How to Tune your Car for Road Trips
How to Tune your Car for Road Trips
Whether or not a road trip will become a positive or a negative experience depends, mostly, on preparation for the journey ahead. The most important thing to do is taking your car for a check-up and making sure that it’s roadworthy. First of all, you need to do an inspection of simple things like tires and fluids. If you plan to replace a part or upgrade a vehicle; now would be the time to do so. With all that in mind; here’s how to tune your car for road trips.
1. Check the tires
The first thing worth considering is the state of your tires. Keep in mind that tires need to be rotated after a certain number of miles and they might even have to be replaced. Now, the journey that you intend to traverse could be several thousand miles long. If you expect to exceed this figure on the road, make the adjustments aforehand. Also, keep in mind that the state of your tires keeps you safe and improves your fuel economy by quite a bit. On the road, this will make a world of difference. So, make sure to inflate your tires before you go and check the state of the tread.
2. Re-check fluids
Another thing you need to understand is the issue of car fluids. Remember, your car might make as many as 3000 miles on this journey. So, you might need to refill your engine oil on your return, regardless if you’ve recently done so, already. Remember, your brake fluids may not be something that you can run out of as suddenly, nonetheless, it is the last thing you want to have on your mind when facing an unfamiliar road. In a case where you can expect sudden weather shifts, it is a good idea to refill your windshield fluid, as well.
3. Consider upgrades and replacements
If you plan to upgrade your vehicle in a way that will provide you with a performance boost, now is definitely the time to do so. First of all, you need to understand the fact that the performance of your vehicle may reveal itself best on the open road. In the urban environment, the commute is quite constrained. An abundance of turns, lane swaps and other traffic participants prevent you from pushing the vehicle to its limits. By installing new car upgrades just before the road trip, you will be able to test them out as soon as possible.
4. Consider investing in a cover
One of the biggest problems on the open road is the fact that you won’t have access to a garage or garage facilities of any kind. As a substitute, you could invest in a nice car cover. This is something that can be folded and packed in a trunk. Then, you unfold it and cover your vehicle overnight. Sure, a cover doesn’t protect from hailstorms but when it comes to rain, dust storm and some other occurrences, it is more than capable of doing so.
5. Tidy it up
When it comes to a road trip, you need to keep in mind that you will spend most of your waking hours behind the wheel. This means that your car becomes your second home and it is your duty to treat it as such. Therefore, it is paramount that you manage to tidy it up. Not only will it be more pleasant for your overall impression of the journey. It will also give you a chance to pack more and organize the interior of the car much more adequately. More essential items that you can fit in your car can make a world of difference.
In conclusion
The preparedness of your vehicle can help you take the quality of the journey to the next level. One more thing you should never ignore or forget is the post-trip checkup. Some trips are particularly long, which means that your vehicle would be under a lot of stress. Some of its parts and aspects might put your vehicle’s performance to a test. Therefore, you need to understand that the vehicle that you’re returning home isn’t the same that you’ve embarked on this voyage with.
Featured photo by William Christen on Unsplash
