2008 Subaru Forester is Recognized

2008 Forester recieves highest frontal and side-impact crash ratings! Click the title to find out more!

AWD = FLATBED

The title pretty much says it all on this one. If you are unaware how to tow your AWD (All Wheel Drive) vehicle, particularly subaru's then you came to the right place. Basically, if have AWD, you need to have it flatbeded if it breaks down or you need to haul it somewhere. Now if you have a manual AWD vehicle, you can put it in neutral and make sure the e-brake is DOWN and tow it with all 4 wheels on the ground. As for an automatic though, you need all 4 wheels OFF the ground and for it to be in park on a flatbed. If your really in a bind and don't need to tow your AWD vehicle far, you can use a 2 wheel dolly and disconnect the driveshaft, just remember to mark both ends of the driveshaft before you take them off. If you fail to follow these instructions you will or will risk damaging your drive train.

Don't neglect your car!

I work at a Car dealership and I see too many cars that come in every day that people neglect. It really does not pay to not service your car or replace parts before they break. Once parts wear out and or break, they can and will cause more damage to your vehicle. Don't wait until your car breaks down on the side of road because you neglected it and you have to tow it into a dealer to find out that you have a bad battery, your 2 quarts low on oil and you have coolant leaking. For example, have your tires rotated and balanced every 8 months or 10,000 miles. Replace your air filter every 12 months or 15,000 miles. Change your oil every month or 3,000 miles. Just so know, even if you bring your car into a dealership or shop to have them change your oil, MOST ( not all) shops will perform a full circle inspection of your car free of charge. It pays to be on top of your ride. Please listen to this and apply it!

Subaru Leaves WRC in 2009

Thats right, Subaru has just announced they are not going to be competing in the 2009 World Rally Championship. The 20 year streak for Subaru has come to an end for now and it's very disappointing news, not just for the team and drivers but for all the fans too. This decision has also caused other drop outs in the WRC. Prodrive is still working with subaru to try and find alternative marketing strategies since the WRC is where Prodrive gets alot of its publicity. The WRC will not be same without subaru, thats for sure.

Changing a Flat Tire Directions

We all get one of these in our lifetime and if you don't have experience in doing this task, these directions will make it easier.

10 EASY STEPS TO CHANGING A FLAT

1.) Right now you should go and check if your vehicle is even equipped with a spare, space save or doughnut. They are usually located in the trunk, underneath the vehicle or under a floor board. You can check the location of yours by looking into your o.m. (owners manual).

2.) Once you have verified that you have one, you better go ahead and check the tire pressure of the spare. A tire's psi (pounds per square inch) fluctuates during hot and cold weather and most likely your spare has probably lost some psi. The common recommended psi for a spare tire is usually 60 psi. It is usually printed on the tire though and you can always check the o.m. again.

3.) Now that you are prepared, now you will have the peace of mind when this might occur. So
your stuck on the side of the road with a flat. Make sure you put your hazard's on and set your Emergency-brake. Go and get your scissor jack, lug nut wrench and spare tire, commonly found in the trunk, if not sure of there location, you can check the o.m..

4.) Place the jack under the car in the proper jacking point which they will tell you in your o.m.
Jack up the vehicle so that the jack is just supporting the vehicle but the wheel is not in the air yet.

5.) The point of just jacking it up that far is because when you loosen all the lug nuts the vehicle will still be supported. So take your lug nut wrench and loosen all your lug nuts. Remember righty- tighty left- loosey. You might need to put your foot on the wrench and use your body weight to loosen the lug nuts if they are really on there, be careful not to round off the lug nuts though and make sure the wrench is all the way on the lug nut.

6.) Okay, now all your lug nuts are loose. Jack the vehicle up the rest of the way so the tire is off the ground. Remove the lug nuts and remove the wheel.

7.) Put your spare on, thread on your lug nuts by hand and then use wrench the rest of the way until they are all snug. If you have 5 or more lug nuts, make sure you tighten them in a star pattern.

8.) Doube check your tire psi if you can and lower the vehicle SLOWLY. Once it is on the ground all the way you can go ahead and really torque down all the lug nuts by hand and make sure its safe.

9.) I should have mentioned this earlier but if you get a flat in the front, you should put your spare in the rear and mount one of your rear wheels in the front where the flat is. This reduces risk of steering problems and wandering and is ultimately safer.

10.) Load up all the tools and flat tire and hit the road. CONGRADULATIONS, YOUR DONE!!!

Tip- Make sure you don't drive too far and stay under the reccomended mph while driving with your spare which is located in your o.m. and get your punctured tire either repaired or replaced ASAP.

I do not take responsibililty and am not to be held accountable for anyone doing this operation wrong following these instructions. Take this seriously and make sure your vehicle is safe before driving off!!!

Is it time to change your oil?

A simple $15 - $20 oil change will lengthen the life of your engine. Don't be lazy or to cheap to get your oil changed, it will be worth it in the end. Old used up oil gets thick and makes your engine work harder to perform and wears out parts faster. Oil and filter should be changed every 3,000 miles. So keep driving the vehicle your in and make it last.

Save Gas, check your tire pressures!!!

All you need is a tire pressure gauge for this one. You can pick one up at your local auto store for a couple bucks or less. Open your driver side door, you will see a label either on the door jam or on
the body of the car. That label tells you what pressures you should be running in your tires (front and rear may be different) regardless of what size they are or if you have after market rims. Driving with the right tire pressures saves gas because there is less friction between you and the road and it also prevents premature tire wear. So be smart on this one, take the time when you fill up every so often and check your tire pressures.

Avoid Check Engine Lights

Next time your a the fuel pump. Make sure you turn that gas cap until you hear it click. If you fail in turning the cap until it clicks you will not allow it to seal. The check engine light might not come on right away but once you start driving, it will surely come on. It is an unnecessary problem and will usually make you as the driver start to panic. Then you will end up scheduling an appointment at your local dealership or independent shop just to pay them to tighten your gas cap and clear the engine light. With these economic times, we need to save all that we can. Just a small tip.