Education

To be fair, much like the term ‘tune up’, the terms oversteer and understeer might seem a little out of date.  But, we humans like familiarity, and while the meanings have evolved, the words seem to stay the same. Basically, oversteer and understeer are motoring dynamics which remain with us, despite the profusion of electric […]

Okay, so you’ve read our Zen Guide to Peaceful Road Trips, you learnt all about how heat can bring about car motion sickness, and now you just want the cold hard facts – “How the hell do I cool this car down?!” Whether you use sun shades on the windows or window tinting to keep […]

We’ve covered off what’s going on with all those lights on your dashboard in a little bit of depth before, but today we thought we’d get into the nitty-gritty.  Under each of those lights, there’s a tonne of information that you could potentially read into, and so we thought let’s start with the beating heart […]

Picture this, you’re cruising down State Highway 1, your favourite roadtrip tunes on blast, when you see a bright flash out of the corner of your eye.  What was that?  D’oh, of course it was a speed camera! You quickly check your speed, gently heading up towards the 120km/h mark.  Yeesh!  You start to slow […]

If you’re a regular here on the My Auto Shop blog, you’ll know we like to keep you fully informed and equipped to deal with everyday car issues.   With the summer sun now shining into directly into our eyes (cue sunglasses), we thought it might be time to give you the down-low on how to […]

Odometers serve a very certain purpose in our cars.  We need to know how far we’ve travelled, as this gives us an indication of where a car is at in its lifecycle and what servicing requirements there are at any given moment. Many cars were equipped with the mechanical Auto-Meter gadget in the early 1900s, […]

It’s no secret, child restraints save lives, plain and simple. New Zealand has a very clear framework for the management of child safety and child restraints in vehicles.  As we start to filter out onto the roads this summer, we thought it’d be useful to cover off exactly what the legal requirements are when it […]

Oh yeah, we know it, you know it, we all know it.  Check the tyre pressure.  Yeah, yeah.  Sure.  But who’s really doing it?  Well, to put it plain and simple, regularly checking your tyre pressure is critical to the safe operation of your vehicle. Tyres lose pressure over time (funny that!), which is why […]

We can thank our lucky stars that you don’t need to be a qualified mechanic in order to find yourself adequately prepared for that odd occasion when you experience a roadside breakdown. In fact, it happens on a regular basis, just generally not to the same individual driver, assuming the vehicle is regularly serviced by […]

As drivers, we’re always looking for that new edge when it comes to our engine performance.  Whether you’re wanting better acceleration, higher top-end speeds or just a bit of a smoother ride, you want to get the most juice out of your engine. Well, we’re here to tell you that it’s possible to get these […]

Okay team, we’re not trying to tell you how to suck eggs here, but we’re thinking maybe an article about blind spots has, in fact, been sitting in our blind spot here at My Auto Shop.  So, here it goes, let us open your eyes to the elusive and potentially dangerous “blind spot”. A blind […]

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a hot topic right now, with a variety of factors influencing customer adoption as well as economic estimates and consequences for manufacturers.   Indeed, getting a feel for what you really get for the cost with an EV and what to look out for is a bit of an exercise unto itself! […]

“Just jump start it, dude!  You’ll be sweet!” … And they were never heard from again. Okay, so that might be going a little bit far, but the point we’re making is that while it seems everyone under the sun is quick to tell you they “just jump started it” – it does take a […]

If you ever find yourself in a pickle with a flat tyre, or you’ve seen a car jack lurking around in your car boot but are unsure exactly what it’s for, or what to do with it, know that you’re not the first (nor will you be the last) in either of these situations! Or […]

It’s so important that you teach your kids how to be safe in and around cars. Crossing the road, not opening doors or windows, seat belts and always paying attention around roads and cars. All of these keep your kids safe around cars. We’ve got some tips for rules and processes, to keep your kids […]

There are different types of brake rotors for different requirements. If your car has disc brakes, it’s something that will need to be serviced, sometimes machined, occasionally replaced. When you do replace them it’s worth thinking about what you might want. If you need brake rotors replaced, or any other work for your car done, […]

Nearly all modern production cars have water cooled engines nowadays, however, there was a time when air cooled cars held their own. Cars like the VW Beetle, Porsche 911 and the Fiat 500, all used air cooled engines. There were some advantages to an air-cooled system but ultimately the efficiency and reliability of water-cooled systems […]

Your engine inhales air and fuel, at the top of the compression stroke, the spark plug ignites the mixture. The spark plug only has that job, to ignite the mixture. Yep, you’ve got a whole ignition system for the sole purpose of one spark each cylinder at the top of every combustion stroke. The spark […]

Your wheels are round, they have tyres fitted over the top of them and they roll. Why fix what isn’t broke? Well, your wheels do roll, that’s where the problem comes from. Your wheels may be round and roll nicely, but without balancing, they won’t do that very well at all. If you need a […]

Your oil is the most critical fluid in your engine. It lubricates all the really expensive stuff, it keeps things clean, and it cools the engine when you’re driving. Due to your oil being circulated constantly and lubricating a bunch of moving parts, it picks up dirt, moisture and other carbon deposits. To keep these […]

Unfortunately, it doesn’t make your car fly. It does do some really neat other stuff though. It’s actually critical to any car with a manual transmission. It’s bolted to the crankshaft and serves as the mechanical connection between the crankshaft and the transmission. It also starts the car and makes sure it’s comfortable when it […]

Your car should drive in a straight line when you want it to. To do this, you need the wheels all pointing in the same direction. Often you’ll find your car pulling to one side, this is a sign that your tyre alignment needs a check. Your wheel alignment means that your car will go […]

A turbo is a impeller that is spun via exhaust gas. It then spins an impeller that sucks in air, pressurises it and forces it into your engine. So your turbo takes something that you weren’t using anyway and turns it into more horsepower. Add in the fact that it often makes your car more […]

When a spark plug is ‘fouled’, it basically means it’s becoming too worn or contaminated to work properly.   While they’re a lot more reliable in modern cars, there are still things inside your engine (like fuel and carbon) which can build up onto your spark plugs, and eventually render them ineffective in either firing or […]