Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Truck Batteries – How to choose the best battery for your truck

Most often, truck owners do not give a great thought to which replacement batteries you must buy for our trucks till our original battery fails. Once the final volt is cranked you are generally in a rush to be again on the streets. This simply implies that you don’t spend enough time choosing the perfect replacement batteries for our truck.

Although price is crucial, the cheapest battery may not be the most beneficial (or cheapest) in the long run. Picking out the perfect battery for your truck is much simpler if you get acquainted with your choices before you require a fast replacement. Here are some common factors which you need to consider while selecting a replacement battery for your truck.

How to choose the right Battery for your Truck?

1. Purchase a truck battery having the right size and dimensions

Battery group size shows the battery size which will best match the physical proportions of your truck. Several vehicles may allow for multiple group size.
Batteries are available in all sizes and shapes. If you opt for one that is too small, it may move about inside the battery tray, and therefore the battery hold-down will certainly be loose. On the contrary, if you purchase a battery that is too big, it might sit on the tray’s edge and this could rub a dent in the battery. If your battery is just too tall, it may touch the hood as well as other metal pieces and create a loud explosion. It is clear that the battery group size is very essential while selecting a battery for your truck.

2. Check the Cold Crank Amperes for your Truck

Cold Crank Amperes (CCA) is crucial for a good cranking ability. It is the number of amperes a battery supports for half a minute at a 0⁰ F before the battery voltage falls to levels which are unusable. A 12V battery having a rating of 600 CCA implies the battery provides 600 amps for 30 seconds at 0⁰ F till the voltage falls to 7.20 V (six cells). Cold start-ups are one of the hardest difficulties for any battery, and in case you purchase a substitute having a reduced rating compared to what your truck needs, you might be in trouble.  In case you buy a battery with a higher rating, it won’t hurt, but there is no great benefit to a sizable increase. Read the rest of this entry »

Should you fill up your car with High Octane Gasoline?

Should you use a higher octane gasoline or regular gasoline? Most car owners are not sure about whether going for High Octane gasoline will improve the performance of the car.  You should first learn about how the engine works, the Octane ratings of a fuel and its effect on car engine performance.

Gasoline is most frequently employed in most automobile spark ignition engines.  Gasoline is basically a mixture of various hydrocarbons.  The gasoline used in cars is sprayed to your engine combined with mixture of air.  Once the engine heats up it transforms the gasoline to vapor.  This vapor allows to generate ignition with the aid of spark plug and this ignites the mixture.  Further additives are blended with the gasoline fuel to boost its quality.  If the ignition takes place before time, there can be a trouble with the fuel.  This harms the engine and the engine tends to make some knocking sounds.  The fuel’s quality is decided based on the knocking effect.  The gasoline’s quality is assessed in octane number.

What’s the difference between premium and regular gasoline?

Many cars usually come with four-stroke gasoline engines.  Out of the four strokes, the first is the compression stroke which compresses a cylinder filled with air into a really small volume to help ignition process in the engine.  The standard car engine has a compression ratio of 8:1. Octane is the primary element of fuel.  The octane rating of gasoline will show you the optimum amount of fuel which needs to be compressed to initiate instant ignition. Read the rest of this entry »

How to extend the life of your car tires?

There are various factors involved in proper car maintenance.  The car tires are a significant component of your car.  Car tires tend to be a high-priced component and once in a while they ought to be replaced at regular intervals.  The tire maintenance is crucial for any automobile.  Tire maintenance and preservation is easy and straightforward.  You can boost the durability and efficiency of your car tires by executing a couple of basic tasks.

Proper tire maintenance is an important from safety point of view; however, it is often neglected by car owners.  By undertaking some simple measures, you can ascertain the longevity of your auto tires.  Here are some tips for maintaining your car tires.  If you follow these tips, it will certainly help you to extend the life of your car tires.

Examine the Tire Pressure Regularly

Make sure to check the pressure of the tires regularly.  The tire of the car should be properly inflated. If the tires are over inflated or less inflated it may lead to tire failure.  If you do not know the air pressure the tire of your vehicle must possess, you need to find out.  The tire pressure is mentioned in the user manual and also on the side of the tire.

Checking your tire’s pressure is also simple.  You can make use of the tire gauge.  These can be purchased from the automotive department of any big store.  You simply need to unscrew the cap of your tire’s air intake and hold a Tire Gauge against it.  See to it that all the tires of your car are evenly inflated, else it may lead to wear and other problems in future.

Visually inspect for Scars and Pores in Tires

Streets are usually layered with rubble, most of which are actually sharp like nails and glass.  If a nail pierces into a tire, it might not lead to an instant flat tire, but may cause a gradual leakage of tire pressure.  In future, it may even lead to a flat tire. Hence it is essential that you have an alert eye.  You must repair tires with small cuts, scars or abrasions and get the tires with larger cuts replaced to avoid problems in future. Read the rest of this entry »

Car Care Tips for Monsoon

In many countries in the world, it is now the monsoon time and it is raining heavily.  Rainy season poses various threats and challenges to your vehicle that can not be ignored.  We request you to pay attention to the following precautions and tips so that you can not only drive safely in rainy conditions, but also keep your vehicle in perfectly shining condition.

