Why should you refinish your headlights?

There was a time when headlights were made of glass. Those days are long gone and they are now made of hard plastics that are specifically tempered for the job. This material is known as polycarbonate plastic. The material is very strong, but naturally porous. To try to prevent pitting and other issues, the manufacturer of your headlights covered them with a protective film which works well for a while, but then begins to fall apart. Given the fact it is exposed to heat from the bulb, UV rays from constant exposure to the sun and harsh chemicals, the film eventually fades which allows the plastic to become oxidized and gives the headlights the foggy look.

Most people believe foggy headlights are a problem simply because they look bad. While this is definitely true, there is also a safety issue involved. The oxidation of the plastic headlight causes the light output from the internal bulbs to be diffused. This effectively means that the beam from each headlight is weakened, and produces a reduced area of coverage. The less you can see, the more chance there is you could run into something. Also, the State of NH has begun to crack down on hazy headlights as a safety concern.

Call Scott's Integrity Automotive today at 224-0811 to schedule an appointment to have your headlights refinished. Work is guaranteed for one year from date of completion.

Spark Plugs

Changing the spark plugs is a way of assuring top efficiency and performance. The misfires that may occur will increase exhaust emission as well as harm gas mileage. The warning lights that may be seen on the dashboard regarding spark plugs is a sign that misfires are exceeding a given amount and has caused emissions to dramatically increase. New spark plugs will decrease the number of cold starts that may happen in the winter. Less voltage is required in the ignition system because of the efficiency of the new spark plugs. Emissions have already been mentioned, but misfiring spark plugs can result in too much gasoline entering into the exhaust system. This can create higher temperatures in the catalytic converter, and may in fact lead to a meltdown of converter parts.

Standard spark plug replacement starts around 30,000 miles and platinum starts around 100,000 miles.

Have your sparkplugs checked today.

Cold winter days are not the time to find out that your battery isn't working at full capacity. It is important to load test your battery to ensure it is working for you the best it can.

What is load testing? This is similar to a cardiac stress test done on a person's heart. A doctor can listen to your heart and other vitals, but without putting you on a treadmill and watching how your heart performs under working conditions, he cannot guarantee the condition of your heart (battery). Your battery is an electro-chemical device, that needs to be tested regularly to verify its capacity and determine if it will support a critical load (i.e. sub-zero temperatures). Planned capacity (load) testing is the only way to verify the capacity of a battery.

We encourage periodic load testing as a portion of a comprehensive battery maintenance program. Scott's Integrity Automotive has the experience, expertise, and equipment to load test your battery system.

For more information on battery load testing, please contact us. 603-224-0811.