Car technologies such as navigation and blind-spot monitoring are great ways to enhance your overall driving experience. However, these items do not come cheap. The cost of an in-dash navigation system can easily exceed $1,000. The good news is that you do not have to shell out thousands of dollars in order to add neat features to your ride. Here are some cool car accessories that will not ruin your budget.
Remote Tire Gauge
Maintaining the optimum tire pressure is very important. If your vehicle does not have a tire pressure monitoring system, you may want to take a look at the Michelin remote tire gauge. This gadget actually comes with four wireless valve stem covers. If you need to check your tire pressure, simply plug the device into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter outlet. The gauge is also remarkably accurate.
Power Inverter
Do you need to power your laptop or video game system? If so, a power inverter will provide you with the required 110-volt outlet. A power inverter will definitely come in handy for traveling on family trips. The kids can even plug in a DVD player to watch their favorite movies. The power inverter will also be beneficial for camping adventures and tailgate parties.
FM transmitter
Some car stereo receivers do not have an outlet for connecting in your mobile device. If you do not want to go through the hassle of installing a new receive like I did in my Chevrolet Traverse, you can use a FM transmitter to play downloaded music from your cell phone. Simply tune the car stereo to a low-power FM channel to listen to your favorite jams. The newest FM transmitters are actually designed with a touch-screen display.
Smart Jumper Cables
If you have ever accidentally left your lights on, then you can relate to the frustration of a dead battery. For years, motorists have depended upon conventional jumper cables to recharge their battery. Although regular jumper cables may get your vehicle started, they can also cause damage to your vehicle’s electronics and computer system. Smart jumper cables automatically adjust the polarity, so there is no risk of causing an electrical shortage.
Regarding power inverters, I can add a few notes:
1) Do your homework! Quality varies *widely*. Some tend to trip the fault circuit right away and you’ll end up with a worthless inverter because it won’t start powering your load.
2.) Because of how they work, the common type (“modified sine wave”) can’t power all devices you may have. So be aware of that.
Most inverters actually produce square waves which isn’t the same as what you get from your home AC outlet. So it devices can’t work right in some cases.
Thanks.
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