car-bibles.com - the official home of the Car Maintenance Bibles
Covering everything you need to know about, wheels, tyres or tires,
engine oil or motor oil, suspension (including springs and shock absorbers),
brakes (disc brakes and drum brakes) and general car maintenance.

What's New?

Many visitors to my site come back from time to time looking for new information. This page is simply a changelog of additions, edits and modifications to the Car Bibles, along with links to the relevant parts. This changelog was started in June 2006, so obviously there won't be anything further back than that.

Special offers

rochford tyres

Rochford Tyres has an excellent fitment guide page where they list a ton of combinations and permutations of wheels and tyres for all the popular makes and models. The guide is designed to give you an idea of wheel and tyre sizes that will keep you close to spec for rolling radius. Use the 'Alloy Wheel Search' box at the top-left of their site. As an added bonus, if you decide to buy anything from them, use the RC at the checkout to get 5% off! Sweet!

tyresite.com Tyresite.com are also a car-bibles.com partner. Again, if you decide to buy anything from them, use the RC at the checkout to get 5% off!


Like the site? The page you're reading is free, but if you like what you see and feel you've learned something, a small donation to help pay down my car loan would be appreciated. Thank you.

2013

July 24th
    Two more tips on the gas-mileage tips pages link
April 2nd
    Minor tweaks to the EV page, mostly moving the Fisker car company from present to past tense link
March 25th
    Added clarification about ZR speed rating to the tyre bible link
March 1st
    Updated info on the BMW VANOS variable valve timing system link
January 19th
    Some minor edits and re-writes in the engine oil bible. link

2012

July 19th
    Competition - win a BlueDriver wireless OBD2 tool link
July 19th
    New product review - BlueDriver wireless OBD2 tool link
July 13th
    New guest article - the implications of car modifications on insurance link
January 17th
    COMPETITION: WIN A CARMD DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER link
January 8th
    Some updated info on TPMS systems link

2011

July 12th
    Added a new subsection on digital suspension systems link
May 25th
    Information on the new 2011 EPA mpg window stickers.  link
May 3rd
    Revised my advice on oil-change intervals.  link
April 7th
    New page : the electric vehicle (EV) bible.  link
March 30th
    Minor update to the Toyota DNPR clean diesel system.  link
March 7th
    Added a little section to the end of the fuel octane explanation talking about energy density differences.  link
February 26th
    Added an under-car video showing suspension working during driving.  link
February 22nd
    US house blocks the sale of E15 petrol.  link
January 31st
    A major re-write of the wheel and tyre sizing guide and size calculators.  link
January 26th
    Moved entire site to a dedicated host because of the traffic levels. Hopefully you're all still here....
January 9th
    Added a trip report from the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.  link

2010

December 14th
    Minor edit to engine oil shelf life.  link
October 4th
    New page - diagnosing problems from your car's fluids.  link
September 18th
    New product review - Quixx Paint Scratch Remover.  link
July 8th
    New page detailing the 10 most dangerous roads in the UK.  link
June 21st
    New product review - CarCheckup diagnostic / tracking device. Also a competition to win one.  link
June 6th
    Began to slowly migrate videos on the site to HTML5. Let me know if you see any problems with videos or javascripts not working.
May 28th 2010
    Posted the first of a set of new DIY articles on various aspect of working with your car.  link
May 11th 2010
    Added some info on cold crank simulators to the page on oil viscosity.  link
April 21st 2010
    Added some info on the TOP TIER petrol detergent supplier program to the fuel & engine bible.  link
April 11th 2010
    Added a new section to the site on car care and cleaning.  link
March 3rd 2010
    Engine Oil Bible - added a page explaining the Amsoil issue with API licensing.  link
February 22nd 2010
    Suspension Bible - a little more info about a Swedish company who also made vehicles with transverse leaf spring suspension.  link
January15th 2010
    Complete site redesign. Hope you like it.

