Honda Cars DIY

Camber is probably the most useful and popular alignment adjustment that can be made to a street car. The other alignment adjustments are toe and caster. Camber is the angle of the wheel from the vertical as viewed from the front or the back of the car. Negative camber means that the top of the wheel is leaned in towards the car, and positive camber means that the top of the wheel is leaned out away from the car.

Maximum cornering force is achieved when the camber of the outside wheels relative to the ground is about -0.5 degrees. A slight negative camber in a turn maximizes the tire contact patch due to the way the tire deforms under lateral load. Hence, it is good to have some negative camber to increase cornering force.

Another reason why it is helpful to align your suspension with a slight negative camber is that camber will change with suspension travel and body roll. Most suspension systems are designed so that camber increases with more suspension travel. However, camber relative to the car’s chassis is not the same thing as camber relative to the ground. It is camber relative to the ground that affects handling. Therefore, even though camber relative to the chassis is made to increase, camber relative to the ground may actually decrease on the outside wheels if there is substantial body roll. To counter this tendency, it is important to use negative camber and to control body roll.

The only drawback to negative camber is increased wear on the inside of each tire. Since the top of the wheel is leaned in, the car is riding on the inside of the tire while it is on straightaways. In a corner, suspension travel and lateral forces on the tire’s rubber compound combine to straighten the tire relative to the ground. Therefore, the car rides evenly on the tire in turns, which improves cornering ability. However, extra time spent driving on the inside of the tire causes that part of the tire to heat up and wear. This effect is small if you avoid adding too much negative camber.

On most street cars, camber is not easily adjustable. However, if you choose to purchase aftermarket camber plates, you can set camber to improve handling. More negative camber tends to increase tire grip in corners. Therefore, if your car experiences understeer, you can decrease front camber (make it more negative) to improve front grip or increase rear camber (make it more positive) to decrease rear grip. Remember not to add too much negative or positive camber since it will decrease the life of your tires and may cause a blowout. Even pure race cars rarely use more than about 3 degrees of camber.

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These are some of the symptoms which may lead to brake problem although this is not the complete list you have sufficient info on what symptoms to watch out for.

Below are just a few most common symptoms that indicate a brake system problem:
- brake warning lights comes on while driving
- brake fluid level is low
- ABS warning light comes on while driving
- the vehicle pulls to one side during braking
- the brake pedal pulsates and (or) the vehicle vibrates during braking (mostly you can feel it from the steering wheel)
- the brake pedal is too hard or too spongy
- the brake pedal goes down too far
- any kind of noise while braking (e.g screeching, squeaking, grinding)
- the brakes drag (the car does not roll freely)
- smell of burnt brakes

Parking brake operation
Many people who drive automatic transmission vehicles rarely use parking brake. This may cause parking brake mechanism and cables to seize up. To check, try to set the parking brake – it should prevent vehicle from rolling. Once released, the vehicle should roll freely.
Regular mechanical inspection
For your safety, I recommend to have your car inspected regularly, at least once a year, by a qualified mechanic in a garage. I mean not just visual inspection by one of the fast lube places, but by a professional mechanic that can lift your car and check major components such as brakes, suspension, etc., while having your tires rotated, for example. This is because many components (e.g ball joints), can not be inspected visually.

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Things You’ll Need:

• Hand Soaps
• Brake Fluids
• Car Manuals

Step 1:
Find the brake master cylinder. This is usually located under the hood on the driver’s side of the car, toward the back of the engine compartment. Imagine where your brake pedal would end up if it went all the way through to the engine. The brake master cylinder is a small (about 6-by-2 inches), rectangular piece of metal with a plastic reservoir and a rubber cap on top, and small metal tubes leading from it.

Step 2:
Check your manual if you aren’t sure that you’ve found the master cylinder. The rubber cap will usually read “use only DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid from a sealed container.”

Step 3:
Note that on most newer cars the reservoir is translucent and you can see the fluid level without removing the cap. There will be a “full” line, the brake fluid should be at this line.

Step 4:
In older cars (pre-1980) the brake master cylinder reservoir may be made entirely of metal so that you must take the top off to check the fluid level. The top is held on by a metal clamp, use a screwdriver to pop off the clamp and lift the lid.

Step 5:
Add brake fluid to the “full” line. Use the correct brake fluid for your car: Check the rubber cap and your owner’s manual to find out what grade of brake fluid your car requires. Most cars use DOT (Department of Transportation) 3 or 4. If the reservoir has 2 parts, fill both halves.

