Archive for February, 2015

Drive Defensively In Arkansas

Friday, February 27th, 2015

Car care is an important part of auto safety in Little Rock. But the most important thing we can do to improve safety on Arkansas roads is to drive safely.

Defensive driving is safe driving. And defensive driving is all about attitude. You have to decide that you will be a safe driver in Arkansas, no matter what anyone else is doing.

Little Rock motorists can start with awareness. Always maintain awareness of your surroundings, the road conditions, other vehicles on the Little Rock road or highway and road hazards. Have you ever suddenly realized that you have arrived somewhere, but you don’t really remember driving there? That is unsafe driving.

Never assume that other Little Rock motorists are paying attention. You be the one on alert. You be the one to take initiative to stay out of the way of other Arkansas drivers. And don’t let familiarity dull your alertness. Remind yourself to pay as close attention while driving on the roads near your Little Rock home as you would in unfamiliar territory around Arkansas.

Prepare your truck so you can give the road your full attention. Secure passengers and pets before leaving the driveway. Secure loose items in your truck so they can’t become projectiles if you have to brake suddenly. If children or pets become a distraction while driving, pull over and take care of the problem before re-entering traffic. Unclutter your windows. Take down the danglies from your rearview mirror. And don’t use your truck dashboard as an office. Move distractions and clutter to the backseat. Keep your windshield clear.

Properly maintain your truck. Preventive maintenance doesn’t just prevent repairs; it prevents unsafe vehicles. Make sure your tires, lights, brakes, suspension, alignment and steering get regular check-ups at Parkway Automotive. Also, listen to your honest Parkway Automotive technician when he gives you auto advice about other systems in your truck. Knowing about the wear and tear on your truck can help you avoid dangerous situations.

Avoid driving when you are sleepy or angry. Get a good night’s sleep before a road trip in Arkansas, and learn to set aside relationship, job or other issues while you are in a vehicle. Again, you have to take charge of your own safety. Don’t daydream in your vehicle. Also, talking to passengers can be a distraction. Keep your mind on the road. Conversations may keep you from daydreaming or excessive boredom on a long trip, but always keep your driving foremost in your mind.

Maintain a proper speed. Driving too fast is dangerous on crowded Little Rock roads, but driving too slowly can cause accidents, too. At night, don’t overdrive your headlights. Your stopping distance needs to be shorter than the distance your headlights are illuminating.

Never drink and drive. Alcohol plays a part in half of all fatal accidents in Arkansas and nationally. Also, don’t drive drugged. Pay attention to the warning labels on any medications you are taking.

Other Bryant, Arkansas motorists need to see you and know what you want to do. Use your truck turn signals, and stay out of other Arkansas drivers’ blind spots.

If you can, avoid driving over debris in the road. You can damage your truck or end up in an accident. Of course, if swerving to avoid the debris is dangerous, then slow down and navigate as best you can. Do what you can to alert other car owners to the problem. You may want to pull to the side of the Ferndale, Arkansas road and report the debris or move it to the side of the road, if you can do so safely.

Never follow too closely on Conway, Arkansas roads or interstates. Observe the two-second rule. Choose an object ahead such as a tree or traffic sign. As the car in front of you passes it, start counting: one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand. If you reach the object before you’re done, you’re too close. Back off.

If you are on one of the Arkansas interstates, or if you are hauling a heavy load, or if you are tired, or if in any way you are not the model of the alert and attentive driver, then increase that two-second rule to three seconds. Give yourself an added measure of safety. If the Conway, Arkansas weather is bad, increase the rule to five seconds.

Inevitably, someone always pulls in front of you when you are trying to follow the “seconds” rules. Don’t get mad. Just back off and leave them to their bad driving habits. Remember, you are not going to give up your safety for anyone else’s cussedness. It’s always a bad trade.

If someone is following you too closely, pull over and let them pass. Give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going. If you’re late, worry about it after you’re there, not while you’re on the road.

If you see a vehicle driving erratically in Little Rock, stay away. Take the next right or the next exit off the freeway. Notify the Little Rock police as soon as you are safely stopped.