2009

November 1st 2009
    Product Reviews - added a product review for the VholdR ContourHD sports camcorder.  link
September 20th 2009
    Transmission Bible - re-worded the section on syncro meshes in an attempt to clear up some confusion. Re-rendered the synchromesh animation to suit.  link
September 1st 2009
    Added a new page showing a microsimulation of traffic flow in different scenarios.  link
August 14th 2009
    Added a full text sitemap for easier (?) navigation.  link
August 11th 2009
    New page - just for the fun of it - So You Think You Can Park.  link
August 3rd 2009
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added some new info about snap-in TPMS valve stems, and the disadvantages of the all-metal design.  link
July 9th 2009
    Engine Oil Bible: re-worded the section on synthetics and flushing oils.  link
June 18th 2009
    Created a standalone page with a lookup table for many vintage tyre sizes and their modern equivalents.  link
May 5th 2009
    Created a standalone page with all the tyre size calculators and converters in one place for quick reference.  link
April 22nd 2009
    Broke the e-book down into smaller 'lite' versions so people can buy just the section they're interested in.  link
April 21st 2009
    Hybrids Bible - added a new section on aerodynamic considerations.  link
April 20th 2009
    Engine Oil Bible: re-worded section on phosphorous.  link
April 9th 2009
    Split the info on hybrids out into its own page : the Hybrids Bible.  link
April 9th 2009
    Fuel & Engine Bible: Updated info on Hydrogen generators (HHO) and ethanol exhaust emissions.  link and link
April 8th 2009
    Engine Oil Bible : Updated ACEA specs and info on using diesel oils in petrol engines.  link and link
March 17th 2009
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added some new info about TPMS systems.  link
February 27th 2009
    Product Reviews : New review - CarMD Automotive diagnostic tool, plus a competition to win one.  link
February 26th 2009
    Fuel & Engine Bible: Added a paragraph on horsepower loss because of altitude.  link
February 20th 2009
    Product Reviews : Concluded the long-term test of Pulstar Pulse spark plugs.  link
February 5th 2009
    Tyre Bible: Re-wrote the section on tyre size vs. grip.  link
January 30th 2009
    New page - some tips to getting cheaper car insurance.  link
January 7th 2009
    Competition winner announced.  link

