What's good, hope you're having a good morning, day or night, whenever you're reading this.
Today is the start of the new blog series I so eloquently hyped up in the new year post. You'll see the motto, Enjoy the Ride, a lot on the blog, so this series is going through exactly how you can do that.
Here at Up To Fun you can quite easily guess that I enjoy to push my car and enjoy some spirited driving. Guilty as charged, what can I say, however I am a huge advocate for doing this safely and not being a dick when out on the road and endangering any other road users. There are a lots of factors that make for a safe and fun drive, so today we will focus on the factors you can control.
Brakes
Brakes are the stopping force of your car, so making sure they are in tip top condition is the only choice you have. Again with brakes, simple things ensure success when it comes to your brakes. Ensuring you have the OEM manufacturer brake pads or a good set of aftermarket pads are a must. Not only do they do most of the stopping if not all, it keeps failures to a minimum and keeps you and other road users safe. Ensuring you have plenty of life left in your pads is also a must and such an easy and quick check. It also helps to have the same pads on each corner for efficient and equal braking force. When it comes to brake discs, it's similar again. The OEM discs are perfect or you can opt for an aftermarket option too. Check your discs for cracks, warping and just general wear before thinking about giving your car a good going.
Oil
One of the most common things you can do to keep your engine healthy, an oil change. Performance cars generally tend to use more oil and some can burn through it at an alarmingly quick rate. So it's hugely important to at a minimum, keep an eye on your oil level and top up when required. An oil change will keep your engine running smoothly and helps you avoid anything catastrophic when out on the road. Now you might be thinking what does an oil change have to do with staying safe and enjoying the ride? Well you can't enjoy the ride if you've got no oil in your engine and if that happens in the middle of a spirited drive you could potentially affect another driver on the road. Ensure you have the right oil for your car, upgrade if you really feel the need and just make a habit of staying on top of it.
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Tyres
The only part of your car that should be touching the floor is your tyres, well unless you have your car slammed on bags or coilovers and want your subframes on the floor too. But for this point, we're talking about tyres. So when it comes to tyres, have a decent set on, no dodgy chinese part worns, and certainly nothing with cracks or cords showing. Also it helps to have all four tyres the same on all corners, just like your brakes. These days there are so many options for decent performance tyres, from the likes of Michelin, Goodyear and so many more. Have a look at reviews and people in the forums can also offer good advice. I do want to make the point of mentioning road legal semi slick tyres, now I am based in the UK so I can't speak for everyone on these, but if you're in the UK you might know there are a few road legal semi-slicks you can use. Now, personally I would only recommend them in the right conditions, if that summer sun is gracing us with it's presence and the temps are right, go ahead and get that extra grip, however, if the rain clouds are looming, be sensible and put something a bit more capable on.
Scanning for fault codes
OBD scanning has become much more available to the average car owner, we'd be daft not to take advantage of it. Whether the code pops up whilst out on the road or it's been there ever since you messed around with something you shouldn't have. Now don't get me wrong, dealers and garages have much more in depth tools however to pull an error code to get started on solving a problem, however some basic tools will do the job no issues. So whether you have an engine light on or not, scan your car just to keep tabs on things, you may think you only have an engine light on because of your de-cat, but in the background there may be another issue that would prompt it to light up your dash. Similar to the oil changes this is a preventative measure to ensure your car is in a position to handle a thrashing over some B roads.
Suspension
When it comes to suspension, there are a few things we can do to ensure a safe and fun drive out. First things first though, and this may upset some people, it's not all about being super low, having some decent travel in your suspension helps you cope with potholes and rougher driving surfaces. Which let's be honest, is pretty much any road in the UK. Rather than smashing and crashing over them and having to slow down, you can bring your ride height up a little and just enjoy it that bit more. Checking on suspension components such as springs, sway bars, track rod ends and bushes all ensures that your car is running in perfect harmony and that you will be able to feel the road and get the necessary feedback to drive at your best. Another part of suspension is the setup itself, these days a good fast road geometry setup makes for huge improvements on the road and track. But even if you just go and get a standard alignment and make sure everything is straight, it will make a world of difference especially if something was off.
Interior
When it comes to the interior, this may be an unconscious thing you do already, and it can be a surprising factor you've never thought of. So what is it? Well, take a look and see if you see anything that could come loose or distract you when driving. That could be that plastic bottle in the cupholder or maybe the loose change you have in your dash cubby. Whatever it is, make sure the interior is free of clutter and generally tidy. If that plastic bottle somehow managed to wedge itself under the brake pedal, you're pretty goosed. So keep the interior free of clutter and before any fast road driving, have a quick look around and under seats to make sure you're not gonna get a nasty surprise.
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You
So you ticked off all of the above, good. Next thing is you. Now this may seem daft but it is hugely overlooked. Now if you've come home from a long day at work and your boss was being annoying as usual, it's quite common to want a release of the built up anger and stress of it. So what do you do? You hop in your car and go out for a drive. See the problem? Well not many would, and it depends on the drive. You could go out to some place scenic and just enjoy the view to clear your head. On the other hand you could hit up the usual spot you like to make the most of your car, and this is the problem. Anger and stress makes us act very differently and you can end up making decisions you wouldn't do. So whether that be braking a bit later into a corner, going for an overtake someplace you wouldn't. It all adds up and increase the chances of an accident. So, if you are wanting to go out on a spirited drive, do it the next day when you have cooled off a bit and obviously don't even consider getting behind the wheel if you have had a drink or a few.
So that's the list, and I know it may seem a bit killjoy and you may think who has the time for it. But I can assure you in the long run things like this make a huge difference and save your ass in more ways than one. My younger self fell for the trap of having a poorly maintained car and even though I never had a crash whilst enjoying some spirited driving, I did end up with 3 points on my license because of my tyres. That's what I mean when I say these tips can help you in more ways than one. So if I could give my younger self any advice, it would be to read this post twice over. (Shameless plug) But in all honesty keep tabs on your car and look after it cause it will look after you.
As always, enjoy the ride.
E.