Planning a trip to the beach this summer or trying to get away for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend? Don’t forget to inspect your vehicle before vacations to ensure safer travel and to put your mind at ease. The Car Care Council suggests not only gassing up your vehicle, but giving it a full inspection in order to fix any necessary changes before your road trip.

Here are some tips for inspecting your vehicle from the Car Care Council to help avoid breaking down miles away from home:

• Scheduling a tune-up before your trip to help the engine deliver the optimal balance of power and fuel economy, while also producing the lowest level of emissions.
• Check the break system and the battery.
• Inspect filters and fluids, including: engine oil, antifreeze/coolant, windshield washer and power steering, brake and transmission fluids.
• Hoses and belts need to be replaced if they happen to be broken, fragile, loose or show signs of excessive wear. These are essential to correct performance of the electrical system, air conditioning, power steering and the cooling system.
• Check tires, as well as tire pressure and tread; uneven wear can signal a need for wheel alignment.

Car Care Council offers a free personalized schedule and e-mail reminder service that’s an accessible resource intended to help you drive smart, save money, while making better decisions. In order to ensure safer road trips this summer visit www.carcare.org for more information, as well as the council’s Car Care Guide.

While laws vary by state, for most of us, car insurance is one of the necessary evils of car ownership. If you’re shopping for a new car, you will also need to shop for a new insurance policy. But how much do you know about car insurance? If the results of the insurance.com quiz are accurate, you probably know far less than you think.

Insurance.com reports that the average score on their quiz was 32%. Not exactly gold-star material, is it?

Broken down by age, drivers 40 and over were the best of the worst, with an average score of 39%, while the youngest group surveyed, those aged 18 to 29, averaged 24%.

And joke all you like about women drivers, but they at least have better knowledge of car insurance. Women outscored men, 35% to 27%.

The most-missed question in the survey: “What does comprehensive coverage pay for?” Sounds like something everyone with such coverage should know, but only 2% answered correctly.

How well do you think you know car insurance? Whatever your estimation, don’t be so sure, because the group of drivers who rated their knowledge of the subject as “excellent” actually had the worst average scores.

Go test yourself, and arm yourself with some additional insurance information before you buy your next new car. If you’re proud of your score, feel free to brag in the comments below!

These days, it’s difficult to find ways to improve the factory design of a car. That being said, we’ve managed to find some relatively simple add-ons that improve performance.

1.    Wider wheels and tires: This is a simple, effective way to improve handling , including road-holding, turn-in-precision, and braking.

2.    High performance shocks, springs, and coil-over springs: This little update will allow your car to stay in contact with road on bumps and at higher speeds.

3.    Larger anti-roll bars: The advantage to this is that your car will stay level with the road and optimizes tire contact patch.

4.    Adjustable top strut mounts and chassis braces: This allows for greater alignment range which supports fine-tuning for better road-blocking.

5.    Larger Diameter Catalyst-black exhaust: This allows your engine to operate at a more efficient, high-speed operation.

6.    Stiffer motor mounts: Get better engine response and handling precision.

7.    Performance seats: Not only do these seats look sleek, they provide greater body support, so you have more steering and pedal control.

8.    High temperature brake pads: Allow for less fade during heavy braking and faster deceleration.

9.    Less restrictive cold-air intake: Get more efficient engine operation, especially at higher speeds.

10.    Stainless steel braided brake liners: This will give you a quicker brake response and less chance for a ruptured line.

The best part about these add-ons? None of them are permanent changes. If you decide to sell your car or update the modification, they are easy to remove. What are you waiting for? If you’ve been looking for a way to update your car, one of these may be the perfect fit for you!