2008

December 20th 2008
    Product reviews : added some new info on Rain-X Latitude wipers now that I've had chance to test them in snow and ice.  link
December 13th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new page on variable valve timing.  link
December 8th 2008
    Product Reviews : Reviewed the ScanGauge II and opened a competition to win one.  link
November 20th 2008
    Added a panel with the latest blog entry to the right hand side of the main Bibles pages.
October 26th 2008
    Product Reviews : Began the long-term test of Pulstar Pulse spark plugs.  link
September 9th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Revised the section on voltage stabilisers and noise attenuators.  link
September 5th 2008
    Suspension Bible : Added a little paragraph and illustration of Ford truck twin I-beam suspension.  link
September 3rd 2008
    Engine Oil Bible : Sulfated ash - another reason not to use car oil in your motorbike engine.  link
August 12th 2008
    Tyre Bible : Allowed wheel offset calculator to go down to 12 instead of the previous low of 20.  link
August 1st 2008
    Transmission Bible : Added a section on dog boxes (crash gear boxes)  link
July 29th 2008
    Added an automotive abbreviations page. Don't know your socks from your SOHC?  link
July 22nd 2008
    Launched the forum. Obviously I'm the only user right now but hopefully it will become an active place full of dodgy advice and personal abuse, just like every other internet forum. Occasionally there might even be useful info here....  link
July 11th 2008
    Tyre Bible : re-wrote the section on coloured dots and stripes based on information from some tyre assembly technicians.  link
June 29th 2008
    Improve your mpg 2: Added a second page with reader tips on getting better fuel economy from your car.  link
June 30th 2008
    As Featured In.... A bit of shameless self-promotion here : I illustrated the cover and some of the internal technical illustrations for the new Richard Hammond Car Science book which is out now.  link
June 29th 2008
    Improve your mpg : Added a new page with 10 tips on getting better fuel economy from your car.  link
June 18th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new page on the history of the internal combustion engine.  link
May 29th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on rotary (Wankel) engines.  link
May 28th 2008
    Transmission Bible : Refined the section on CVTs and added some history of their development.  link
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a 'reader ideas' paragraph to the Transatlantic Conundrum.  link
May 26th 2008
    Product Reviews : Rain-X Latitude and Bosch Icon bracketless wiper blades reviews.  link
May 23rd 2008
    Steering Bible : Added a new section on oversteer and understeer. link
May 22nd 2008
    Suspension Bible : Split suspension bible into two pages. All the images and animations were taking too long to load as a single page. link
May 17th 2008
    Suspension Bible : Re-worded the section on torsion bars and rendered a new image to show longitudinal torsion bar suspension.  link
May 9th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Re-wrote the section on hybrids to talk about the three competing mainstream hybrid technologies.  link
March 31st 2008
    Transmission Bible : Split transmission bible into two pages. All the images and animations were taking too long to load as a single page. link
March 30th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Refined the section on turbos and rendered a new cutaway image to show the inner workings of a turbo.  link
    Transmission Bible : Added an animation showing dog gears and helical gears during gearchange. link
March 24th 2008
    Started the car-bibles.com blog  feedNo, but seriously. Now you can subscribe to my column.   link
March 6th 2008
    A general reformat and style change to make the main font a little larger and easier to read throughout. Some readers were getting fed up of squinting at my 11pt font:-)
February 14th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Refined the section on intercooling and water injection including a correction about the Subaru WRX STi.  link
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a section on why cars overheat on snow days.  link
February 12th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : The Transatlantic conundrum - why do US cars get worse mpg than their European counterparts?.  link
February 1st 2008
    bulbFREE STUFF! A New competition launched today. Win a GoPro Motorsports camcorder. link
January 21st 2008
    Product Reviews : Re-wrote the review of the ATC2K action/sports camcorder, and added a review of the GoPro Hero motorsports camcorder.  link
January 21st 2008
    Tyre & Bible : Added info about ultra high speed tyre size notations.  link
January 16th 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Minor edit - changed tense of article about EPA 2008 figures.  link
January 10th 2008
    Product Reviews : Added a review (with video) of the ATC2K action/sports camcorder, and concluded the test of the FFT fuel treatment.  link
January 3rd 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a video of in-cylinder combustion cycle.  link
January 2nd 2008
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a Schlieren photo of a spark plug spark to illustrate the idea of keying your spark plugs.  link

