Types of Air Filters for Your Vehicle 26
Aug
Posted by admin in Cars on 08 26th, 2010

How often do you replace your cars air filter? Every 10 thousand miles? 12K? 15K? During the life of your car assuming you plan on keeping your vehicle for many years you could easily go through 8, 10, even 15 or more air filters. Of course, that is if you choose to purchase disposable air filters every time your shop. However, did you know that you now have another choice, in a reusable air filter, which costs a bit more but will likely outlast your car? Read on for an informative comparison of the two types of air filters available for your vehicle.

If you maintain your own vehicle, you probably make regular trips to your auto parts store for oil, filters, wipers, and the occasional air filter. Concerning your air filter, your choices include Fram, ACDelco, Bosch, and Purolator air filters, all very well known and trusted brands. You are not likely to pay a whole lot for one, perhaps between $6 and $15, depending on your vehicle make, model, model year, and engine. For many people purchasing an air filter once a year is a simple procedure: see which one is on sale, buy it, toss the old one, and insert the new one.

Consumers are now discovering an additional option to disposable air filters, one that race car owners have known about for ages: reusable air filters. Thats right, instead of paper air filters that must be changed regularly and can contribute to overflowing landfills, drivers can now purchase reusable air filters made of cotton gauze and aluminum wire mesh. These higher air flow filters provide excellent filtration and are designed to increase horsepower and acceleration. K&N, for example, sells a line of air filters that are warranted to last one million miles, can be cleaned as little as once every 50 thousand miles, and are emissions legal in all fifty US states. Prices for reusable air filters range from as little as $30 to approximately $60 or more.

Besides the obvious environmental and performance benefits, a reusable air filter will save you a lot of money in the long run. For the owner of a car who keeps his vehicle for 150 thousand miles not uncommon these days he could easily replace his filter twelve times during the life of the car. If he pays $12 per air filter an average price his expenditure is $144 for the life of the car. A $50 reusable air filter is a one shot charge and can be recouped within the first few years of owning the car.

Today, you have real choices when it comes to selecting an air filter for your car. Purchasing a reusable air filter is an environmentally responsible, cost effective, and power enhancing decision that you will never regret.

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The Auto Blog: Bringing Industry News closer to Auto Parts 20
Jul
Posted by admin in Cars on 07 20th, 2010

The Auto Blog: Bringing Industry News closer to Auto Parts Trains Buyers

For more than twenty five years now, Parts Train has been a leading provider of aftermarket, replacement and collision parts that are of the best quality, reliability and durability. The company has built a good name for itself through sheer dedication to offer only high quality auto parts at the most affordable prices in the industry.

Now, Auto Parts Train together with U.S. Auto Parts is one of the most trustworthy auto parts store in the internet today serving millions of consumers all across the U.S. every year. The company has one of the most comprehensive inventories of automotive parts housed high-tech warehouses. These include essential auto parts such as bumpers, windshields, mirrors, spoilers, and lights as well as engine parts like alternators, spark plugs, fuel pumps, and thousands more. Parts Train also has one of the largest stocks of automotive accessories.

Auto Parts Train has always put its buyers and visitors first. Thats why it has become one of the most successful online auto parts suppliers today. Now, Parts Train offers not only excellent auto parts and accessories but also useful and relevant information in the form of news, articles, reviews, and commentaries. This is made possible through Parts Trains newest site feature The Auto Blog. This is Parts Trains new corporate blog, a response to the growing importance and influence of blogs in the internet. Parts Trains The Auto Blog covers a wide range of automotive topics that will surely interest any vehicle owner or car enthusiast.

Parts Train endeavors to bring relevant automotive industry news closer to its customers thats why the top category in the blog is Automotive News. This section covers important news from the major car manufacturers from all over the world. The blog also has continuing coverage of the latest in automotive technology such as vehicle safety, alternative fuels, hybrid technology and navigation systems. Other important categories in the blog include automotive trends and innovations, auto parts, automotive events, car reviews, aftermarket parts and accessories and car reviews.

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Cleaning Car Upholstery 7
Feb
Posted by admin in Cars on 02 7th, 2010

These days people use their cars as floating living rooms and dining rooms as they drive around. This means that all kinds of things can get spilled on a car’s upholstery. When this happens, you’ve probably wondered how to clean car upholstery. Once you know how to clean car upholstery, you’ll enjoy your travels more.

Here are ideas on dealing with some of the most common problems. Using these simple tips will show you how to clean car upholstery to your satisfaction. Note that these techniques are for use on cloth upholstery. Other methods are needed for leather.

Removing common stains

All that eating and drinking in the car can result in stains from liquids. The first step is to blot the spill and absorb all excess liquid. Then apply an upholstery cleaner available from your local auto parts store. Spray a small amount of cleaner on your car upholstery and wait a few minutes. Scrub the stain a little with an old tooth brush. Then dry the soiled area with a clean cloth. Repeat until you no longer see the stain and the cloth you are using to dry the area shows no discoloration. If the stain is small, shaving cream may do the trick instead of commercial cleaner.

If ink stains your car seat, do not rub the stain as this can smear the ink and make the stain larger. Start by carefully blotting the area to remove any excess ink. Spray a small amount of hairspray on the stain and let it sit a few minutes. Take clean dry towels and wipe the area. Repeat as needed but use the minimum amount of cleaner necessary. Change your wiping cloths frequently to prevent soiling the material from cross contamination. Rubbing alcohol can also be used to clean ink on car upholstery. Dip a cotton swab into the alcohol and apply it only on the actual ink stained area. Then wipe with a clean cloth as above.
To remove lipstick stains from your car’s upholstery, try rubbing gently with a white, non-gel toothpaste. Then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

If there is a battery acid stain, rub a paste of baking soda and water into the spot right away. Leave this on for two hours and then wipe it off with a damp cloth. Repeat if any stain remains. Any remaining residue can be cleaned with a commercial upholstery cleaner. As an alternative, you can make your own cleaner by mixing 1/2 teaspoon liquid dishwashing detergent in a quart of warm water. Beat this with a mixer and clean the upholstery using only the suds. Work on a small area at a time, overlapping areas to avoid spotting. Change the rinse water frequently to keep it clean. Let dry thoroughly.

