While we would all love to drive a top of the line sports car, most of us have to make do with our own budget. This often means the typical man drives a more traditional car – results may vary depending on your age – but it’s nonetheless your car. It’s hard not to take some pride in that!
As such, many men love the feel of a car in prime condition – yet when was the last time your car came close to how the car is supposed to perform? These figures, whether its acceleration speed, brake horsepower or mileage, are all based on the car being in its newest, most pristine condition. This is when the driving experience is at its best but, of course, real life often takes its toll.
Whether you’re looking to restore your car after a little wear and tear, or a stretch of neglect, there are plenty of easy ways to get the optimal driving experience from your car. After all, if we can’t all drive a Lamborghini (or Tesla if you’re going for an electric vehicle), we should at least make the car we have as great as possible, right?
The Engine
It’s difficult to talk about a car without mentioning the engine. There are various parts involved and any one of these can change the performance of the vehicle (for the worse) if neglected. For the best results, simply check your manual. This well tell you how often you need to check or replace your air filter, oil and other components.
When it comes to actually replacing these parts, you don’t need to spend a fortune at a garage. Instead, look online for some basic car maintenance guides. In the year’s gone by, every driver knew their way around an engine but, today, it’s more than enough to know how to do the basics. These only require a few tools and will keep your engine purring softly, rather than sputtering every time you start the ignition.
Suspension and Driving Comfort
Cars often become less comfortable to drive over time, but many drivers don’t notice because of the slow, gradual change. One of the common factors for this – especially in pre-owned vehicles – is the suspension system.
Perhaps you’ve gotten use to the bumpy discomfort of your car, but other guests and passengers probably haven’t. While they might not say anything aloud, it certainly goes against your manly pride to have such a bouncy car, so here’s a quick test. Push down on one of the corners of your vehicle and simply observe how stable it does – or does not – remain. If it shakes and vibrates, you’ve got a suspension issue. Once you see it from the outside, it’s easy to imagine how unpleasant it is on the inside, especially around corners.
Furthermore, aside from the tyres, do you remember how a brand new car felt when you drove it out of the dealers? The chances are it had well-balanced and properly inflated tyres, alongside tightly-fitted wheels. This is easy enough to do, but something we all forget about, so go get a pressure sensor and check.
Fuel Efficiency
Fuel efficiency is also something that can ruin your driving experience. An inefficient car needs to be refilled more quickly, thanks to a lower miles-per-gallon rate. Similarly, it’s also more expensive as a result and this off-putting to plenty of people. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to fix this.
Basic engine maintenance, as mentioned above, is vital. Combustion engines require both fuel and air (specifically, oxygen) to work, so it’s easy to understand how a dirty, old air filter can prevent the air intake.
Similarly, have you considered using fuel efficient tyres on your wheels? The factor you need to be most concerned with is the rolling resistance. Less resistance means less fuel and power is wasted just moving the wheels, allowing for more power to go into direct movement. This helps improve your acceleration and performance – exactly what you need if you want to impress your passengers. Likewise, empty the boot and take the roof rack and other fixtures off the top when not in use. These may be useful for the family holiday but, if you’re not using them, they’re only adding drag and slowing you down.
Looking the Part
Do you remember your first car? It probably wasn’t expensive or impressive in terms of engineering, but you certainly took care of it. Most new cars get washed every weekend, but that quickly becomes once a month, then once a year and then whenever the opportunity arises. Before you know it, the car has a layer of mud and dirt at the bottom.
Yet, how something looks contributes quite a lot to how we appreciate our vehicles. A car should be something to enjoy, not be embarrassed about. So wash the car down, add some polish and don’t be afraid to show your hard work off.
This is just an overview of what you can do, but all of the tips here can be done by yourself with relative ease and they all add up to make a big difference to your car’s performance and your manly driving experience as a result.