Buyers Guide Auto Parts

Gas and diesel engines still power most vehicles and look poised to be with us for some time to come, even if their dominance is waning. Any engine that develops its power from burning fuel depends on vast amounts of air for the combustion process and efficient operation.

Welcome to AutoGuide’s Deals of the Week. Do you have the time to scour the internet to find the best deals on auto parts and accessories?

It’s hard to think of a more important automotive component than brakes. The ability to stop your car quickly, consistently, and repeatedly without losing control is crucial to keeping you and others safe out on the road. If your braking system isn’t well maintained, your chance of being involved in something “unfortunate” increases significantly.

The biggest leaps in automotive technology over the past few years haven’t been in propulsion; they’ve been in driver safety. The average new vehicle is safer than it’s ever been, with highly advanced, sophisticated systems that can literally “see” the road and warn of – or react to – potential threats.

If you are an experienced off-roader, you have likely used a winch more than a few times. If you have vast experience pulling yourself or others out of sticky situations, you have likely had a traditional winch hook slip and cause an even bigger problem. The little safety latch that holds a rope or cable in place will help in some situations, but that piece is not load bearing, so if the line shifts, that little latch quickly breaks. When that happens, you can suddenly lose your load, but this can be prevented with a closed system winching set up from Factor 55.

Trailer theft is no joke. It seems as if one goes missing every week in every major city in America. What’s more, getting your trailer back is far from easy. There’s often mountains of paperwork to get through, impound fees to pay and trailer damage to repair, and that’s assuming your trailer actually gets recovered. As such, it’s no surprise that many trailer owners are turning to trailer locks, and  AMPLock offers some of the strongest trailer locks in the business.

Nobody ever wants their vehicle to be damaged in a crash, but we all know it’s possible. That’s why we carry insurance, to help make sure that our vehicle is brought back to its original condition without a large one-time cost to us. But, after being worked on, can you be sure that your vehicle comes out of the shop with repair parts that meet factory specifications? You can, with the right insurance coverage.

If you’re hauling more than one trailer, you already know that it can be a real pain in the hitch. One drop height for your boat trailer, one for the quads, one for your RV, and another for the work trailer, and that’s before you decide you want a new truck or that it’s time to give yours a new lift and some bigger tires. Uriah Products and its Aluma-Tow has what you need to make changing trailers and even changing your truck quick and easy, making sure you don’t have a cargo box full of spare hitch parts between uses.

If you spend much of your free time off-roading with your truck or SUV, the odds are good that you are familiar with closed system winching products like the lineup offered by Factor 55. If you are not, you should be, as closed system winching is safer, preventing the cable or D-ring from shifting against the passive latch in a traditional winch hook. The closed system winching components also look a whole lot nicer than the hook that came with your winch, tucking neatly against your fairlead.

If you want to dress up the engine bay of your performance car while also adding serious durability and convenience, the upgraded aluminum cooling system tanks from Canton Racing Products are a great option. The welded aluminum construction looks far better than the plastic tanks that come from the factory and they are also far more durable, while the remote mounting aspect makes for easier coolant system filling.

With sizes ranging from a mild 32” LT Metric to a wild 37” tall Flotation for wheels ranging from 16” – 22”, the Atturo Trail Blade M/T is a performance tire for your truck, Jeep, or SUV that’s built for off-road duty. Proven through Atturo’s motorsports efforts, the Trail Blade M/T is an affordable replacement tire, delivering superior performance, be it for daily driving or fun in the mud.

Psst! Hey, you. Yeah, the gearhead with the modified car. Bet you’re tired of pawing though various and sundry online classified sites trying to find decently priced speed parts, right? After sifting out the help wanted ads, fake dating profiles, and that guy who’s still trying to sell those beat up frying pans, there’s a chance that maybe – just maybe – you’ll find the Holley carb you heard the guy across town has for sale.

