Keeping your levels topped up

When owning a car, there are many checks that you should be doing on a regular basis that unfortunately we often forget to do. Checking your brakes and tyres is something that can serious affect the driving and stopping of a car and should be high on your priority list of overall checks.

Fluid levels is another essential item to tick off, and not just your water washers. You should also check the coolant levels, oil levels and brake fluid / transmission fluid levels to ensure that your car has everything it needs to function properly.

When it comes to oil, you should have it changes at every major service as dirty oil is no good for the engine. If the oil in your car looks completely black and not slightly see through then it is most probably time for a change. If you take it to your local garage they will be able to check it for you.

 

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Phone / Sat nav holders for cars

Many of us have some sort of device that we wish to have on display whilst driving. It may be that you have a mobile phone or satellite navigation system that you want to mount in your car and there are a number of different products on the market to allow you to do so. Below is a few of the products that I have reviewed:

Power socket charging devices / holders – These devices allow you to not only hold your device in place but also charge it when on the move. You need to consider where your power socket is in the car as this is not suitable for all makes and models of vehicles.

Suction window mounted holders – In my option these are the best option – They provide a strong hold of your device and can be adjusted to allow viewing from many angles. They are not that expensive and although simple, are easy to use and reliable.

Sticky pad holders – I recently invested in one of these products, which is a holder secured to the dashboard or window via a suction pad. The other pad is a sticky surface which you can place on the back of your phone or sat nav. They do seem to stick well but sometimes a little too well and you may struggle to remove the device when needed to.

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The future of F1 tyres

Formula 1 has been described as being in crisis, with dull races with little overtaking, a lack of characters in the paddock (when taciturn Finn Kimi Raikonnen is probably the most interesting personality, you know you’re in trouble) and a generally uncompetitive field, not helped by the recent dominance of Mercedes.

The current tyres, manufactured by Pirelli, where formulated to introduce a layer of strategy in races through rapid tyre degradation. There’s no doubt that Pirelli did a great job here, though I can’t imagine convincing one of the world’s biggest performance tyre manufacturers to design a “bad” tyre was easy. The unfortunate side effect of the rapid tyre degradation is that drivers cannot race flat-out for much of the race, forced to conserve the tyres to minimise pit stops and exploit the narrow optimal operating window of the tyre. This has had the opposite effect to what was intended, with many overtakes happening through the pit stop phase, further compounding the un-exciting.

Pirelli have recently been re-awarded the tyre contract for F1, but there are hopes that the tyres will be reformulated in the near future. This will be a welcome boost to the sport, but many more changes are needed to return to the sports heyday.

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Styling your car on a budget

If you want to stylise your car a bit but need to do it on budget then I have some top tips for you below:

  • Wheel trims – if your car has steel wheels then adding or replacing your wheel trims can make a huge difference to how the car looks. I recently lost a wheel trim and decided to replace them all, and what a difference it made for only £15.
  • Mats – Not only will car mats protect the carpet in your vehicle but they can add a personalised touch. You can even buy personalised mats with names or initials on.
  • Seat covers- If your seats are looking a little worse for wear then a set of seat covers can transform the interior of a car. They come in a range of styles and patterns as you can often match them with your steering wheel cover and mats.

 

 

 

 

 

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Refurbishing your alloy wheels

Alloy wheels over time become scuffed, damaged and even corroded so it may be necessary to refurbish them. Many places offer this service, some will refurbish the wheels and keep the car in whilst doing it, others may ask you to remove the wheels and send them in to them.

There are a few methods of refurbishing alloy wheels and one is called sand blasting. The wheel is always removed from the vehicle, often then the wheel is chemically stripped down and it can then be inspected for damage such as cracks. The repairs are then carried out to the wheel and once complete the whole wheel is blasted clean. Usually the wheel will then undergo a process of priming, painting and lacquering to get the wheel back to the correct colour. New values are fitted to the tyres and then the process is complete.

Some alloys may have cosmetic damage which is easily rectified whilst others may be damaged too much to be repaired.

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