I have had the same tires on my car for five years; in that time you kind of forget the why you choose that particular model.  The new ones are sportier, they respond to steering inputs with alacrity. The old ones were soft and unresponsive; I called them my old guy tires.

This is one of many examples of the myth of commodity.  The idea that all filters, tires, oils and such are created equal.  Not so. My new tires are very different from the old ones, the oil we put my engine yesterday is better than the less expensive types that are available.

Even in commodity items, you have a lot of options to choose from. But not every option is as good as another.

Have you ever wondered what the N is for on the gearshifter?  It’s not useful for parking. It’s not needed to push the car when the engine is off (you can do that in any gear).  It’s the safety gear. If anything were to happen that prevented you from slowing the engine down by letting off the gas pedal, just shift to neutral. The engine might not like spinning so fast but the brakes and power steering will still work normally. If you turn off the engine, the brakes and steering will still work, but will require significantly more effort to use, as these systems are powered by the engine.

So, if the engine won’t slow down, just shift to neutral.

Hello! Welcome to Ask the Technician, High Road Automotive’s new blog where you can ask our technicians any car related question you may have. In addition to answering your questions we will also be posting general information about the automotive industry and critical information relating to the cars that we work on, such as Service Bulletins and Safety Alerts, so that you can stay up-to-date on the latest about your vehicle While our speciality is Japanese cars, you will find that much of the information posted here is applicable to most types of vehicles. As always, we will attempt to explain these highly technical topics in clear and easy to understand langauge, but if you are having trouble with any of the terminology, we invite you to make use of our Glossary, which can be found in the Resources section of our website. We hope you will check back with us frequently as we will be updating this blog with new content and answers to your questions on a  regular basis.