And of course, don’t be the idiot driver we all complain about in Little Rock. Don’t contest your right-of-way, don’t race to beat someone to a merge, and don’t cut into someone else’s two seconds of space. Winning these types of ego trips may end up losing you your truck—or worse, your life or the life of a friend.

The professional automotive team at Parkway Automotive wants all Little Rock motorists to stay smart and stay safe.

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Parkway Automotive Engine Air Filter Replacement

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

When your experienced Parkway Automotive service professional technician changes your oil, he will also inspect your air filter. You shouldn’t need a new filter at every oil change, but you will need to change it regularly. Heed your service professional’s auto advice if they tell you to change your filter. It’s not expensive, and it makes a big difference to your truck.

An air filter does what its name implies: it filters stuff out of the air. Air is drawn into your engine through the filter because your engine needs air to burn fuel. If the filter weren’t there, a lot of dust and debris would come into the truck engine with the air. That dust and debris would get hot, burn, and produce all kinds of ash and gumminess that would eventually clog up your engine.

Drop in an air filter and voilá! Problem solved.

But air filters themselves get clogged up with all the junk they clean out of the Conway, Arkansas air. This doesn’t allow the junk into the truck engine, but it does block up the airflow. A blocked airflow will reduce engine efficiency.

An engine needs about 12,000 gallons of air to burn just one gallon of gasoline. Think of a runner. If he is breathing well, he can run well. But if he has a lung condition, he won’t be able to generate the oxygen necessary to keep his cells powered up. He won’t be able to run at peak efficiency.

Or consider a vacuum cleaner. Even without the light, you can tell when the vacuum bag is full because the machine just doesn’t clean anymore. Change the bag and its efficiency immediately improves.

So keep your truck breathing well by keeping its air filter clean. That’s good car care.

Little Rock motorists who get a charge out of the feeling of power in their engine might consider upgrading their air filter. Talk to your honest Parkway Automotive service specialist. Premium air filters have been proven to increase horsepower and torque. So with the cost of a premium air filter, you can increase the horsepower in your engine — there’s no cheaper way to do that!

It’s also one of the least pricey and simplest elements of vital routine preventive maintenance – and protects against damage to expensive truck electronic systems. No Little Rock resident should have an excuse to drive around Conway, Arkansas roads and interstates with a dirty air filter.

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When Do My Shocks Need to be Replaced?

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

A good suspension system gives a vehicle a smooth, even ride while providing Little Rock auto owners with good handling and control. But like any system on your truck, vital parts of the suspension system can wear out, leading to a lower ride quality and safety concerns. So it’s a good idea for Little Rock motorists to remember an inspection of their suspension system in their schedule of a vital preventive maintenance. Springs do most of the work of the suspension system. The most common types of springs are coil and leaf, but air springs and torsion bars are becoming more common. The body of the vehicle is “suspended” by the springs.

If springs were the only working component in your suspension system, however, you’d spend your travel time bouncing up and down like a bobblehead. That’s where your shocks come in. They keep the rebound, or bounciness, of the springs under control. Shocks also keep your tires on the road, which keeps the driver in control of the truck. Some vehicles have struts in their suspension system. Struts are a compact combination of springs and shocks. They do the same critical job but in a single package.

Shocks wear out gradually, so it can be difficult for Little Rock drivers to notice when they need to be replaced. There’s no definitive point when a vehicle’s ride goes from smooth and controlled to a bit imprecise. To check if your shocks or struts are worn, you should first do a visual inspection on them. If they are leaking fluid, they need to be replaced.

There are other less obvious signs that your suspension system needs critical attention. For example, an uneven, cupping wear on your tires may indicate that your shocks are worn. If your vehicle feels “floaty” when you turn, or, in other words, you don’t feel that you have full control of the vehicle, you should check your shocks. Also, if the front end of your vehicle dips noticeably when you stop, it’s time for new shocks.

