Aftermarket Products

Your guide to changing your oil at home and all the tools you'll need to make it easier.

Car vacuums are often very affordable, they list cool features and have great reviews. Then they usually don’t work. The best car vacuum promises to make car cleaning easy: Just plug it into your 12V port or pick it up off the charger, and in just a few seconds you can clean up your seats, floor mats, cupholders, and console. Your actual experience is likely to be a lot more disappointing: When we started testing, we were surprised by just how bad they were. After testing, we didn’t find any 12V car vacuums we thought were worth your money. Struggling to remove dust, crumbs, and dirt, and absolutely failing against pet hair.

Every car owner should include one of the best tire pressure gauges in their toolkit. Keeping your tires properly inflated ensures they wear evenly, and that you’re getting the best possible gas mileage. It’s a small investment that will keep you from having to replace your expensive tires too soon, and save money on every fill up.

Shopping for engine oil can be daunting, with numerous brands and options available in today’s marketplace. How do you choose from all the different companies offering motor oil when they all sound the same? Well, truth be told, most reputable brands will offer similar products, and in the case of this list, you really can’t go wrong with any of the options. Some oils are better quality than others, offering more performance and working harder to keep your engine clean. But many would argue that the general consumer won’t even notice the difference between Quaker State or Pennzoil. In fact, there have been studies conducted that show most oil brands have similar products.

There’s a good chance you frequently give your car a nice wash. But how often are you devoting attention to your car’s interior? As you can imagine, the seats, floor mats, and carpet of your car experience plenty of daily abuse. From dust and dirt to mud and grime, thorough interior detailing can go a long way in preserving its resale value. If you often travel with children or pets, you’ll want a bottle of quality upholstery cleaner.

After a great floor jack and a tool chest, getting the best air compressor is probably next on any home mechanic’s wish list. Cordless tools are so good now that in some cases they’re even better than air tools, but we don’t know any electric tool that can sandblast, spray paint, inflate a truck tire in a few seconds, or blow off a work surface like an air compressor. Air tools are also less expensive than comparable cordless tools, and never run out of batteries. Once you have your compressor set up, you can turn it on in the morning, and it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice at for the rest of the day.

Any number of people might require safety cones for work, play, or ensuring the public’s safety. Whether you’re marking off a gymkhana course, directing traffic, or need to indicate where the delivery van bearing the Royal Warrant is to park, there’s a safety cone perfect for the job.

Few things make at-home car-repair or garage activities more unpleasant than a freezing cold workspace.

Health and safety aren’t things you want to skimp out on, so having a well-stocked first aid kit in your car should be something you’re willing to spend on.

One important but often overlooked vehicle maintenance product is paint protection film.

We pick our favorite tools, equipment, and accessories for people who love cars, drive cars, work on cars, look at cars, and most importantly—play with cars.

The type of vehicle you have will help point you toward the right type of bike rack.

Photo Credit: Mike Schlee and Thinkware

Clean windows are an important part of having a safe driving experience. Reduced visibility from dirty windshields and windows can increase the risk of an accident, especially during nighttime situations. Although it’s likely you wash your windows and glass each time you wash your car, sometimes you need a quick touch-up in between washes. That’s where auto glass cleaners come in, which are also great to use after a wash.

The home EV charger market has changed significantly since I took delivery of my first EV (Tesla Model 3) in 2018. Back then, buying a Tesla made it simple and straightforward when it came time to choosing a home EV charger because of its (at the time) proprietary plug. I did, however, shop around for J1772 chargers in the chance that in the future I decided I no longer wanted a Tesla. Back then, there weren't too many options to choose from, which is why I ended up getting a Tesla Wall Connector since I really didn't want to use an adapter.

Going Skiing (or snowboarding, if that’s your jam) takes a lot more than just the gear you need on the mountain. With resort prices soaring lots of folks are resorting (get it?) to making their cars their primary base camp while on the mountain. That means you’ll want lots of the comforts of the lodge in your car, in addition to your gear. Today, we’ll take a look at all the skiing (or snowboarding) essentials you’ll need for your car this season.