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I realized this afternoon that my car’s batteries were already weak. I’ve been expecting this for quite some time because I’ve been noticing a degradation in headlamp strength when I operate other electronics (like the power windows). Good thing my driveway is sloping (and I park in reverse), so I didn’t have to push the car to get it started.

If you have a manual transmission auto, and you suddenly find yourself in the same situation, fear not. You can almost always push-start your car if you can’t get your ignition to work. Here’s a step by step tutorial from eHow.

1. Make sure that the problem is either the battery or the starter: If the engine cranks (”rrr-rrr-rrr”) when you turn the key, then the problem isn’t the starter or the battery.
2. Plan to have at least one person sitting in the driver’s seat and one person pushing. Mid-size and large cars require two or three people to push, depending on the strength of the people and whether or not the car is parked on an incline.
3. Turn off all accessories (radio, wipers, lamps).
4. Turn the key to the “on” position.
5. Depress the clutch pedal with your foot.
6. Put the transmission in first or second gear.
7. Release the hand brake and the foot brake.
8. Note that the people pushing need to get the car rolling as fast as they can. This works best down a hill or an incline.
9. Release the clutch pedal while giving the engine a little gas with the gas pedal once the car is moving about as fast as you can run. The engine should start.

The choice of gear depends on your car and how fast the people (or the incline) can push your car. I find second gear to be best. Some say using first gear can damage your engine as the shock can either over-rev your engine, or damage the engine support.

You can do this in reverse, too–useful especially when you’re parked in an incline or parked facing a wall, and backwards is the way to go. But be sure that there are no obstacles and no oncoming traffic. Shift to reverse instead of first or second gear.

Also, cars with completely drained batteries can NOT be push-started. This is because your engine cannot run without electricity (spark plugs need to, umm, spark, to ignite fuel in your engine cylinders).

Remember, your brakes won’t work as effectively as they do when your engine is running. Brakes rely on hydraulic pressure, and you only have about two bursts left for backup when your engine is turned off. This means you shouldn’t be too eager in going downhill or when pushing your car, because you might not be able to stop in time to avoid obstacles. If you have power steering, you will also have a hard time steering because you’re essentially driving a non-power steering car when the engine is off.

Do make sure you check your car’s manuals if it’s all right to push-start the vehicle. Of course, cars with automatic transmission can NOT be push-started (will never work, because its automatic clutch will not engage the engine while being pushed).

Once you’re successful starting your car this way, it’s best to bring it to the garage so they can check what exactly is wrong with your vehicle (may be a weak battery, loose connections, or damage in the alternator). If you cannot do this, be sure to run the engine at least five to ten minutes just to get the alternator to charge the battery just enough for the next start. I usually give the gas about three bursts right before turning off the engine, just to make sure there’s enough juice left the next time I crank the ignition.

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To  save time and money. Lets say For 10-20 bucks you can get the best oil and a brand new oil filter and you can do it on your own so you spend much more. So here we go.

In theory changing oil is easy to do.

1. Drain the old oil.
2. Replace the oil filter.
3. Add the new oil.

In the car owners manual, most auto manufacturers recommend changing the motor oil every 6,000 miles for normal service, or every 3,000 miles for severe service. I change my oil every 6,000 miles so I won’t get hassled with sudden engine failures and such.

Use oil that meets the American Pertroleum Institute (API) classification SL, use Valvoline, Quaker State, Pennzoil, or Havoline brand oil. These quality oils contain additives that make them work better and longer.

Ok… on to the oil change
Let the engine cool off. Now Almost all cars have enough space so you can crawl underneath to reach under and change the engine oil. But if you have lowered suspension a jack would be a useful assistant

Step 1: Draining the old oil.

Locate the oil drain plug and place a pan under it to catch the oil. With a box wrench, remove the oil plug.

When the oil stops draining, reinstall the drain plug.

Step 2. Replace the oil filter.

Move your oil catch pan under the oil filter. Using an oil filter wrench to get it started, remove the oil filter.

With your finger put a thin coat of oil on the new filter’s gasket to make it seal better.

When the vehicle is running, the oil pump puts the oil under pressure. If you don’t install the oil filter tight enough, the oil will come gushing out. If that happens shut down the engine immediately! Without oil, an engine will lock up within seconds.

Warning! Don’t over-tighten the filter. Follow the instructions above carefully!

Step 3. Add the new oil.

Locate the oil filler cap on the valve cover. I’ve seen newbies pour motor oil in everything from the master brake cylinder to the radiator cap. Make sure you have located the the oil filler cap. Remove the oil filler cap.

