My Auto Shop Info Hub

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 […]

There’s plenty of information out there for first time car buyers.  But, what about those on the other side?  They say it takes a certain type, and generally car dealers get quickly but heaped into the shiny white loafers bucket, but in reality, there’s an art to selling a car, so here’s our crack at […]

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. […]

Seinfeld’s famous “Serenity now!” skit was always a favourite in my family, and goes some way to setting the general tone of our family car trips growing up.  We all seem to be searching for ways to access our inner peace these days, and I’m just going to go ahead and say this, but it […]

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 […]