The rainy season is upon us again. It doesn’t require an Ernie Baron to see that there are flash floods, afternoon showers and the inevitable overnight craters to see this fact. However, in as much as nature could change as quick as affiliations in the Philippine Senate; motorists’ behavior seem to be stuck on a summer mode as Bazooka bubblegum to orthodontic braces.
Despite poor visibility and wet roads, it seems that some Michael Schumacher wannabes treat Katipunan Avenue as El Rouge Straight at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Plunging their white Civic SiRs to full throttle, probably not knowing that their car doesn’t carry ABS as standard nor five Formula One driver’s championships.
Well, to some extent, we can’t blame these drivers, right? Most of them probably got their driver’s licenses the ‘easy way’ and probably don’t know the difference between aquaplaning and AquaTred. Alright, it’s the past and there’s no way to correct these errors, unless someone has a flying De Lorean and a certain Doc out there. Since a optimistic estimates would put the chances of that happening at zero percent, we at motioncars.com would try to correct this small problem.
In the next few pages, we’d be offering some simple to understand and follow guides for you and your car this rainy season. One quick note though: if your parents get a chance to read this article, there’s no more reason why you just trashed your beloved Civic.
Weekly Rituals in Car Maintenance
A good chef can’t do anything without those high-tech non-stick teflon-coated knives, nor can Mika Hakkinen win F1 races in a go-kart. The car is essentially the tool of every driver. In fact, there are some car philosophies that go: the car is an extension of your body. Any skill would be quite useless if the tool is defective. This is especially true when it’s raining cats and dogs out there. It’s better to take a few extra minutes out of each weekend just to make sure your greatest possession is working and running in tip-top shape.
A small guide: if the priority is small, it could be skipped; if medium, it should be made a habit; and finally if it’s high it means its imperative that you check it before driving out every Monday morning.
Car Fluids (Priority: Medium-High)
Rule number one with car maintenance is checking of fluids. Sure, your Hummer may be invincible, but it can’t run without motor oil, right? Make sure that all fluids are within the specified levels. Don’t overfill them though–that could be very dangerous especially in some items such as power steering fluid.
A particular item to watch out for is the washer fluid. Though most drivers would be content by merely wiping off any grime that would stick to the windshield, this will cause scratches that tend to be permanent, and can’t be removed no matter how many times you use a glass cleaner. Washer fluid will help lubricate the wipers, so to speak and prevent scratches to the front glass. Makes bug scrapping a lot easier.
Another thing is the brake fluid. In times of rainy weather, braking is very essential, especially if some road punk swerved in front of you. Sometimes, there’s a general tendency for the fluid to go down, watch out carefully. If the drain is considerably large, bring your car into the shop for appropriate inspection.
Tires / Tire Pressure (Priority: Low-Medium)
Visual check-up is not enough for tires. A perfect example would concern those using Goodyear NCT3s. Though they look kind of oblong, a quick check of the tire pressure would indicate that everything’s normal. Make sure you use a good quality tire pressure gauge to check your tires.
Another thing is to check them only after the tires have cooled down. Since hot air tends to expand the tires, this won’t give an accurate reading with regards to the psi (Pounds-per-Square Inch) of the tire. It’s better to wait around eight hours or more before checking the pressure.
For those taking in air from gasoline stations, it’s highly recommended that you limit that for emergency situations such as fast deflations or pumping your spare tire. Don’t trust those pumps too much (in fact, some of them have needles that don’t work anymore). The best thing would still be to do it at home with your own equipment, that you are sure is working and that gives out a reliable reading.
There are two types of deflation: a fast and a slow one. Fast one typically when your tire goes out with a bang. Another is slow deflation. Usually, this happens an hour or two after a puncture. So, after reaching your destination or upon leaving it (home included), check all four tires visually before entering your car. A slow deflation could occur and would only be evident after the car has taken a break.
Inspect tires for wear as well. Severely worn tires like those found in passenger jeepneys (and no, they are NOT racing slicks), have practically no grip. If there is indeed wear on the tires, check them if they are uneven (too much on the outside or on the inside) in anyway. If they are, then this is an indication of having the need for wheel balancing or adjustment or both.
Some tires carry wear markers (usually the imported brands like Bridgestone). Check to make sure that your tires still have enough tread depth to last you. If not, it may be a good time to invest on a new set of tires.
Wipers and Wiper Blades (Priority: Medium)
Some people just don’t find the need to change wipers. However, when you think about it, this is your primary defense against the possibility of slamming into an 18-wheeler head-on. A simple visual inspection would indicate whether your blades are cracked or deteriorated. Check wipers for streaking also (water lines left behind after the wipers have gone through them), as this could also be an indication of worn-out wiper blades.
