East Lansing Auto Repair

Winter Weather Driving Winter Weather Driving Driving through snow, slush, and ice is an annual Michigan pastime, and while driving through flurries or ice storms will never be fun, there are a multitude of ways to prepare yourself, and your car for a Michigan winter. One of the most important parts of your vehicle during a cold and snowy winter are your tires. Having an extra set of snow tires that are swapped on and off at the start and end of the snowy season will give you a great boost to traction and control while driving. Snow tires have tread that is deeper and wider than an average all-season tire. This helps the tire compact snow, which improves traction and handling for the vehicle. You can get a similar effect by using snow chains, chains that are fitted to your tires to improve traction and handling. They’ll cost less than a full set of snow tires, but some areas prohibit their use, as they can damage roadways. So, before you invest in a set of tire chains, make s ... read more

Whether you’re driving an electric vehicle, a hybrid, or a plain old gasser, your vehicle's battery plays a vital role in its operation. Combustion motors use automotive batteries to start the engine, and provide power to the various electronics in the vehicle. The vehicle's alternator then charges the battery while the engine is running. Electric and hybrid vehicles have a higher voltage battery in addition to a more standard vehicle battery that you would find in a combustion motor vehicle. Automotive batteries generally last three to five years, though instances of draining a battery completely by leaving your headlights on or from having your vehicle in accessory mode for extended periods of time, can reduce its lifespan considerably. A battery can also lose its charge in extreme cold weather, or from a vehicle being used infrequently. If you find yourself with a dead battery you can try to jump start the battery if you have jumper cables or a portable jump box. I ... read more

Brakes are one of the most important parts of your car. Without a gas pedal you wouldn’t get anywhere, and without a brake pedal, you wouldn’t get there in one piece. So, what are they? Whether you’re braking on a bicycle, motorcycle, or car, you’re always using friction. On cars this is accomplished either through disc brakes or drum brakes. Disc brakes work by having brake pads ‘pinch’ a brake disc (often referred to as a rotor) attached to the wheel. Drum brakes involve a ‘drum’ attached to, or as a part of a vehicle's wheel assembly that houses the mechanical parts of the brake. Two shoes, similar in effect to brake pads, inside the drum push against the wall of the drum to slow the vehicle. Disc brakes are what you’ll find on most cars today, though some vehicles are made with disc brakes on the front wheels and drum brakes on the rear wheels. Disc brakes are much easier to maintain and replace than drum brakes, and c ... read more

Americans use nearly 300 million tires every year. They help keep us on the road and in Michigan, they try to keep us going over potholes, snow and ice throughout the year. On the face of it tires are pretty simple, they’re made of rubber and filled with air. The most commonly referenced parts of a tire are the tread, sidewall, shoulder, and bead. The tread is the part of the tire that contacts the road. Treads come in different designs for different purposes, accounting for weather, noise and environment. Winter tread has larger gaps in it to compress snow and increase control. While your average every-day tire will have minimal gaps and a basic design to increase friction and reduce costs. Lower than recommended PSI means more of your tire is contacting the road, increasing friction. However if tire pressure is low enough it can cause the tread of the tire to bend inward, creating a concave contact point. This means that the center part of the tire is no longer in contact with ... read more

H&H Mobil offers a variety of maintenance services for your vehicle, things like, checking your tires, brakes, and yes, oil changes. Changing your vehicle's oil is one of the best ways to extend the life of your vehicle and while trying to fit in an oil change during a busy week can be difficult, H&H Mobil offers rides to and from your work or home to make it a bit more manageable. So, what does oil do, and why do you need to change it so often? Engine oil acts as a lubricant, coating moving parts in your vehicle's engine to reduce friction and prevent rusting. The movement of oil through the vehicle also helps to cool the engine. Making the vehicle as a whole operate more efficiently, save fuel and as previously mentioned, extend the vehicle's life. Oil grades are broken down into two parts, put simply, cold and hot viscosity. For a typical oil, say 5W-30, the ‘W’ stands for winter and the ‘5’ rates how resistant the oil is to thickening ... read more