Fantastic Hardware, Promising App

When it comes to washing my car, I prefer using a pressure washer, but I'm well aware that isn't feasible for everybody. One of the main reasons why I enjoy using a pressure washer is because of the foam cannon, which blankets my car with a nice layer of soapy car wash. But if you aren't able to use a pressure washer with a foam cannon, the Foam Blaster 6 from Chemical Guys is a great alternative.

The brightness of your vehicle’s interior lights usually doesn’t cross your mind until something goes missing in the cabin’s depths or you need to buckle a squirming baby into her car seat at night. Most vehicles come with standard, inexpensive bulbs to light the passenger compartment; they do the job, but little more. Having experienced both of the aforementioned circumstances over the last few months, I decided to spend the time and money to upgrade my vehicle’s incandescent interior lights to LED bulbs.

You do not want to miss out on these Cyber Week automotive deals.

The dilemma over whether your trusty truck needs a tonneau cover has plagued truck owners for years, sparking heated debates among the automotive aficionados and leaving many a pickup owner pondering the pros and cons. So, does your truck really need a tonneau cover, or is it just another overhyped and needless accessory in the world of vehicular extravagance? Let's delve into the reasons behind using them and not.

It's 10 pm instead of 10 am thanks to flight delays, I'm headed two hours out and seven thousand feet up into the San Bernadino Mountains, and the temperature display on the dashboard of this Ford Bronco Raptor is quickly dropping toward the low 30s. My tires are a set of big and chunky Xtreme All-terrains from a brand I've never heard of. Hit it? Or is this going to be a very hairy drive?

If you're planning on heading off-road, then it's time to upgrade the tires on your SUV or pickup.

Help is there when the worst happens off-road

Getting out of cell service is more than just a side effect of exploring the outdoors. Sometimes it's the point.

Keep Cool This Summer

Going off the grid is great until you realize just how many modern conveniences you don't want to live without.

The best roof rails, cross bars, and roof racks should be high on the list for anyone looking to add storage capacity to their car, truck, or SUV. You can put any odd-shaped cargo that won’t fit inside—or that’s dirty and you don’t want inside—up and out of the way, and still have all your interior room. You can use roof racks and rails to attach a secure, weatherproof cargo carrier; use as a rooftop attachment for kayaks, surfboards, snowboards, skis, fishing rods, bicycles, or just about anything else you can think of.

One of the best parts of having a truck is just how versatile it can be. You can tow a camper behind it, put a tent on the roof or a rack, or you can even turn the entire truck bed into a tent.

The Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus 3 UHP is the Italian tire company’s latest entrant in the Ultra High Performance all-season tire category.

The Toyota 4Runner is an iconic off-roader.

The latest entry in Pirelli’s Scorpion line of crossover and SUV tires is the Pirelli Scorpion All Season Plus 3.

Going doors-off is one of the best parts of driving a Jeep, but it can also be one of the more frustrating. Taking your doors off can make things more complicated when it comes to safety, convenience, and even the law. Fortunately, there are some great Jeep tube doors available that can solve all of those problems but still give you all of the benefits of no doors.

One of the biggest battles in keeping vehicles clean has to do with their wheels.

One of the industry leaders in after-sales dash cams, Thinkware, has introduced the brand’s latest product, the U3000 dash cam.

The fight for supremacy between the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco could go on forever, but there’s one line where Ford is the clear winner. When you take the doors off of your Wrangler, the mirrors come with it. Ford’s Bronco lets you see behind you. But thanks to the aftermarket, you can even the score in a hurry. With Jeep Wrangler doors off mirrors that give you options to let you see traffic behind you when you’re feeling the breeze.

If you’re like us, you love camping. But you might not love sleeping on the ground. A tent is great to keep you out of the elements, but it is also, well, a bit of a pain. Finding the right site takes work, avoiding rocks, worrying about water pooling, and then there’s the setup itself. A rooftop tent takes all of that work out of the equation.