If you ever decide to change your wiper blades, we highly recommend buying something other than the factory branded blades. This is because brands such as Bosch last longer than typical Mitsubishi or Honda wiper blades, plus they cost a lot less too. However, there are some cars with special fittings such as the Nissan Cefiro. In cases such as this, there’s no choice but to buy factory brand wiper blades.
Periodically, don’t forget to give your wiper blades a good cleaning by just a simple dry cloth every week or so.
Lights (Priority: Medium-High)
Check all lights to make sure they’re working. Much like the wipers, the car’s lights are primary driving tools. This is especially true with the brake lights and the headlights. Though one may not notice it, driver reaction time quickens when a brake light is flashed, compared to when the see nothing at all. This could very well save your life, if not your rear bumper.
For those living alone, simply turn on the lights and go around the car one time to make sure all driving lamps are working. Parking the car near a white wall and pressing the pedal repeatedly to test a brake lamp. The hazard switch is a good way to test the turning lights. In case you guys aren’t informed as of yet, if there’s a burnt out turning light on say, the left side, the left set of lamps will flicker at a faster rate and will also make the clicking sound faster from the instrumentation panel inside the vehicle. The reason for this is that these bulbs are interconnected in such a way, that when one bulb is removed, all the others will respond.
A tip for those want to ‘soup-up’ their lights: though it’s highly recommended that you buy yourself some driving aids such as front and rear fog lamps use them properly. There are some that do help in bringing better visibility, such as blue-tinted headlamp bulbs (e.g. PIAA), mainly because they increase the lamp’s output temperature, but there are some that are utterly stupid and quite dangerous. Examples of these include those completely white rear tail lamp clusters with white bulbs. Though they do look good, they temporarily blind other drivers, and this could very well cause accidents and probably ‘the finger’.
These white lamps are meant to be used in combination with colored bulbs. So if you can’t spend an additional 30 or so pesos for colored bulbs, then don’t try spending around 5,000 pesos replacing your rear lamp cluster. The same is true for those who re-wire their lamp clusters to the point that the reverse lamp will be the brake lamp, and the turning lamp the driving lamp and so forth; as well as those who replace key color bulbs such as yellow signal lights with blue or even green light. These could very well cause some disasters, not to mention make your car look tacky.
Battery (Priority: Medium-High)
The battery doesn’t just power the car’s four-speaker system. In fact, the rainy season is the time of the year when most of the car’s electronics are put to the test as everything from the lights to the wipers to the air conditioning to the radio all go through the small little box upfront (or back in a BMW or Lincoln). So, make sure that your battery is powerful enough to handle to load.
A common way to check battery capacity is to see whether the headlights are dim or yellowish while driving at night as opposed to the usual bright, whitish glow (make sure your lamp covers don’t have bug carcasses on them first). Another test would be to start the engine with the headlights on.
Starting a car takes the most load on a car battery. So, there should only be a momentary dimming of the lights before returning to normal. If it stays dim, or the engine didn’t crank at all, this could very well be a sign to change your battery.
Newer maintenance-free batteries such as those from Motolight carry a small LED indicator on the battery itself to determine the charging status. Unless you have an Audi A2, make sure you pop-up the hood every week to have a check, especially if you have a hard-starting experience.
In slim cases, the alternator may need some attention as well.
Tools (Priority: High)
Before adding dashboard dancing canines or those pine tree scents, make sure your car carries a standard set of tools that are useful in real emergencies. Sometimes, the tool kit that car manufacturers give is inadequate. Take some time and check what you need the most. From our experience, it’s best to have the following:
EWD or Early Warning Device (required by the government)
Flashlight with batteries
Adjustable wrench
Philips and flat-head screwdrivers
Utility knife
Batter jumper cable
Working gloves
After Driving the Car
If the car has been brought through pools of water or floods, it’s best to check whether the tires are still ok. It’s common to pick-up debris from floodwaters that may cause the tire to deflate. The same would be true with the car’s suspension. If there’s anything lodged on the suspension, trying cleaning it yourself or sending the car to a shop for a under chassis wash. This is important because rust usually starts from dirty areas such as these, and could be prevented with proper inspection.
Check the interior carpet and door rubber sealings if any water got through. If it did, bring the car in for service immediately. Again, this prevents any chance of getting acquainted with some little brown friends (and it’s not a Chihuahua).
If the carpet got soaked, try cleaning it with a simple vacuum cleaner. If an obnoxious smell appears, then better bring in the professionals to do a through cleaning session.
Of course, we’re just done with half of the equation. After the machine, comes the man. Making sure to have a fully-functional car for the wet-weather is one thing, but proper driving is another. After all, the car is merely the tool, and the bottomline is still left to the person driving it. That’s why check up Giving It 107 Percent so that being a safe driver doesn’t necessarily mean being a snail on the road.
By Ulysses Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang
Originally Published October 2000
Revised August 2002
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