Coilover suspensions are just about the only way to change your car or crossover’s ride height safely and easily. Traditionally, the name meant a shock running inside the hole in the spring, usually with an adjustment to let you alter the height of the spring. The point is to let you lower your vehicle, either for appearance or for better cornering performance. With the popularity of lowering modern cars, there are now dozens of companies selling coilover suspensions. Here’s your guide to some of the best in the business and some tips on what to avoid.

Is the gearstick feeling tired in your sports car? Tired of long throws, wobbly gearknobs, and a feel that’s more commuter penalty box than performance-encouraging precision? Sounds like what you need is a short shifter or short shift kit. These replacement gearshifts give you a shorter throw and a more precise feel. Here is your guide to the best short shifters and some of the best brands in the business.

The Chevrolet Camaro was a staple of the muscle car scene from the late 1960s through to the early 2000s. Then, in 2002, Chevrolet discontinued its iconic pony car, citing poor sales due to a lack of demand for sporty coupes. When Chevrolet brought the Camaro muscle car back in 2010, it borrowed a page from the Ford Mustang’s playbook by styling the new car to recall the original Camaro of the late 1960s.

The 2012-2017 Toyota Camry, also known as the 7th-generation Camry, delivered yet another generation of what Toyota has done best for decades. It offered a rock-solid platform with an excellent balance of durability, quality, and value, with four- and six-cylinder engines as well as a hybrid option. You could get a luxurious leather-clad Camry or you could get a simpler version with cloth and plastic wheel cover if that was more to your liking.

Every generation of Honda’s Accord family car has big shoes to fill, thanks to this car’s reputation as one of the auto industry’s most reliable vehicles. The eighth-generation Accord was introduced with the 2008 model year and ran through model year 2012. The Japanese automaker offered the eighth-gen Accord as a four-door sedan—the largest ever, with as much interior space as some full-size cars—and a two-door coupe.

Ford basically invented the modern crossover and SUV market in 1991 when it first introduced the Explorer to the world. Combining comfort closer to a car with capability more like a truck, it struck a chord with buyers. The Ford Explorer is now in its sixth generation, and the SUV has come a very long way through its generations—growing larger, more capable, and more carlike all at the same time.

Not everyone has the luxury of parking their car in a garage, and to maintain your car’s appearance (and resale value), you need to find the best car cover for it. That’s why we take a look at the best car covers available today, explaining their features and what they have to offer. It may appear that most are the same, but you’ll want to pay close attention to the material they’re constructed from and how many layers it offers. Some car covers aren’t recommended for outdoor use, while waterproof covers for your car offer additional straps and buckles to protect it from the wind. A good starting point when choosing a car cover is determining how often you’ll need to use it outdoors, since you’ll need additional features, like heavy fabric, additional layers, and waterproofing, to make sure it offers ample protection. It’s not just dust and dirt you’re keeping out, but getting protection from rain, snow, and even hail, sap, bird droppings, and accidental scratches. Covering your car also provides some theft deterrent, as a thief first doesn’t know what’s under the cover; then has to make a disturbance getting it out of the way. 

Sony this month announced its latest Mobile ES lineup of in-car speakers and subwoofers. Ranging from $220 to $300, the components should please audiophiles.

Now that LED lighting technology has gotten significantly cheaper over recent years, manufacturers are able to offer a wide assortment of vehicle bulb replacements at an affordable price. LED light bulbs are a great upgrade to any vehicle, enhancing visibility to make your driving experience a bit safer.

Whether you’re a seasoned shade tree mechanic, or a newbie just looking to get your feet wet, brake pad replacement is one of the best maintenance procedures you can do yourself. All it takes is a jack, some jack stands, a few basic hand tools, and of course, your replacement pads and pad hardware. In just the span of an afternoon, you can take your car from squealing, ineffective braking to like-new stopping performance, and you can save a substantial chunk of money doing it.