1. Maintain Wiper Blades: In rainy conditions, you should have a good visibility which means you should get a clear unobstructed view of the road.  This is possible only when you have good windshield wipers.  If the wipers streak, chatter and fail to wipe cleanly, you need to replace your windshield wiper blades.  If you have an older vehicle, you may be required to replace the entire wiper arm, as the wear and tear of the arms fails to apply pressure enough to clean the windscreen.
2. Polish your car: Teflon coating is a must-have protection especially in humid and rainy conditions. It protects the car’s metal parts and panels from scratches, rust and environmental damage to the paint. And, you must touch up all the body scratches, as even minor marks and scratches on the car’s body can start the rusting process.
3. Replace bald tires: Worn tire, especially bald tires can be very dangerous on wet roads, where the grooves are not deep enough to channel water out from beneath the tread. It leads to reduced traction and hydroplaning where the vehicle can no longer respond to the steering wheel. You must make sure that the tread level of your tires never goes below 2/32 inch or 3mm.
4. De-fog Windows: Make sure your air-conditioning and defrosting units are functioning properly to de-fog the windows when you are driving in rains. If your windscreen gets fogged up, you should use the defrost mode with Air Conditioner ON and fresh air mode to clear the condensation on windscreen.
5. Checking lights: It may get dark in rainy conditions, so you need to ensure that your headlights are working properly so as to illuminate the dark surroundings around you. It will also help drivers coming from opposite direction to notice your vehicle.  Read the rest of this entry »

The auto industry is moving towards fuel efficient and eco-friendly hybrid cars and trucks.  This is a welcome move when the fuel prices are rising day by day. However, if you own a gasoline or diesel powered car, you can not just dump it and go for a hybrid vehicle.  We can still take some measures to improve fuel economy of conventional cars to combat skyrocketing fuel prices.  Here are some simple tips – which are often overlooked – to increase your car’s fuel efficiency;  each little step can add up to cut down your fuel expenses significantly.

1. Tune Your Engine
Fixing a car that has failed the emission test or whose engine is out of tune can increase the fuel economy by up to 4%.  Serious problems like faulty oxygen sensor can reduce fuel efficiency by 40%.  So follow the recommendation on servicing by your car manufacturer and change your oil regularly.

2.Keep Proper Tire Pressure
Keeping your tires inflated to the optimum pressure is one of the simplest steps you can take to improve the fuel efficiency of your car.  You can improve your car mileage by about 3.3 % by having proper pressure in your tires.  Properly inflated tires also are safer and last longer.  You can check the sticker for recommended tire pressure near the driver’s side door or in the owner’s manual.

3. Lighten Your Load
Your car trunk may have unnecessary items such as tools, luggage, golf clubs or skiing shoes. Books, CDs, and other things can also add up to weight of car.  A roof rack when it is not needed is also adding to the load your car is carrying.  You should get rid of all such unnecessary items.  In a typical vehicle, your fuel efficiency can drop by 2% for every extra 50 kg you carry.

4. Clean the Air Filters Regularly
Air filters are needed to keep your engine protected from impurities.  Fuel economy can be improved by as much as 10% by replacing a clogged air filter.  It can also improve acceleration time by about 5 to 10 %.

5. Use the Recommended Grade of Motor Oil and Fuel
When you change your oil, you should insist on the manufacturer’s recommended grade of motor oil.  This step can improve your gas mileage by 1-2 %. Also, you should always use the manufacturer’s recommended grade fuel for your car.  Higher octane fuel leads not only to wastage of money, but may damage the vehicle, as well.

6. Don’t drive fast
You should drive within the speed limit recommended by the manufacturer.  If you drive faster, you’d consume more fuel.  Even if you exceed the speed limit by 8 km/hr, your fuel economy can be affected by affected by about 25%.  In the same manner, accelerating quickly uses more fuel; so you should accelerate gradually and slowly and stay within the recommended speed limits.

7. Clean Spark Plugs
Spark plugs get eroded and have a limited life span.  You should inspect your spark plugs regularly and make sure that they are in good condition.  You should replace the spark plugs and wires at regular intervals recommended by the manufacturer.  This will help keep all engine cylinders to fire properly thus resulting in higher fuel efficiency.

8. Keep the Windows Closed
When you are driving on highways, driving with your windows open consumes more fuel than keeping the air conditioner on.   So, if you want to keep your interior cool, it is advisable to keep the windows closed and the Air Conditioner on.  Of course, you should use the A/C judiciously as it can decrease the fuel efficiency considerably too.

9. Don’t Be a Clutch-Driver
Some people have the habit of keeping their foot on the clutch while driving.  When you do this, the pressure on your clutch not only reduces mileage, but also causes wear and tear of the clutch plate, replacing which is often expensive.

10. Stay away from Car modifications
It’s always wise to keep the car in the original condition.  Remember that any modification to the car, such as adding diffusers, broad tires, etc., will affect the fuel efficiency and mileage considerably.

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