Yahoo Autos Welcome to the Jalopnik Spring Tune-Up, Where You Can Improve Your Car and Yourself
Do you feel it? The air is warming, the ground is thawing, the sun may even still be visible when you get out of work. Springtime is around the corner, and here at Jalopnik, that can only mean one thing: It’s time to get into some DIY car projects, or just teach yourself exactly how an automobile works.
See, over the nearly two decades that Jalopnik has been obsessing over automobiles, we’ve published a ton of articles geared toward helping you get the most out of your car — from how-to guides on car buying and basic maintenance, to overviews on the best ways to modify and improve your ride, to deep-dives that explain the inner workings of the modern (or classic!) automobile. You say you’re not interested in turning wrenches? No sweat: We’ll also show you the best ways to keep your car neat and clean. Now that the fun driving months are approaching, we figured it’s a great time to brush up your wrenching skills and learn something new about exactly what’s going on under your car’s hood.
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Throughout March, you’ll see updated and expanded versions of some of our best articles on DIY car maintenance, upgrades and mods, and the science that powers our beloved vehicles. There’s something here for everybody, whether you’re a newbie who’s never checked their tire pressure, an experienced amateur looking to take your wrenching skills to the next level, or a seasoned shadetree mechanic ready to learn the masters-level stuff.
Of course, we’ll be writing about wrenching, modding, DIY maintenance and car tech all year round, but now that winter is fading in the rearview mirror, we wanted to put all this knowledge in one place. If there’s a topic you don’t see here, a question you’ve always wanted answered, or anything else you want out of Jalopnik’s Spring Tune-Up, let us know in the comments below. Keep checking back all month. No matter who you are, or how much wrenching you’ve done, I guarantee you’ll learn something you never knew before.
How to Remove a Locking Lug Nut Without a Key
Lug nuts hold your wheel to your car, so you’ll need to take them off to change a tire or work on your suspension. That’s easy unless one of your lug nuts is a special “locking type.” Oh, yours is? And you lost the key? Don’t sweat it, we’ll show you how to get that sucker off anyway.
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Here’s Exactly How Far You Can Drive With Your Gas Light On
There’s something strange I’ve noticed about human psychology when it comes to the “you’re almost out of gas” dashboard warning light. I have two vintage cars that don’t have the yellow low-fuel light, and two slightly newer ones that do. On the vintage cars, I’ll usually fill up when the gas gauge is roughly around empty. Sometimes I’ll push it until that needle’s really hugging E (or R, as the Germans like).
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Here’s What Those Black Dots at the Edge of Your Windshield Do
Recently, while looking at the vibrant lights of Hong Kong through a bus window, I noticed for the eleven-millionth time those little dots and that black band running along the edge of the glass. “What are these?” I wondered. So when I got home, I called up a major automotive glass manufacturer to find out.
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I Accidentally Put Diesel in My Gas Tank! What Do I Do Now?
It’s thankfully a rare problem, but a horrifying one: An unwitting driver accidentally pumps diesel fuel into their gasoline-powered car, somehow bypassing the built-in safety feature where the diesel fuel nozzle won’t fit in the gasoline car’s fuel filler. This is disastrous for your engine, so if it happens, here’s what to do next.
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Why You Should Never Run Your Car Low on Gas
Sometimes it’s tempting to try to eke out as many miles as possible from a tank of gas. But you shouldn’t do it. This video showing the innards of a fuel pump will help you understand why.
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Why You Should Never Take Your Car to an Automatic Car Wash
Every winter, it’s important to get road salt off your car as soon as possible if you don’t want it turning into rusty dust. The best way to do that is to just wash it all off, but heaven help you if you go to an automatic carwash. We spoke to an expert to find out why.
