 1. Check the oil and add as needed

One of the simplest ways to extend the life of your car without having to pay for expensive tune-ups is to check the oil level regularly and add more if it is low. It takes a minute or two to check the level and the special dipstick contained in the engine compartment makes work very fast even for a beginner.

• Look for the cap inside the engine, usually labeled with the word "oil," and find the dipstick next to it. Do this when the engine has had a chance to cool, or do it early in the morning for a more accurate reading. Remove the dipstick and blot the oil with a paper towel or rag.

  

• Examine the rag. Is the oil particularly black? Do you notice sediment, or a flaky appearance of the oil? If so, you will probably need to change the oil. Reinsert the dipstick and remove it once more to check the level. The notches on it will tell you how full the tank should be.

  

• If the level is low, remove the cap and add a small amount of high quality engine oil appropriate for your car's engine type. Ask an auto parts store if you are unsure which type of oil to use. Use a funnel to avoid spills and double check the level once it is filled.

  

Step 2. Examine the tires

There is nothing worse than puncturing a tire at the wrong time, while you are late for work and in the rain. No thanks! So regularly examining the tires and rotating their arrangement can help you avoid this discomfort. Check both the tire pressure and the tread to avoid wear, and replace the tires if necessary.

• You can use a pressure gauge at a petrol station or buy one for a few dollars at an auto parts store and take it with you to check your tires regularly. Look on the side of the tire for the correct pressure level and don't let in too much air. Keeping your tires inflated to proper standards will help you consume less fuel and steer better.

  

Step 3. Check the level of other fluids

Find the reservoirs for windshield wash, brake fluid, and anti-freeze fluid, to make sure they are all full, clean, and add fluid as needed. It is not something to do every week, but doing it regularly will allow you to keep the car in good condition.

• The bar of transmission fluid it must be the other measuring rod inside an automatic transmission vehicle, in addition to that of the oil. Remove it, clean it and read its level. It must be particularly clean, of a red color. You will need to change the transmission fluid approximately every 100,000 miles.

  

• The brake fluid it is located in a white plastic container in the engine compartment, labeled "brake fluid". It should never go down, except when losses occur on the line. In that case you will need to have the car checked immediately or check the transmission line yourself.

  

• The radiator fluid o coolant must be checked when the engine is very cold. If the engine is hot, or even just lukewarm, the hot radiator fluid will literally splash out once the cap is removed. If you begin to notice a strange and annoyingly sweet smell coming from the air conditioning ducts while driving, there may be a coolant leak, causing ethylene glycol to drip onto the engine compartment and burn. If the levels are low, this may be the cause.

  

• Power steering fluid And the liquid to wash the windshield they are both housed in plastic containers in the engine compartment. Power steering fluid often has one mark for warm engine and one for cold engine, so check if the level is correct, adding more if necessary. Cleaning fluid is not essential to the life of the car, but it can extend the life of your wipers if you keep it full.

  

Step 4. Inspect the battery

Scan the battery for corrosion and other signs of wear. Battery terminals can become encrusted with liquid leaking from components, can stick to contact points and cause problems during ignition. If you notice that the car's engine isn't starting as fast as it always does, inspect the contact points.

• If necessary, clean them with baking soda and an old toothbrush. You can also use a small amount of soda to remove corrosion and clean everything. Loosen the bolts securing the battery, if necessary, and clean any build-up.

  

Step 5. Test the brakes

Periodically, as you drive and the road is clear, brake hard at a low speed to get an impression of how they react. Do they brake immediately? Does ABS work at the right time? Do you notice a screech, a creak, a variability in the action? Any abnormality can be a sign of wear on the brake pads, and therefore the car needs to be tuned.

Step 6. Check the lights

It's a good idea to check your lights regularly to make sure they are all working and none have burned out. Get assistance to check the indicators and brake while stationary to assess the rear lights and check for burns or misalignments.

• To check the headlights, you can park in front of a wall and point them towards it. Sometimes they need to be realigned to make sure they illuminate the right portion of the road and give you the visibility you need to drive safely at night.

  

Part 2 of 3: Performing Routine Checks

Step 1. Change the oil every 5,000 km

To keep the engine at its maximum potential, you will need to drain the old oil completely and fill the tank with oil appropriate for the type of engine in your car. You'll also need to change the oil filter, which has an average life of around 25,000km. While changing the oil, however, it is usually wise to change the filter, which extends the life of your vehicle.

• The oil change is a medium-term project. If the operation itself is easy, however, you will need to have the space and the necessary materials (new oil, an oil pan and jack stands or a jack). It is relatively cheap and quick to take it to a dedicated center, especially if you live in the city and don't have the space to carry out the operations yourself.