2007

December 5th 2007
    Suspension Bible : Added a section on transverse leaf springs. link and variable stiffness anti-roll bars. link
November 23rd 2007
    bulbNEW SECTION: Started work on a new page : The Steering Bible  link
November 18th 2007
    Speeding facts: Added a lot more information on the facts vs. the fiction about speeding and tidied up the whole page. link
November 14th 2007
    Brake Bible: Added info on BMW's brake drying system and some other new technologies. link
November 12th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible: Added a note about the DOT age code on spare tyres. link
October 25th 2007
    Suspension Bible : Added a section on air suspension. link
October 25th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added information about checking ignition timing. link
October 18th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added information about the Fifth Gear Octane Booster test. link
October 17th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added information on direct-injection as it applies to petrol engines (gasoline direct injection - GDI). link
October 8th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added a section on tyre reviews. link
September 24th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a case study on why cooling and engine design is important. link
September 16th 2007
    The Tyre Bible : Added some more info and new photos on Porsche N-rated tyres. link
September 11th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Re-wrote the section on nitrogen inflation. link
September 10th 2007
    Basic Maintenance Tips : Added oil and coolant warning light descriptions.  link
August 28th 2007
    Suspension Bible : Miscellaneous corrections to the article on hydropneumatic suspension.  link
August 20th 2007
    Like the site? Help Chris buy a bike. The total is up to $485 so far. link
August 11th 2007
    Transmission Bible : Completed the article on differentials and AWD couplings.  link
August 9th 2007
    Brake Bible : Re-wrote the section on master brake cylinders and added some info on cross-linked brakes. link
August 8th 2007
    Brake Bible : Added some more info on brake squeal. link
    Suspension Bible : Rendered new images for suspension bushes and anti-roll bars. link
July 29th 2007
    Transmission Bible : Started the article on differentials. Still need to write about Torsen and Viscous couplings.  link
July 28th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Split this article into 3 pages - it was getting too long for a single page.  Page 1 Page 2 Page 3
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Split this article into 2 pages - it was getting too long for a single page.  Page 1 Page 2
July 27th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on fuel filters. link
July 25th 2007
    Basic Car Maintenance Tips : Added a new page on basic car maintenance. link
July 24th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on cooling systems. link
July 23rd 2007
    Like the site? Help Chris buy a bike. link
July 20th 2007
    Product Reviews : Started a long-term test of the FFT Fuel Additive. link
July 18th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added info on vintage radial load letter sizing. link
July 15th 2007
    Brake Bible : Completely re-wrote the section on antilock brakes. link
    Added a new page separating the facts from the fiction about speeding (in relation to ABS). link
July 14th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added a calculator to figure out the differences in offsets between wheel sizes. link
July 11th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on hybrid engines. link
July 10th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added info on nitrogen inflation. link
July 9th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added a case study illustrating the process of changing wheels and tyres. link
July 8th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Expanded the section on power-to-weight ratio. link
July 3rd 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added some blurb about tyre rotation. link
July 2nd 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added some information on reducing the electrical load on your engine to give more horsepower. link
July 1st 2007
    Brake Bible : Added some info about collision warning systems and brake-assist. link
June 6th 2007
    Engine Oil Bible : Added some new info on not using car engine oils in motorcycle engines. link
May 29th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added some blurb about the new Goodyear Wrangler 'SilentArmor' tyre. link
May 16th 2007
    Engine Oil Bible : Added a writeup of the Moroso engine pre-luber. link
May 8th 2007
    car-bibles.com has partnered with justanswer.com to provide a paid Q&A for unique technical questions which will be answered by licensed/certified experts. link
May 7th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added another imperial tyre calculator and description for LT-style light truck tyres. link
May 1st 2007
    Brake Bible : Clarified angular force with respect to braking and larger brake rotors. link
April 30th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Clarified PCD on wheels and added some blurb about spigot size. Added a new diagram to illustrate the two. link
April 16th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added some information on hydrogen vehicles. link
April 11th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added a graphic representation to the tyre size calculator so you can compare the relative size of your old and new tyres. link
April 10th 2007
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added some clarification on wheel dimensions, PCD, inset, outset and offset.link
April 4th 2007
    Product Reviews : Added a 20% off coupon for readers who would like to buy BrightCar mileage-tracking software. link
April 2nd 2007
    Suspension Bible : Added some more info on de Dion tube rear suspension.link
March 30th 2007
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added some more info on turbos. link
March 2nd 2007
    Product Reviews : Reviewed BrightCar mileage-tracking software. link
March 1st 2007
    Tyre Bible: Clarified the section on wheel inset and outset with a new diagram. link
February 20th 2007
    bulbNEW SECTION. I've unveiled the first part of the new Transmission Bible. The second part will follow shortly. link
February 19th 2007
    Tyre Bible: Added info on Goodyear's new Eagle Responsedge tyre. link
February 7th 2007
    The Tyre Bible : Added a section on Porsche N-rated tyres. link
February 4th 2007
    bulbFREE STUFF! Seriously. New competition page. Win stuff I've reviewed. link
February 2nd 2007
    Product Reviews : Reviewed GasDandy mileage-tracking software. link
February 1st 2007
    Engine Oil Bible : Added a case study about oil sludge in a Saab 9 5 Aero. link
January 2nd 2007
    Brake Bible : Added a new section on handbrakes. link
January 22nd 2007
    Added a new menu style to the Tyre Bible. I'm experimenting with this drop-down system. Please take a look and drop me a line to let me know if you like it, and that it worked ok. It's going to cost me to buy the full version so I'd like to be sure before I go ahead and roll it out to the whole site. link
January 17th 2007
    Tyre Bible : Re-jigged all the wording about run-flat tyres, added a calculator to convert Michelin PAX tyre sizes to standard notation, and added some info about PAX asymmetric beads. link
January 4th 2007
    Brake Bible : Added a new section on the Siemens electric wedge brake (EWB). link
January 2nd 2007
    Brake Bible : Added a new section on handbrakes. link