When pouring the oil, you would be wise to use a funnel between the oil can and the valve cover oil filler hole.

Look in your car owners manual for the correct volume to put so as not to overfill it. Most engines have a capacity of four or five quarts. Don’t overfill the crank case. When you run the engine the extra oil will be blown out through the PCV value, possibly stalling your engine.

Replace the oil filler cap.

Changing your engine oil is a relatively easy but important component of your car maintenance. Changing your engine oil regularly makes for better engine performance and a longer engine life.

To check your oil, make sure you’re parked in a good, safe and level spot. Find the engine oil dipstick and pull it out. If you can’t find it, consult your Honda’s manual. Once you have it, pull it out and wipe it with a clean piece of cloth, and then put it back again. After dipping it back in again, pull it out and inspect the oil. It should be near or at the full mark. If not, fill in the amount that’s lacking. Pay attention as well to the color of the oil. Clear is okay, but dark brown and black colored oil means that you have to change your all your engine oil as soon as possible.

Now more common than ever, HID lighting that used to exist only with high end brands and racing cars, they can now be bought as aftermarket upgrades that are not only brighter but easy to install. A stern warning though, one needs to be knowledgeable in the car’s basic electrical layout for proper installation, failure to properly install the lights and the supporting hardware (ballast) can cause a total meltdown of your car’s electrical system. HID lights are brighter yet they consume less electricity due to the ballast and the arcing effect that starts with a high charge to get the arc started then normalizes into standard mode which uses up less power from the electrical system.
First check if the lighting housing or lens as many call it can handle the heat of the new bulbs (most can but some older ones made of plastic can crack more due to the UV rays produced by the arc). Remove the old bulbs and place in a safe place (being careful not to touch the bulbs themselves for they are fragile and any contaminants such as oil and dirt will cause it to fail ) that can serve as back-up in case your new ones get busted. Install the HID bulbs last and start with the hardware installation that will get you installing some mounts to hold the ballasts(one for each bulb). Use the original wiring harness and please avoid cutting the wires, which is easy if you can obtain connectors that would interface without cutting anything. Once everything is in the right place and you have checked and re-checked all connections, you can now install the bulbs, making sure they are properly connected and seated in the housing. Test the lighting units and be ready to turn it off if you notice anything unusual. If you don’t want to go through all the trouble, you can always ask the auto shop to install it for you. If your new auto doesn;t come with HID, then try to ask if the dealer can do it for you. It may invalidate your Honda dealer/manufacturer warranty so do check first.

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Having a defective headlight bulb is an offense that can spell a ticket and another hassle for you. It is best to regularly check on the headlight bulbs. This way you can ensure your safety on the road especially when traveling at night or in rainy days, even on snowy days. It sso easy to check on them. There is absurdly no possible excuse to not take a quick at your hood and check on that teeny tiny bulb in your front. If your headlight bulb is already out, you can just buy a regular bulb with the same specs as you car’s and you can pretty much do it yourself. Its as simple as singing the Alphabet. Or if you want to spend four times the actual price of your headlight bulb, you can entrust it to a mechanic in your nearest gasoline station. Go ahead punk, make his day!

It can be expensive to maintain a car. While some of us may choose to ignore or at least postpone repairing minor troubles, there are some problems that should never be disregarded. Here are the top 5:

1. Brakes – common sense tells us that the no. 1 safety item on your car is the braking system. If your pads are worn down, or your hydraulic system is leaking, fix it immediately.

2. Oil – change your motor oil and transmission oil to help prolong the life of your engine and save you from a costly transmission overhaul.

3. Timing belts – a failure on timing belts can ruin your engine.

4. steering – a worn-out steering system can cause your tires to wear out fast, and is a driving hazard.

5. water pumps – once you hear a humming sound, that is an indicator that the internal bearing is going bad, and should be replaced.

Image source: www.zcars.com.au
Most of us try and evade dents in the car, hoping it will go off away with time. Car dent removal seldom crosses our minds as we would rather ignore the concept of repair until we really need it. This could be dangerous as putting it off will only make the situation worse. Dents can be formed almost anywhere and at anytime. But cheer up! You don’t have to burn your pockets in fixing your car dents by following these 8 easy steps in amending it.

1. Pierce a hole in the center of the dent.
2. Insert a dent pulling tool in the hole.
3. Pull on the tool until the dent pops out or appears flat.
4. Remove the dent pulling tool.
5. Crawl under the car with a metalworking hammer and a dolly.
6. Bang out the back of the dent carefully until smooth.
7. Fill the hole with body filler.
8. Cover the area with touch-up paint.