Gig Harbor Auto Repair

People in often ask the question: "Will using premium gas make my car run better?" The answer is simple. But first, let's talk about what exactly premium gasoline is. Different grades of gasoline have different octane ratings. Regular gasoline has the lowest octane rating and premium the highest. Most gas stations around also carry a mid-grade that falls in between the two. The octane range for the different grades of gas varies by region due to altitude differences. Engines require different octane ratings because of design differences. For example, turbocharged engines usually require premium gas. There's a sticker on your gas tank filler lid that tells you the minimum octane rating your manufacturer recommends. Read your owner's manual carefully to see if it's acceptable to use lower grades. With some cars in it is; the engine control computer can adapt. You'll lose some performance, but won't do damage. With oth ... read more

This is something really amazing: For every gallon of gas your car burns, it uses 12,000 gallons of air. All of that air has to be filtered to keep your engine clean. That's like a hundred gallons of air every block! The engine air filter is just another example of a very inexpensive part that has to do a tremendous amount of work. And when it works, everything goes well. But, when it doesn't, well, it can lead to costly problems. Of course, your manufacturer recommends intervals for changing your air filter. But like most service intervals, where and how you drive your car affects when your filter needs to be changed. Dusty conditions in and around or polluted city driving means you'll need to change your filter more often. Your technician can check your filter for you. In fact, it's a routine part of an oil change at Mackert Automotive. When you think about it, a clogged air filter won't allow ... read more

Imagine you've left and you're up in the arctic on a dog sled. Your dog team is pulling straight and true. You can cover a lot of ground fast. Now imagine what would happen if one or two of the dogs wanted to go their own way and were pulling off to the side. That would slow you down. You would have to work harder to keep the sled going where you want it. The dogs are all working as hard as before, but you're covering less ground for the same effort. You're wasting kibble. The same is true of your vehicle when the wheels are out of alignment. That wheel that's pulling to the side is dragging down the rest of the car; so you push a little harder on the gas pedal to keep up your speed. You're wasting gas. So have your wheel alignment checked at least once a year. Get it checked right away if you feel the car pulling to one side. Sometimes we bump a curb or hit a pothole and knock our wheels out of alignment. An accident can take the wheels out of align ... read more