When a tire brand reaches out about a tire test day, what you typically expect is a bit of time at the wheel on a closed course, packaged with hours of brand execs preaching to you about the countless ways they believe that they are the best game in town. While the first half of this was true about my recent test session with the folks from Sailun Tire, the brand’s communication practices were equal parts refreshing and informative. Sailun tire is no small organization, having first opened its doors in 2002 in Qingdao, China—smack in the heart of where the majority of Chinese manufacture tires are produced. The brand has been growing steadily in the North American market over the years, continually proving themselves as a manufacturer that delivers solid quality and great value, as well as exceptional customer service and support.

Interested in doing your own oil change and confused by all the different oil filters available? Given their cost, oil filters may not seem all that important to your engine’s performance but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Although they’re small and affordable, oil filters play an extremely important role in how your engine performs and its life. A poor quality oil filter could potentially cause damage to your engine and that’s definitely not something you want to experience.

You’re likely aware that in order to keep your vehicle running in great shape, you’ll need to replace the spark plugs from time to time, but what about the spark plug wires? These wires are responsible for transferring high voltage pulses between the distributor and the spark plugs in order to ignite the air/fuel mixture in the corresponding combustion chamber. Some modern vehicles have distributorless ignition systems, which have the spark plug wires connecting each coil pack directly to one or more spark plugs, whereas others are of a coil-on-plug design that removes the need for wires entirely (but that’s another story).

You don’t want to wait until the day your car doesn’t start to begin researching replacement car batteries. Eventually, your car’s battery will run out of charge and needing a replacement is part of your car’s maintenance. Generally, you will likely have to replace your car’s battery once or twice during its life, although there are products you can purchase to help maintain and extend your car’s battery life. But that’s not what this article is about—you’re likely here because you’re shopping for a replacement car battery.

Looking to upgrade your Mustang? Then you’re going to want to check out this contest to win $5,000 in aftermarket parts from SR Performance, sponsored by AmericanMuscle.com.

Road trips can be a great and cost-effective way to get away during the vacation months. Preparing for a road trip, even for a short distance, can really help make or break a vacation. For example, having the right mix of entertainment and accessories to keep all passengers in the vehicle happy can start and finish your vacation on a high note — so can having the right emergency equipment and prepping your vehicle in advance. There are lots of places you might consider to shop for essential road trip items, but have you checked eBay lately?

Looking for a good, but cheap upgrade to your backup/reverse lights? The Luyed Backup/Reverse Light has 1,700 lumens of Xenon white power. These low-power lights put out more lumens than a standard filament bulb, run cooler and have a longer lifespan.

Imagine taking the cover off your Wrangler this Spring with $5,000 in free upgrades from ExtremeTerrain.com. If you’re the owner of a Jeep Wrangler from the 1987 to 2019 model years, you’re going to want to take notice and enter here.

Cars are vehicles, vehicles are machines, and as machines, cars (and trucks, SUVs, vans, sedans, coupes, and most all other means of road-going conveyance) are all built of parts and components that will eventually wear out, wear down, and need replacement.

Car ownership comes with the added responsibility of tire maintenance. Some owners are pretty good at keeping tabs on maintaining their tires, while others end up choosing the path of neglect.

Jodi brings her 2007 Cadillac CTS to an ACDelco service center to get new brakes and windshield wipers to compete in the first ever “ACDelco Restore and Ride Challenge”.

Tesla‘s new 2170 battery cell is going to be the “the best cell in the world that is also the cheapest” when it comes to energy density, according to CEO Elon Musk.

If you’re planning a vacation or looking to get away and perhaps escape a frigid winter, there’s one thing you should never forget to do to your car before you leave. If you do happen to forget, it could result in a costly repair.

When faced with the prospect of testing vehicles, we always try to put the vehicle in situations that it is likely to encounter in real life with its owners.

If you’re a Mopar or no car kind of person the folks in Auburn Hills have something for you.

MINI and John Cooper Works Tuning just unveiled its lineup of accessories for the new Cooper.

BMW is bringing a new collection of M Performance Parts to several of its popular models.