Whether tomorrow will feel springlike or not is a mystery even the weatherman may not be able to fully predict. But one thing is for sure: Spring is coming, and with it the not-too-unpleasant chore of sprucing up your ride and undoing the ravages of winter. Here’s a quick ten point checklist:

Exterior Wash and Wax Chances are, four months of sand, grit, and plain old dirt have formed an abrasive film on your vehicle. Now is the time to wash away that slurry, and get a hard coat of wax onto the finish. 

Undercarriage Cleaning There may be pounds of grit impacted in your undercarriage, damaging the rubber seals of your suspension joints and shock absorbers. So a quick trip to a commercial car wash, or a session with a power washer, are an important part of Spring cleaning

Seasonal Tire Changeover Your winter tires are ideal for icy weather, but their chunky tread and cold-oriented rubber compound will wear down quickly in warm weather. So Spring is the time to make your best guess as to the year’s final snowfall, and then change over to quieter, smoother riding, and longer lasting summer tires. Need knowledgeable tire help? Call us anytime. 

Check Tire Inflation Once your tires are correct for the season, you’ll want to periodically check inflation. Why? Because tire pressure varies considerably during the summer as you drive and then let the tires cool. Once a week should do it—check your Owner’s Manual or call us for recommended pressures. One final Tip: don’t forget to top up the air in your spare tire.

Oil Change That amber fluid is the lifeblood of your car, and winter alternately chills and cooks oil brutally. So an oil change at the end of each winter is a must. We can handle the task, or provide the oil filter and oil for do-it-yourselfers.

Recondition Upholstery Leather or Fabric  The same gritty conditions of winter have probably sprinkled the equivalent of sandpaper on your upholstery. So take a few minutes to vacuum thoroughly, and then to condition your upholstery, whether it be fabric, vinyl, or leather. By the way, we carry the exact conditioners you need for your vehicle— feel free to stop by.  

Coolant Flush or Top-Up Paradoxically, in cold weather your coolant must work harder, since it is coursing through the heater core of your vehicle. So this Spring may be the time for a coolant flush, or at the very least a top-up. Contact our Service Department to find out which.

Interior Carpeting-- Vacuum and Shampoo Run a hand over those floor mats. Do you feel all the grit of a gravel pit ground into them? Now is the time for a thorough vacuuming and shaking of your mats, and a good shampooing of the carpeting. Tip: nothing gives kids more joy than wailing on an inanimate object, so don’t hesitate to let your little ones become merciless “carpet beaters!”  

Get that Boot ready for Summer! Those skates, parkas, shovels, and bags of rock salt will only take up space this summer and  make rattling noises, all while abrading your trunk liner. So why not move them to the garage, and make room for beach chairs and coolers? 

Scheduled Service We’ll end with the most important recommendation of all: nothing will extend the life of your vehicle after a hard winter as much as our hawk-eyed technicians performing a scheduled service.  So give us a call or drop us an email. We’d love to see you and pamper your baby.  

Note: Remember that many service intervals are based on either mileage driven or time passed—even a car that sees few miles accrues service needs with each passing month. 

It’s called motor oil-- that amber stuff that makes the pleasant glug-glug noise when you add it to your engine. But though it may seem as if all motor oil has the same simple instruction sheet—open,  pour, repeat—there are quite a number of useful things to know about oil. Here, in an easy to read—dare we say slick—form, are a few surprising facts you need to know about that slippery stuff:

Oil doesn’t go bad, it fills up

When you pour quarts of new oil into your engine, they’re a pleasant clear amber. But pull the dipstick even a day later, and the oil has changed to black ink. Why? Because motor oil is designed to absorb and hold carbon combustion residue, bits of metal, and plain ol’ dirt in suspension. In fact, when you need an oil change it’s not usually because your motor oil has gone bad, it’s because it’s full of these byproducts.

Motor oil is a coolant

Everybody knows that oil makes your engine parts slippery, while it’s that water-based coolant that keeps it cool. Well, t’aint so, bro—motor oil actually draws off a significant amount of the heat in your engine, and indeed many cars have extra little radiators called oil coolers That’s why an engine with insufficient oil starts running hot. 

Too much oil is, well, too much

Noticed your car is a half quart low? Should you toss in a full quart? Please don’t. Your engine is designed to work best with the correct amount of oil in its crankcase. In some cases too much oil can actually cause oil over-pressure, damaged seals, and a sooty exhaust. So give your baby a drink, but not too much. 

Oil makes your engine float

Ask an engineer how oil works, and he’ll bombard you with stuff about “boundary effect” and “shear state.” But what all this technobabble means is that oil protects your engine by literally separating the metal parts. A properly lubricated engine’s  pistons, valves, and connecting rods are actually not touching, but rather floating on a whisper thin layer of oil that keeps them from grinding together. In fact that is why oil changes are so important: when that paint-thin layer of oil fills up with grit, the floating effect stops working.

Synthetic Oil isn’t Oil at all

Synthetic oil is popular in Canada because it flows down to ultra-low temperatures, and makes starting easier on bone-chilling days. But in fact synthetic oil isn’t oil at all, at least in the traditional sense of being “black gold a’ comin’ gushin’ out the ground.” Synthetic oils are actually a kind of fluid plastic, engineered at the molecular level to have long microscopic pearl-strand chains of atoms that wrap around metal and slide super easy. That’s what gives synthetic oils their wonderful properties.

Thicker is not better; neither is thinner

Your cousin the Harley-Davidson buff says molasses-thick oil protects best. Your buddy the shop teacher says water-thin oil gets better gas mileage. What to buy? Actually, choose neither thick nor thin-- but rather the correct viscosity (meaning “syrupiness”) as specified by your car’s maker. Car manufacturers know exactly what oil type works best in each vehicle, so check the manual and follow their lead. Tip: You’ll be looking for a rating like “10W40” or “20W50.”