How to Tune Up a Car

Any person who is a responsible car owner, knows that one aspect of owning a car is performing regular tune ups. Many people are a little intimidated when they hear the words tune up. The truth is that performing a tune up yourself is fairly easy as there aren't many tasks to do when it comes to the actual tune up of a vehicle.

When it comes time to do the tune up, these are the basic things that you will need to keep in mind when you are preparing the car for its tune up. The first thing that you will need to do is to check and maybe even change the oil. This is the most important aspect of doing a tune up. It is recommended that the oil is changed every 3000 miles. This is the optimal time period for having the best performance out of your engine. Oil that is not changed this often, tends to collect gunk in it and this can hinder the performance of your car. While you are changing the oil be sure that you change the oil filter as well.

After you have changed the oil and filter, then it is time that you head to the top of the engine. This is where you will change the air filter. Changing the air filter is not that difficult, many times you will simply need to just pop off the air cleaner cover, and simply lift the old out of the cleaner and replace it with the new one. Replace the cover and that part of the tune up is finished.

Spark plugs is another part of the tune up that many people can easily do themselves. This is as easy as finding the right socket and simply taking the old out and placing a new one in the same spot. While you are replacing the spark plugs, make sure that you replace the spark plug wires as well.

One final aspect that you will need to consider is the replacement of the coolant. This is vitally important especially in the summer months and the winter months. Having proper coolant mix is a vital part of protecting your engine. If the mixture is off in the summer, then your engine may over heat, if you are off in the winter there is the risk of your engine freezing up and as a result this will lead to your engine block cracking. This will be an expensive repair, so making sure your coolant is correct is vital in the winter months.

If a car is not properly maintained, then there is a chance that the car will not run as properly as it really should, in addition this will cut down on the life of the car in the long run. This is why the tune up is so important.

Photo Credits: kozumel