What's the worst automotive advice you've been given?

[Pretzellogic]

C'mon, share with the group. What is the worst advice you've ever been given regarding your car. It can be maintence, driving tips, or anything else auto related.

Mine:
- "Modern cars are set up so you don't ever have to perform maintence."
- "I never change my oil. I just change the filter and top it off."
- (After hearing my blow-off) "You really should have that fixed."
- "You should run a lower PSI in the snow tires; they will grip better." (smash)
- "If you had AWD, you wouldn't have to worry about snow." and then, "I have AWD, so I don't need snow tires."
- (When I was NA) "You should run premium anyway. It's better for the car"

And, of course:
"You should put some 19' chrome rimz an some NOS in there! That would be tyte!"

I'll post more if I think of 'em. What are yours?

 

[SpicyMchaggis]

anything that comes out of my mouth = bad advice.

 

[Super Matty P]

"high compression = high power and High boost = high power....so high compression + high boost = maximum power"......I'm sure yo ucan guess how that turned out!

11.1:1 and 15psi on a T3 powered 2.3L ford.

 

[girth]

1. Higher octane = more power
2. Higher octane = better burn
3. Buy from Ion Performance, they're a great vendor.
4. After I smashed a curb and got an alignment, my car still pulled left. Took the car back and asked them to adjust the alignment so it doesn't pull and the idiot told me I needed a new $1100 steering rack put in because the "steering gear was internally damaged". Yet after doing some of my own tweaks the car now drives fine. F-ing grease-monkeys!!

 

[JCell]

"there won't be a difference in acceleration or handling between stock 16's and these (mine) 18's"

18's suck

 

[Pretzellogic]

I forgot one:

"SUV's are safer"

 

[Glowmunkey]

1)Fill tires to maximum amount displayed on the sidewall.
2)1G DSMs aren't fast, 2G DSMs are faster.
3)Mustangs look hot dropped really low with 19s.

All were found on forums...

 

[cyomega]

Hmm...

Just put some duct tape on it.

(In reference to a flooded 1G RX-7) Keep cranking it... nah the carb cleaner isn't working. let me pour in some gas...

 

[mountjonas]

"Buy an automatic, it's better"

 

[FunkyBuddha]

Run the dyno in 2nd gear

 

[Dexter]

"most modern cars dont need alignments"

 

[Douggie]

"Nah, it'll buff out"

 

[Protege52003]

people who say it is better to run 89 or 91 octane gas in your engine that is made for 87 octane.....

 

[SpicyMchaggis]

"most modern cars dont need alignments"

I hear that all the time for some reason.

That and "It's ok to mix synthetic and non-synthetic oil when you change it because it's really just the same"

 

[Douggie]

That and "It's ok to mix synthetic and non-synthetic oil when you change it because it's really just the same"

What's wrong with that? It's not the same, but there's nothing wrong with mixing them.

 

[Dexter]

i believe you shouldnt mix them.

 

[Douggie]

i believe you shouldnt mix them.

http://www.shell.ca/code/motoring/encyclopedia/motoroil/synthetic_oils.html

wait... or were you trying to say that "i believe you shouldnt mix them" is a bad advice? (rofl2)

 

[SpicyMchaggis]

It was more of a varying weights and blends statement..If you have two identical weights..its not a big deal..but putting OW-30 non-synthetic in with some 15W-50 sythetic is a bad idea.

 

[Dexter]

nah im just saying i always heard they cant be mixed. guess its not true. i wouldnt want to mix them annyways though.

 

[70]

I forgot one:

"SUV's are safer"

Why is that bad?? For the most part they are in a crash...

But, with that in mind, my favorite "bad advice" was told to me by my supervisor after I crashed my cop car (Crown Vic) on ice...He said, "You should have driven the 4x4, you would have been safer on the ice..."

I yelled at him that it doesn't matter how many drive wheels you have, ice is ice, and if anything I would have crashed harder and damaged both cars worse in the 4x4 because I would have been able to accelerate faster on the snow part into the ice.

He looked at me like I had just asked him to explain quantum physics...