Want to join the growing ranks of overland campers? Here are 10 items you’re going to need from Autoguide.com.

A Value Tire for the Budget Enthusiast

If you’ve spent any serious amount of time as a shadetree mechanic, more than likely, you’ve watched as the number of diagnostic tools in your toolbox has grown steadily over the years. OBD-II scanners, borescopes, multimeters, circuit testers, oscilloscopes – you’ve likely shopped around for one or all of them at some time or another. But there’s one particularly versatile, yet often overlooked, piece of diagnostic equipment that’s been growing in popularity over the past few years, owing both to the breadth of applications in which it can be used, and to the steady growth in availability of the technology: the thermal imaging camera.

Car subscription services have really struggled to take off in the US.

Owning a pickup truck has plenty of benefits (like making you very popular with your friends when they’re moving), but everything you have sitting in your truck bed is exposed to the outside world. That means weather, thieves, and even just falling out in the wind on the highway. To protect your truck bed, you need a tonneau cover. A cover that sits over the bed, usually mounted to the sides of the bed, keeping everything out of the weather and out of sight.

In the world of portable power stations, the EcoFlow Delta Pro stands at the edge of where “portable” and “big” meet. It’s only portable because it comes with wheels and a telescoping handle like a piece of carry-on luggage, because even with two wrapped handles, you’re not slinging this nearly 100-pound box around casually. We have moved ours quite a bit, including bringing it to a Level 2 charger and literally out into a field, but unlike the smaller Jackery we recently reviewed (and EcoFlow’s own Delta 2, which we have in testing right now), tailgating isn’t what the Delta Pro is aimed at.

What’s less than an inch in diameter and keeps your car’s wheels from flying off the axles? Lug nuts. Besides securing the wheels, a spiffy set can enhance your vehicle’s appearance.

Over the past few years, our northern editors have tested tires from all the major brands, but it’s been quite a while since we ran a set of Michelin X-Ice snow tires (“X-Ice Snow” is the tire name). Industry-wide shortages meant Michelin wasn’t able to get them into our hands until mid-November, which is later than we like to put them on; but because of  a very mild fall in the East we didn’t have any early winter weather to contend with.

Earlier this year Sailun launched the latest evolution of the brand’s Ice Blazer line of tires. As it’s the first new winter tire from the manufacturer in quite some time, the new Sailun Ice Blazer WSTX is a big deal. It’s also the perfect opportunity for us at AutoGuide to perform another in-depth, winter-long tire test.

Getting the best ice scraper and snow brush to clear off your windshield isn’t just convenient, it’s an important safety issue. If you live where it snows, you’ve seen someone either trying to see out of a partly cleared window, or driving around with a pile of snow on the roof. In many states, it’s illegal not to clear both your windshield and roof, but it causes multiple accidents every year. Clearing your car properly should be part of your planning for safe driving in the winter.

From bewildering new technology embraced by tech lovers and early adopters, electric vehicles are quickly entering the mainstream with nearly every auto manufacturer offering at least one – if not an entire range of EVs.  But the biggest limiting factor in EV acceptance is the lack of public charging infrastructure. Fortunately, unlike gas-propelled vehicle owners, EV folks have the ability to install their own home “refuelling” or charge stations. Though we refer to these devices as chargers, they’re more properly known as Electrical Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), passing AC current to the vehicle where it’s then converted to DC by the onboard charger.

Over the past few years, we’ve tested every possible configuration of the best car phone mounts: CD slot (remember those?), cupholder, dash mount, windshield mount, and vent mount, with clamps, suction cups, magnets, and even elastic.

Chemical Guys has substantial Cyber Monday discounts on a range of products—some are marked down by as much as 70%.