Your owner’s manual gives recommendations on how often the shocks should be checked, usually between 15,000 and 30,000 miles (24,000-50,000 km). If one of your shocks does need to be replaced, you should replace all four. This will keep your suspension even and ensure good handling of your vehicle. If you carry heavy loads, tow a trailer or drive on uneven Conway, Arkansas area terrain, you might also consider upgrading to a heavy-duty shock.

Regular shocks contain hydraulic fluid. The critical fluid helps them absorb the bumps or “shocks” of the road so the impact doesn’t transfer to the truck’s body. Premium shocks are filled with compressed nitrogen gas, which costs more but does a better job of controlling body motions. Regular shocks can develop air bubbles that reduce their effectiveness; the premium shocks don’t have this problem. So if you want higher handling performance, if you drive off-road around Arkansas or if you just want added comfort, you should consider upgrading to premium shocks or struts.

Replacing struts can put your truck out of alignment, so an alignment check should always follow this type of repair. Talk to your honest tech at Parkway Automotive in Little Rock.

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A New Battery In Little Rock

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

Hello Little Rock drivers, let’s talk about batteries. Car batteries are just like any rechargeable battery. They will eventually wear out and die. If you are shopping for a new battery in Little Rock, here’s some auto advice to help you.

There are two measurements to consider when purchasing a new battery: cold cranking amps and reserve capacity. The power required to start a cold engine is measured in cold cranking amps. The number you need is determined by what kind of vehicle you drive and where you live. In general, higher-cylinder engines require more cold cranking amps than lower-cylinder engines. In other words, an eight-cylinder engine needs more cold cranking amps than a six-cylinder one. Also, diesel engines require more cold cranking amps than gasoline engines.

The Conway, Arkansas weather also determines the number of cold cranking amps you need. The colder the truck engine, the more power it takes to get it started. Also, cold Arkansas weather reduces the electrical efficiency of the battery, which reduces the amount of energy available in the battery to start the engine. Thus, in freezing temperatures, you need more power to start an engine, but you have less power available to get it started.

So if you live in a cold climate, or in an area in Arkansas where winters can get really chilly, it is essential to have a battery with more cold cranking amps than if you live in a more mild or warmer climate.

The battery that was installed in your truck at the factory may not have the appropriate number of cold cranking amps for your area. It is important to check the manufacturer’s recommendations and get at least that number of cold cranking amps, but you may want to upgrade if you live in a colder climate.

Reserve capacity is the number of minutes your battery can maintain essential functions in your truck without being recharged. There are two things that affect reserve capacity. The first is referred to as parasitic drain. Your truck has power systems that must be kept running while the engine is off. These may include the security system, the remote start systems, and any computer systems. The number and power requirements of these systems has greatly increased over the last few decades. As a result, the need for reserve capacity in vehicles’ batteries has also increased. Very short trips around Little Rock and Cabot, Arkansas do not allow a vehicle’s battery to recover the energy that was used to start the car. So these trips require reserve capacity as well.

Again, the reserve capacity in the battery installed at the factory may not be what you need for your Little Rock lifestyle and driving habits. Again, use the manufacturer’s recommendation as a minimum, but consider upgrading if your truck has a lot of parasitic power drain or if you frequently make very short trips around Conway, Arkansas.

Your honest technician at Parkway Automotive in Little Rock can help you choose an appropriate battery for your vehicle and your lifestyle. If you need extra power owing to cold weather or a need for more reserve capacity, you may want to choose a heavy-duty battery. Just make sure it fits into your truck. An oversized battery may give you the power you need, but it’s a serious safety hazard if the terminals come into contact with other parts of the vehicle.

Car batteries aren’t cheap in Little Rock, so you may want to consider the warranty when purchasing. Pro-rated warranties will give you credit for a portion of the battery if the battery fails during the warranty period. The amount of credit will depend on how long the battery lasted. A free replacement warranty will replace your battery if it fails during the warranty period. Before you purchase a battery, make sure you know what you are buying.

Keep in mind that preventive maintenance and good car care can extend the life of your battery. Judicious use of electric gadgets and good driving habits is important and can help you get the most out of your battery.

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