To remove a gasoline stain from your car’s interior, treat the stain with a mixture of one teaspoon each of vinegar and mild dish detergent in a quart of warm water. The vinegar will remove the odor while the detergent does the cleaning. Let the area dry. If any spotting remains, you may need to repeat the process. If this does not seem to be working, try using dry cleaning solvent.

If you have children, they may play with crayons in the car and may get some on the upholstery. To remove crayon marks, first scrape the excess crayon off with a dull-edge knife or metal spoon. Spray with WD-40 and let stand a few minutes. Using a small, stiff bristled brush, work on the crayon stain and then wipe the area with paper towels. Respray with WD-40 and apply liquid dishwashing detergent on the sprayed area. Work this material in with the brush and then wipe the stain away with a damp sponge. If any stain remains, repeat the procedure.

To remove mold, mildew and their odor from upholstered auto seats, products with peroxide and detergents will restore the car interior. This both removes the stain and deactivates the odor. Simply spray a citrus cleaner product on the soiled area. Wait about five minutes for it to penetrate. Using a clean white absorbent cloth, blot the area, pressing down firmly without rubbing for 30 seconds. Repeat this blotting process until the area is dry. If the stain or odor persists, repeat the process. As an alternative, you could create a cleaning mixture by combining 1/4 teaspoon of color safe bleach and 1/4 cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide. With a clean cloth, gently rub the stain until it is gone. Rinse the area with clear, warm water and dry thoroughly.

Clean upholstery helps your car keep its value

By keeping your car upholstery clean not only will it look better, it will also last longer. Nice looking upholstery maintains the value of your car. If your upholstery is stained or damaged beyond cleaning, replacement seat covers are available for most cars and trucks. People who know how to clean car upholstery won’t have to go to the expense of buying those replacements since their cars’ interiors will look like they just came from the showroom.

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Blurry Windshield? Change Windshield Wiper Blades. 27
Dec
Posted by admin in Cars on 12 27th, 2009

Some things could only live for so long. And just like everything else, windshield wiper blades also do wear down and completely stop performing. You may not need your windshield wipers everyday however it is still important that you do make sure that they are in good condition so that come the time that you need them, they would serve your purposes perfectly.

Imagine if you would be driving during a torrential downpour or through a foggy day or through a snowy afternoon with windshield wipers whose blades have already broken down or are already hanging halfway across the whole wiper arm. Sure enough, your chances of meeting accidents would be much greater for your view is greatly diminished.

To start off, you should first purchase a complete set of windshield wiper blades that are according to your cars specifics. If you do not know where to purchase such blades, you can try looking through the Internet for stores that offer such. Or if you are concerned about your private informations security, you can try purchasing at your trusted local auto parts store instead.

Most people have a hard time figuring out how to put in new windshield wiper blades. After all, if you do would notice, the whole package of windshield wipers come with an instruction manual in a couple of languages along with a whole set of complicated instructions. However, automobile experts inform owners like you that the whole process is really an easy deal as long as you do get familiar with the whole windshield wiper contraption.

Pull the wiper arm and make sure that it is not resting on your cars windshield anymore. Then, you can start removing the old wiper blade from the arm. Some windshield wipers need you to simply push on a tab and pull the blade off. However, there are some wipers that ask you to lift a tab with a small screwdriver to take the blade loose.

When you have removed the old blade, you can now put in the new blade on the arm. Make sure that you put it in correctly. You would know because the blade is already secure on the arm. If not, you would notice that it seems like it would fly off once you are cruising down the streets. If you are satisfied that the blade has been successfully replaced, you can now put the windshield wiper arm back to its old position.

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Are You Buying Sports Seats For Your Car? 14
Dec
Posted by admin in Cars on 12 14th, 2009

Purchasing sports seats for your car is considered as one of the ways of sprucing up and upgrading your vehicle. In fact, it is one of the not so used ways to customize a vehicle. You see, for most people, the common ways of upgrading a vehicle would be to change wheels, wheel covers, car seat covers, carpets, bumpers, and grilles.

Changing your cars seats to sports seats may not be so popular however, there are some matters to take into consideration when you have decided that sports seats may be the best thing that could happen to your vehicle. After all, overlooked as they may seem, sports seats actually do not just provide your car with a sporty and aesthetic appeal but they also give you and your passengers comfort through long or short drives.

Before doing anything else, you should ask yourself how much are you willing to spend and how much could you really afford. By answering this first question, you would be able to check and ask around as per any sports seats that would fall within your budget range. Remember that sports seats come in a variety of options each more sophisticated than the next. In fact, there are even sports seats that come with electronic adjustments of the lumbar support.

If you have no idea whatsoever as per the kind of sports seats that you would like for your car, you can check out automotive magazines. Or you can also visit automotive websites. If you choose to do so, you can also try contacting manufacturers to get the names of dealers of sports seats in your locality.

Upon visiting an auto parts store that offers sports seats, make sure that you ask the stores personnel to show you their collection of these. That way, you can personally inspect the seats so you could choose which ones to purchase. Consider the seats safety features. Make sure that you choose those that has a high and close back rest which has the capacity to support and protect your back. Also make sure that it supports not only your back but your whole body as well.

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