Honda Performance Upgrades
Service & Diagnostics Call it what you want — the compact performance market, sport compact market, import scene or the tuner market — but there’s no denying the import car performance segment has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. According to SEMA’s 2006 Compact Performance Market Report, retail sales for this niche
Ride Control Repairs: Keeping Your Customers’ Tires Glued to the Road
Confused about modern ride control technology? Sometimes looking back into automotive history can put such technology into a more usable framework. A good illustration is how ride control technology evolved from the simple, early-century friction shock absorber to the electronic variable-rate shocks and MacPherson struts currently being installed on late-model imports. When early automobile manufacturers
Alignment Update: Alignment Bay Neglect
Four Steps to Help You Get More Alignment Sales
Maintenance Essentials…, OBD II & Chassis Checks
All cars need maintenance. The fact is mechanical devices wear and fail in normal use, and deteriorate over time, so being able to diagnose a future failure has become a part of the automotive repair and service industry. Customers always ask how long it will be before a component will fail, and are usually not
GM ‘W Platform’
Preventive Maintenance and Undercar Service
Ready-To-Install Struts: Saving Time & Adding Profits
It should come as no shock that preassembled, ready-to-install struts have been a huge hit lately, not only with do-it-yourselfers, but even more so with professional technicians. The pros like them because they are much easier, faster and more profitable to install than ordinary struts. They don’t need a spring compressor to disassemble and reassemble
Selling Services: The 10 Commandments for Selling Shocks & Struts
THOU SHALL PERFORM A VISUAL INSPECTION: The first step in selling ride control is the inspection process. A visual inspection of the shocks and struts can tell you a lot about the state of the ride control units. This is a chance to make sure the vehicle is road-worthy before you put your own life
Hyundai: From Ball Joints to Brakes…
Uncovering Needed Repairs With Undercar Inspections The brake and suspension systems on Hyundai’s popular line of cars and SUVs are both undercar systems where problems can be detected during routine maintenance. From loose ball joints to worn-out brakes, it’s all there to be checked while the vehicle is on the rack for service and, oftentimes,
Diagnostic Solutions: Springs and Things
Maximizing Ride Control…Steering Response & Handling
Good Good Vibrations
Wouldn’t it be great if various vibrations in the car were something that we could measure, sort through, select one, and assign numbers to it that can be used to find its source? Wouldn’t be even better if we could determine by the numbers whether the vibration was a balance issue or excessive runout with
Thrust Angle
The thrust angle is an imaginary line drawn perpendicular to the rear axle’s centerline. It compares the direction that the rear axle is aimed with the centerline of the vehicle. It also confirms if the rear axle is parallel to its front axle and that the wheelbase on both sides of the vehicle is the
Selling Services…Riding on Air – Or Not: Servicing Air Suspensions
Air springs and electronic ride controls provide a cushy, boulevard ride, but the ride doesn’t last forever. All air suspensions share a common vulnerability: air leaks. And when a system can no longer hold air, it goes flat. When an air ride suspension system goes flat, it can be very expensive to fix. OEM parts