2006

November 18th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on LPG / LNG / Autogas. link
December 9th 2006
    Suspension Bible : added info on the OnCamber variable camber steering system. link
November 27th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : 10 tons of water to refine 1 ton of grain for E85. link
November 14th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Refined some of the wording about E85. link
November 6th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on fuel-air mixing, carburettors and fuel injection. link
November 5th 2006
    Brake Bible : Added some trivia on the history of disc brakes. link
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added some updated info on chipping and remapping. link
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added some info on the Toyota D-Cat and DPNR clean diesel system. link
    Engine Oil Bible : Added some info on the dangers of over-filling an engine with oil. link
October 21st 2006
    Suspension Bible : Added a new section on de Dion tube rear suspension and Rover 2000 MacPherson-derivative suspension. link and link
October 10th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on exhaust wraps. link
October 5th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a new section on valvetrain types and engine layouts. link and link
October 3rd 2006
    Bike Suspension Bible : Added some info on the reasons for monoshocks vs. dual shocks. link
October 1st 2006
    Brake Bible : Correct words and diagrams relating to mechanical advantage link
    Rendered a new image and changed the text describing radially mounted brake calipers link
September 28th 2006
    Engine Oil Bible : Added some info on phosphorus. link
September 27th 2006
    Product reviews : Added a review of the Signal Sorcerer traffic light changer. link
September 13th 2006
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added a section about "correct" tyre pressures. link
September 12th 2006
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Clarified the types of passenger car tyres. link
September 7th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a section on MPG Caps and other fuel-saving pills. link
    Product Reviews: Added a review of MPG Caps fuel-saving pills. link
September 6th 2006
    Engine Oil Bible : Added a section on oil extractors. link
August 28th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a section on gas-mileage and why American cars will never meet EPA estimates. link
August 18th 2006
    General : Managed to secure a 5% discount for anyone who shops at Rochford Tyres in the UK.
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a section on E85 ethanol. link
August 16th 2006
    Engine Oil Bible : Added a mini section on not using diesel engine oils in a petrol engine. link
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added a section on 4-stroke and 2-stroke diesel engines. link
August 11th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added some reader comments on hydrogen generators. link
August 8th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added information on spark plugs and keying spark plugs for better combustion efficiency. link and link
August 7th 2006
    Product Reviews : Added a test of the PressurePro TPMS.link
July 31st 2006
August 4th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added information about torque, bhp and horsepower. link
July 31st 2006
    Added a product reviews page for motoring accessories. link
July 27th 2006
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added new information on the PressurePro TPMS. link
July 24th 2006
    Suspension Bible : Added some information links for Hydragas suspension. link
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Another email about the Electronic Engine Ionizer. link
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Up-to-date information on the voltage stabilizer aftermarket accessory. link
July 20th 2006
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Expanded information on minimum legal tread depth and why it's not safe. link
July 19th 2006
    Added a feedback page for general comments on the site. link
July 17th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Clarified one of my comments on 12v electrical systems and fuel economy. link
    FAQ : Clarified the policy of linking to and/or copying from this site. link
July 13th 2006
    Suspension Bible : Added a new section on magneto-rheological suspension as fitted to the new Audi TT. link
July 11th 2006
    Engine Oil Bible : Ammended status of 'SJ' oil classification. link
    Suspension Bible : Deleted invalid links and added two new ones for further reference on Citroën suspension systems. link
July 9th 2006
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Modified caster / camber image to include direction of travel. link
July 1st 2006
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added some extra values to the tyre size calculator. link
June 21st 2006
    Wheel & Tyre Bible : Added new information about tyre tread wear indicators and hydroplaning. link
June 11th 2006
    Fuel & Engine Bible : Added new information about grounding kits and voltage stabilisers. link