  

• The 5,000 km service may vary from vehicle to vehicle. Always stick to the manufacturer's recommendations: no one prevents you from changing the vehicle's oil more frequently anyway.

Step 2. Rotate the tire arrangement and replace them if necessary

To equalize the wear of the tires and ensure that they have a longer life, it is useful to rotate them periodically, using a correct cross pattern for the arrangement. Depending on the type of tire wear pattern, you will need to change the side and position. You will need a jack to rotate the tires yourself, or you can take them to a dedicated center for someone to change the layout with a hydraulic pump, quickly and reliably.

Step 3. Replace the wipers if necessary

If you notice that the wiper blades begin to loosen, crack, or notice gaps in the cleaning as they work, remove the old wiper and replace it with a new one. At an auto parts center, you can usually consult the manuals in the waiting room to find out the size your car needs, or you can bring the old wiper for a quick repair.

Step 4. Replace the air filter

The air filter should be on top of the engine, under a bulky round cover, usually made of plastic. Removing the filter and cleaning it thoroughly (even just by putting in compressed air and wiping it with a cloth) can help extend the life of your engine considerably.

If the air filter is not on top of the engine, it may be located in a different compartment with a conduit running from the front of the car to that compartment and then from it to the throttle body. Some air filters are not even visible when opening the hood and therefore need to be checked from under the car

Step 5. Inspect and change belts if necessary

One of the belts, sometimes called the "serpentine belt," stretches through the alternator, power steering pump, and other engine components; another power steering belt operates in a similar fashion. The alignment and installation of the belts vary considerably, depending on the engine, but if you notice a very high-pitched squeak when starting or turning, inspect the belts for wear and replace them. A belt costs a few euros and a diagram for installation is included in the engine compartment.

Step 6. Replace the car spark plugs

The car's spark plugs should be checked and replaced when necessary. They are critical to the combustion mechanism, so it is important to keep them in good condition. Any damage to the spark plugs can cause the engine to shut down, so you need to prevent it from happening through regular replacements.

Part 3 of 3: Maximizing Vehicle Life

Step 1. Drive less

Simply put, the more cold starts your car undergoes every day, the harder the engine strains. If you want to extend the life of your car as much as possible, use it only when necessary and avoid frequent starts and stops.

• Avoid small trips, when you can integrate them into longer trips. Instead of going to a grocery store in the morning to buy dog food and heading to the grocery store later for dinner, integrate travel and plan more effective driving.
• If you plan on driving little for a long period of time, consider putting your car in a safe place during the winter and driving around in another way.

Step 2. Accelerate slowly

Straining the drivetrain from standing still to super high speed is a good way to ruin the engine over the long haul. Slows. Even if you are in a hurry, learn to accelerate calmly and evenly to get to the desired speed. Even if you are driving with automatic transmission, simulate shifting gears in a quiet place to learn how to accelerate properly.

Step 3. Use the brakes with confidence

With the manual gearbox, you can shift to a lower gear, thus using the engine to brake the car. Those who drive with an automatic transmission, on the other hand, must be careful not to decelerate too hard at the last moment. Going directly from acceleration to braking causes wear on the brake pads, no matter what drive system you use, so it's important to anticipate stops by inertia.

Never accelerate near a red light. Take your foot off the accelerator and keep a steady speed to prepare to stop

Step 4. Shift gears smoothly in a manual transmission vehicle

Changing with the clutch is one of the most difficult operations, and one of the most expensive. Vigorous shifts in which you accidentally scratch the gear or rev the engine too much can cost you repairs and replacements. Practice shifting calmly, especially while using low gears.

Step 5. Use the best fuel for your car

Use the octane specified in your manual, usually found on the fuel filler flap. Avoid refueling at stations that have just unloaded a load of fuel. If you see that a station has just received a shipment of fuel, go elsewhere. When new fuel is added to the tank, sediment and water inside the tank tend to be distributed everywhere. Even if there are filters in the pump and in your car, they cannot stop everything, and over time the residues will clog the system. If there are no other stations nearby, take a break, go to the bathroom and wait 15-20 minutes for the residues to settle to the bottom of the tank.

Step 6. Always fix problems as they arise

When a problem occurs, there's no better time than the present to head out onto the driveway and start fixing things. Driving around with the alternator belt squeaking every time is a problem for both your engine and the health of your neighbors.

Advice

• Make sure the valves are properly adjusted. The engine valves should be systematically adjusted if your car uses a hydraulic system. Try replacing the valve seals if you notice oil on them.
• Replace the injector and car tips. The injector and tips also need to be changed every six months if you have an older vehicle. However, when you change them, check the ignition time to make sure the vehicle is running well.