Car Articles

The winner of three Baja 1000s recommends this: Try the heel-toe shift. Use your foot to apply the accelerator and brake at the same time and as you apply the brake, keep your right foot on the right side of the pedal so you can rock your foot over and use your heel to blip the throttle, which raises the rpm and allows the car to drop into gear more easily.

When your car gets hit by a vehicle from the back, first, pull your seatbelt firm. Next, release your foot from the brake and put the car in neutral. This will help distribute the force and may prevent you from being rear-ended twice, which can happen if you're applying the brakes after being hit and the car behind you is still moving forward.

At the signal, shift into neutral gear. The transmission just won't care, and it makes life a bit easier for the engine. Going into the neutral mode reduces the amount of heat carried by the cooling system and can increase the vehicle's mileage a little.

On a multi-lane road, stick to the centre or right lane. Should an unexpected problem arise, you have a wider choice of escape routes; you can quickly change lanes. Research shows that most highway accidents occur in the left lane. Also, the highway traffic police can notice you more easily if you are in the fast lane.

Before a drive, it is good for the driver to sit up straight, raise the head as high as one can and press it into the headrest. Holding it there for five seconds and then relaxing and repeating the same five times improves driving posture while putting muscles like the multifidus to work, thus keeping the spine erect. This, in turn, reduces the strain on the neck.

Make sure the dead battery isn't frozen, cracked or damaged to avoid an explosion. Find another merciful driver with a good car battery. Pull the two cars as close as possible, battery to battery. Both cars need to be turned off and parked with the handbrakes on. Connect the red jumper cable clip to the positive terminal of the dead battery. The other red jumper clip needs to be connected to the positive terminal of the good battery. One black jumper clip needs to be connected to the negative terminal of the good battery and the other black jumper clip can be connected to any exposed metal on the engine. Start the good vehicle first and once it's running, start the one with the dead battery. The car will probably start right up. If it doesn't start in the first thirty seconds, it probably won't. Call a tow truck.

If your battery terminals are corroded, crack open a can of cola and pour it directly onto the battery terminals. The acid in the cola will bubble away the corrosion, improving both your connection and the odds of a successful jump-start. Once you're home, run water over the battery to remove the cola residue and dry it with an old rag.