Education

Your car’s wheels spin around, the pistons go up and down. So the question is how you take the lateral movement of your pistons and turn it horizontal to make it rotational energy? The answer is your crankshaft. It takes all the energy from the pistons and sends it to the transmission. This is super […]

Your car idles at about 750-900 revolutions per minute, rpm, this requires the valves to open and close 750-900 times a minute. Without the camshaft you wouldn’t have a working engine. It is what allows air into, and exhaust out of, the engine via the intake and exhaust valves. What is a camshaft? What a […]

Your car needs a certain kind of fuel to run smoothly. If your car requires premium fuel, that usually means above 95 octane. If it needs diesel then it needs, well, diesel. What it doesn’t need is petrol when it runs on diesel. That is not an ideal situation to be in. DO NOT PUT […]

Your car’s engine gets really hot. Mainly due to the thousands of explosions per minute. To cool the engine your car uses coolant, to cool the coolant, you have a radiator. Modern cars use newer and more high performance radiators for coolant to pass through the cooling system. So whether you’ve got an aluminium radiator, […]

I’ll confess, when electric vehicles (EVs) hit the market in 2010, I wasn’t aware of what their arrival truly meant for the future of motoring around the world.   The car in question was, of course, the Mitsubishi MiEV, which appeared in 2010.  A nifty, 4-door hatchback that promised to power you through 120 electrified kilometres.  […]

Asides from staring at an actual deer in headlights, potholes are probably the next (and far more common) enemy of drivers in New Zealand.  They’re no fun, plain and simple, although they do bring the benefit of giving you an idea just how much shock absorption is build into your car. It’s pretty hard to […]

Buying a project car can be an incredible opportunity, offering a rewarding way to spend your time while building up your mechanical muscle.  However, it’s best to keep a clear eye on the road ahead.   Project cars are notoriously time consuming and can lend to things going financially awry if you’re not aware of the […]

We don’t always think about it, but our windscreens actually bear a fair brunt as we get ourselves around.  There’s nothing more annoying than a distracting windscreen crack or chip sitting in your critical vision area while you’re hurtling down the motorway. Windscreens are actually a key safety component in a car (it could literally […]

With summer on the horizon, I’ve been starting to think about investing in a vehicle and hitting the open roads.  Scanning the online car listings, you soon get an idea of what’s important, and I reckon having a reliable, working air conditioning unit is key to a comfortable ride, no matter what season you’re in. […]

That dismal feeling that sets in when you’ve realised your car battery has gone kaput isn’t one that is recalled fondly! If you haven’t had the misfortune of this happening to you (yet!), now’s your chance to turn the tide on one of those fails that seems to catch every driver out at least once […]

Your car has brakes. The size of the brakes determine stopping power, the ventilation deters brake fade, and your brake components range far and wide. There’s a lot going on with stopping your car basically. Your brake pads are what make contact with your brake rotors. This contact creates friction, which creates heat. The friction […]

Your car has a lot of safety features that keep you safe that you’ll (hopefully) never use. Things like airbags, seatbelts, crumple zones and even fire extinguishers, all of these are great for when you’re having a crash. What about to avoid a crash though. These things can save your life, let alone your car. […]

Ugh, the irking thought of car repairs.  They’re always looming in the background of any driver’s consciousness.  And generally accompanying those thoughts is a sense of dread around the scope of the car repairs, and what the cost is to fix parts. Here at My Auto Shop, we think knowledge is power.  And we’re here […]

So, you’re thinking about buying an electric vehicle (EV), or you already own one.  Nice.  We thought it’d be useful to give you a bit of a guide about where to charge it. Sure, most EV drivers will find charging at home or in a carpark at work can be convenient, but there comes that […]

For many of us, our big annual break comes around at the end of one year, and the beginning of another.  Even if you’re working through the period, you’re no doubt scrambling to get out the door and out to a holiday destination. Sure enough, the roads are busier, bottlenecks more frequent and we daresay […]

Expert’s guide to summer car maintenance Woohoo!  As I write this article, New Zealand’s famous sun is pouring in through the windows and I’m reminded of everything wonderful about living in this country.  Not least the idea of hitting the road and getting out to a beach after months spent in lockdown! If you’re anything […]

If you’ve ever parked on a steep hill, you’ll need to say thanks to your park brake. Your brake pedal uses your brake pads to slow the car down. The parking brake system utilises the same idea. It uses the rear brakes to lock the rear wheels. In an automatic transmission you have park, that’s […]

Shock absorbers do what their name suggests. They absorb shocks. There are a few different types of shock absorber but they all do the same job, provide a smooth ride. When you’re driving your car and it hits a bump, your shocks are what absorb and distribute the impact. They are an integral component of […]

When you depress the brake pedal, brake fluid is pumped from the master cylinder. This hydraulic fluid gets to the brakes through the brake lines. Over time, as your brake fluid boils and returns to the brake fluid reservoir, it can collect moisture, break down and your pedal feel will suffer. As a result your […]

Your spark plugs are responsible for igniting the fuel and air mixture in your petrol engine. They work extremely hard, endure heat cycles and wear over time. Spark plugs can be replaced with the OEM specification plugs as recommended. By sticking to the manufacturer’s service schedule you can ensure that your cars performance isn’t compromised. […]

It’s a wonderful by-product of our increasingly busy lives that we have the opportunity to spend time on the things that really make us tick.  Whether that’s work, family, sport or another hobby (driving, anyone?), we all want to spend more time doing what we love, with the people we love, rather than spending endless […]

If your cars’ cooling system is overworked and underpaid, there’s a chance your car overheats on a hot day stuck in traffic. There’s only so much your engine coolant and water pump can do. If your temperature gauge tells you that a sabbatical on the side of the road is required, you’d best listen. Overheating […]

You want a fast car, who wouldn’t? But it’s got a DCT transmission, what’s that? Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all you need to know on how a dual clutch transmission works.  A manual gearbox has one clutch, an automatic transmission has a torque converter, but now there’s an automatic transmission with two clutches. Is […]

You’ve got brake lights, you’ve got headlights, lights for turning, daytime running lights, and even lights for opening your door. But what about fog lights? What do fog lights do? Why do you need them?  Fog lights, or fog lamps as some call them, help you see through…. You guessed it – fog. When fog […]