Recent content by AuthorEditor

I've been using the marine version of Sta-Bil (the blue stuff) for decades in every tank of outboard, motorcycle, and snowblower gasoline and have not had a carburetor problem since I began doing so. The new version of Sta-Bil 360 Marine rated one of the best by Practical Sailor for corrosion...

But, you have to look at the whole system, not just the cars. For example, our home is about 150 years old and we have no garage. We would have to spend close to $10grand just to upgrade the service and wiring into our home before we could even install a proper Level 2 charger. Even then the car...

People say the Crown Vic got poor gas mileage, but IMHO it was decent for the size of car and what it could do. In fact, in my experience many current generation SUVs and larger vehicles do no better if they aren't hybrids. I kept track of my mileage for many years on my Crown Vic and a Grand...

I think we're still in the "early adopter" phase of EVs. More power to you if you can deal with the costs, learning curve, inconvenience, etc. With any tech product I consider myself a "late adopter." For example, I did not buy a video tape player until it was clear VHS was the winner. I will...

Ethanol fuel helps to remove the water from the gas system since you are running it all year-round. Just like using dry gas. That means there is no water in the fuel to freeze in the throttle body (if it has throttle body injection) or the carb. In the "old days" before widespread use of ethanol...

Moisture in the fuel is probably mostly a problem on older throttle body injection systems, though I imagine anything that brings moisture into the engine can cause problems. Some will make its way into the oil, and some moisture might come back to the throttle body via the pcv. Bottom line for...

Ethanol gas actually helps to keep the fuel dry. It's like running dry gas in your car all the time. So have not had a throttle body freeze in a long time. Probably depends a lot on the humidity in the air mostly. Colorado is very dry. Here in the East we often have very wet conditions even when...

The short answer is "No" the life of the battery will not be shortened by driving once a week, assuming you drive far enough to fully recharge it. Starting your car should take very little juice even though the amps are high, the duration is short. It's the parasitic draws that drain modern car...

Yes! I thought I was misreading things at first when I saw the Motorcraft FL-1A was over $13 at Walmart. I think I paid $3 something last year for one. I use these on a big old marine diesel engine. What goes up in price by a factor of 4? Luckily, there a million alternate filters from various...

Never had an engine failure in any vehicle no matter what crummy oil I've used and no matter how long the interval. But, I would stick to the manual while in warranty and then go to 6-month or yearly changes as long as they stayed under 10K miles for most vehicles.

Google Maps is generally very good for helping you out with stuff like that, but I still prefer a paper map for seeing the big picture before I get to that tricky interchange. Use both together to get the best of both worlds.

Here in the NE it is not worth it keeping a starting battery beyond 4-5 years if you want to start up some winter morning at 20 below zero.

'72 VW bus, brand new with a not broken in rubbery shifter. Getting it into reverse was a trick. Our driving test included a killer hill with a stop sign at the top, requiring the use of the emergency brake to keep from rolling back with the manual transmission. The three-point turn was done on...

I don't think I need 2fa for BITOG. Use a strong, unique password and I'm good to go.

I still carry and use paper maps all the time. The are invaluable for showing you a large area in reasonable detail so you can get the lay of the land. Whenever I drive to a new place I check out the paper map so I have a reasonable idea of the driving route in the first place. Also, it is a...