Top 4 Secrets of Detailing Your Car Like a Professional

When you're headed out on that exciting road trip, fun and adventure await you around every curve. However, dangers can lurk there as well. Your dream vacation can quickly turn into a nightmare under the wrong conditions. Fortunately, most road hazards can be avoided, and even inevitable collisions can result in minimal risk and damage so long as you remain vigilant at the wheel. Damaged Roadways Even modern superhighways can have problems. For example, uneven grades or ruts in the pavement can grab your tires and jerk the steering wheel out of your grip. Under the right (or wrong) conditions, potholes can wreak as much chaos as a collision, possibly causing you to lose control of your car. Sinkholes, while rare, have been known to take lives. Keeping a sharp eye on the road is the best way to battle these asphalt demons. Avoid driving at night or on poorly lit highways. When the road surface is wet, be wary of puddles that could be hiding a large and potentially dangerous pothole. Keep your tires properly inflated to minimize tire damage and possible loss of control on rough roads. If you're forced to drive over a pothole, slow down, hold the wheel firmly, and resist the urge to brake when riding directly over it. Animals It's difficult to prepare for animals when driving. An animal can dart into the road ahead of you without warning. The best strategy is to drive at a reasonable speed so you have time to slow down. Swerving to avoid the critter will not only put you at risk of losing control, running off the road, or striking another car, but it also doesn't really work. It will often move just as you approach, getting hit anyway. Applying (not slamming) your brakes is the best option in most cases. Large animals, such as deer, pose a much greater risk. Watch for animal crossing signs — they're posted for a reason. Mating season for deer falls around November and December, so be especially careful this time of year. more Trucks Truck drivers are professionals, which is why over 70 percent of accidents involving large trucks are caused by the other drivers. Serious injury is more likely due to the size and weight of large trucks. Avoid driving in the " No Zone," the areas in which a truck driver can't see you. Never cut off a truck, especially in traffic, since they take longer to slow or stop. Be respectful to truck drivers. When they're merging into traffic, avoid the urge to speed up and pass them. Instead, slow down to make room and give them a few quick flashes of your high beams to let them in. You may even receive a "thank you" flash of their running lights in return. Stay watchful and alert during your road trips! If a collision does occur, don't panic or slam on your brakes. Instead, slow down and stop only when and where it's safe. Your car can be a lot of fun — but never treat it like a toy. Image via Wikipedia Commons by Editor5807 used under CC BY 3.0 / cropped & rotated from original

If you drive on a regular basis, you'll eventually run into one of the most common automotive situations — a nail, screw, or other poky metal object lodged in your tire. There are several steps you can take to detect and remedy the situation so you're not stuck on the side of a poorly lit roadway, attempting to unbury the spare in your trunk. Look, Listen, Feel Often you'll have a nail and not even know it until you're left stranded. Periodically check your tires for that telltale glint of metal. Run your hand around the surface of the tread to try and feel them out. Next, roll your car forward then repeat the check, in case the offending nail was underneath on your first attempt. Lower your windows while you're driving and you may hear the "tink tink tink" of metal. If the sound speeds up when your car does, it's possibly a nail or a screw hitting the pavement as you drive. Now What? A nail doesn't necessarily mean a flat. If it's a short one, may not have penetrated the inner liner of your tire. It may have gone in sideways and missed the liner completely. It's also likely that your tire formed a seal around the nail so you won't lose any air until it's yanked out. Checking your air pressure regularly can tip you off to unseen objects buried in your tread. Regardless of the symptoms, it's best to take your car to a service center right away. Bring some pliers and pull the nail out yourself while in the parking lot. If there's no hissing sound, hang out for a while (checking air pressure periodically). You may have gotten lucky and can drive on without any issues. If the tire begins losing air, at least you're already at a shop. more Fixing the Tire A repair shop has two options — patch or plug. Patches involve using a burr to roughen the inside surface of the tire and then applying a patch with heavy-duty adhesive. Plugging the tire means inserting a piece of rubber from the outside to halt the air loss. Both methods are imperfect, however. A patch seals the inside, but it doesn't block water that may eventually corrode your steel belts. A plug fixes the outside but may not seal the lining, leading to slow air loss over time. Nowadays, shops will use a plug patch. This clever combination of both methods will seal the tire from the inside and the outside. Keep in mind that a proper tire repair always requires removing the tire from the rim. Depending on your situation, you may or may not need a costly tire replacement. If your replacement doesn't match the tread pattern of your existing tires, handling issues can arise. If your other three tires are still OK but have considerable wear, a brand new one will also throw things off-balance. It's always optimal to replace all four tires at once so their tread depth and patterns will match. However, if you can save a few bucks by having the tire fixed, go for it! Image "Flat Tire" via Flickr by Marufish used under CC BY-SA 2.0 / cropped from original