If you are the kind of driver who prefers to keep your vehicles for many years, you will know well that rust is one of the most significant obstacles to keeping your car or truck roadworthy. Rust is the result of a chemical reaction that occurs when untreated metal is exposed to water or moisture-laden air, conditions that frequently exist in many coastal locations. And if you live in a part of the country where snow and ice are a regular part of winter, you will have noticed that the salt used to treat slippery roadways accelerates the corrosion process.

Car enthusiasts want their automotive pride and joy to always look its best. 

We just didn’t understand the fuss about the best heated seat covers until we owned a car with heated seats. Since then, getting into a cold car with non-heated seats (or as we call them now, misery seats) has been an occasion for dread. Outside of some high-end models, they’re still not common standard equipment in most new cars, not that there are any new cars available now. You can upgrade your ride to get that warm behind, but there’s an easier and cheaper way. If you want warm seats, your best option is to upgrade to a new aftermarket heated cover and warm up the ride you already have.

While we were working on our annual Black Friday deal guide, we started to run across a startlingly large number of a specific kind of Amazon scam. Rather than the phishing, credit card, or text scams that usually make the news, these come from fly-by-night sellers with amazing deals, popping up right now during the first rush of holiday shopping. They have listings for legitimate products, but their prices undercut all the real sellers. What’s worse, Amazon’s algorithms that recommend products and sellers sometimes bring these scams to the front, scooping up enough sales to make a profit and disappear before the retailer catches on and bans them. But by then, it’s too late: They’ve got the payments, and are busy coming up with their next grift.

With the first snow already falling, AutoGuide is bringing you the best 4 Wheel Parts winter deals we could find to get your truck, Jeep, or other SUV set up for the oncoming cold and mud. And this isn’t just random leftovers: We’ve worked together to find bargains on brands including WeatherTech, Rigid Industries, Smittybuilt, ARB, Mickey Thompson, and others that you know and trust.

Back in the day, vehicle customization was only possible through physically accessing and modifying the systems within your car. If you wanted, say, sequential turn signals, you had no option but to purchase specially manufactured lamps from an aftermarket manufacturer and install them. But as the auto industry has become ever more reliant on embedded computers, the door has been left open to software customization. Suddenly, kids with laptops and OBD dongles are concocting all sorts of clever ways of modifying their cars’ programming to unlock new features and implement custom routines, and as time goes on, the tools are only getting better.

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but that trailer lock you’ve been trusting to guard your cargo for the past few years? It’s not going to last all that long against a thief with portable power tools and an above average sense of determination. While no lock is ever fully 100% theft-proof, the tougher to pick, cut, or crack open your trailer lock is, the greater the chances that whoever has resolved to take your stuff decides instead to move on to the next trailer, or gets caught in the act.

Over the last four days, our team has been on the ground at SEMA 2022 in Las Vegas*, North America’s largest automotive aftermarket show. In addition to seeing all the incredible builds, we walked over 50 miles to visit every single one of the over 1,800 exhibitors, displaying every conceivable automotive part and accessory. It’s the only place you can see a six-figure laser body repair jig, trailer hitch, custom long-arm suspension, and the latest miracle scratch filler side-by-more-or-less-side.

There’s nothing like feeling the wind on your face, whether you’re cruising down the highway on your motorcycle or riding the waves on your boat or jet ski. The last thing anyone wants is to have a perfect day on the road or water ruined by an accident, but the situation will be made even worse if you find yourself without the proper insurance coverage to help you in the aftermath. Due to their unique natures, boats and motorcycles require special insurance coverage in addition to your existing homeowner and auto policies. Read on to learn what to look for in a policy, tips for shopping around, and more.

Between the invention of the self starter and the end of the 20th Century, the best portable car jump starters weren’t something you carried with you. They were heavy lead-acid automotive batteries that only garages and tow truck drivers used. Everyone else carried (and still should) jumper cables, which require two cars and enough knowledge not to short them out. If you had a dead or weak battery and you were on your own, you had to get to a phone or flag down another motorist to have a chance of getting going again.