One of the things that a lot of dads? set aside to teach their children are about cars. Every father attempts to be a little adept at this field, bestowing what looks like encyclopedic knowledge to his children. As the technology that concerns automotives progress over the years, and as we get a hold of our personal know-how with the latest cars that we have the privilege of owning, we observe ourselves spotting some faults to our Father's nuggets of car wisdom.



Tech magazine Popular Mechanics has been probing into some of the many fallacies that dads hang on to as exact. With the help of authorities in the automotive industry Popular Mechanics came up to discrediting ten well held myths that relate to our vehicles.

MYTH: Idling can prepare the engines during icy days.

TRUTH: "Engines runs greatest at their design temperature." By driving at average speeds this idyllic temperature can be realized quicker. Current oils are not influenced as much by the icy temperature and flows just as well. This makes idling just wear away the engine without budging the odometer.

MYTH: Idling is better than restarting one's engine for the latter consumes more gasoline.

TRUTH: Though true formerly, especially for cars that were tricky to restart or for those with commonly flooded carburetors, this may no longer be correct today. When a car is already running and the engine is already warm, restarting ones engine does not utilize as much fuel as before thought. This is the raison d'etre why new line ups of hybrids shut down at the traffic lights. Experts say that roughly no fuel is actually taken up in such instance.

MYTH: Wiping the wiper blades will be better than getting a replacement.

TRUTH: Sunlight, heat as well as different chemicals will make your blades inapt for constant use after a while. Wiper blades are open to various elements that bring them deteriorate. Some mineral spirits and petroleum based solvents even ruin the rubber further destroying these. Though cleaning them often with solvent will remove the dirt, this does not indicate that one can ignore replacing the wipers when they are already worn out.

MYTH: Every few tankfuls, use Premium

TRUTH: Though some owners manual advocate this, doing so may prove to be expensive. Regular grade gas has the additives to keep one's engine effective and may even do well for some cars which run on premium.

MYTH: Keep cinder blocks in the trunk for supplementary traction

TRUTH: Though true for pick up trucks or rear drive cars, this may not true for several of our cars today. When one lays some additional weight on the trunk, this may unload the weight on the drive wheels hurting vehicle traction. Many latest cars already have load on their drive wheels. Handling and mileage may also prove to be made ineffective.

MYTH: In icy weather, pump the pedal prior to starting

TRUTH: This misconception actually was exact when cars had like carburetors and chokes. Pumping before starting the car sets the choke and produces a better starting mixture. With the arrival of fuel injected engines, pumping the pedals may not result to anything extra.

MYTH: Filling the radiator with antifreeze

TRUTH: Water may be more efficient than glycol in removing heat from engines. This chemical proves to be damaging to gaskets and may solidify before a mixture of glycol and water providing less protection for cold weather. Glycol compose most coolants.

MYTH: Oil does not wear out and needs a just little topping off every once in a while.

TRUTH: The benefits of changing a car's oil and filter and removing crud may also make netter ones engine performance. Though true technically, some of oil's critical additives get used up after some time.

MYTH: Disconnect the batteries when parking for a long time.

TRUTH: Though it is true that the car does not rest in drawing current from the batteries and may completely use it up in a month or so, disconnecting the batteries may result in further problems. The driveability of the car may be affected when the computer strives to reprogram itself. Radio and clock may also need to be reset. The use of trickle charge may prove to be a better alternative today.

MYTH: Use all season tire so there is no need to buy snow tires

TRUTH: This is all about marketing The makers of the all season tires were successful in swaying people of how they are effective all year round. Tire makers today, however, explain that snow tires have threads that stay pliable in the cold and are aggressive to catch on the road surface.