Few things have captured the passion, the sometimes obsession, of men like the motorcycle. There’s no mystery as to why this is. Motorcycles represent a peculiar combination of several manly elements: danger, speed, singular focus, solitude, mechanics, noise, and physical skill.

Many famous men were motorcycle enthusiasts; they combined their passion for things like acting, music, and adventure with a love of bikes. Motorcycles were a perfect outlet for their zeal for life; riding the open road with the wind in their faces left them invigorated and inspired. Today, we take a look at the relationship ten famous men had with their motorcycles.

T.E. Lawrence

A skittish motorbike with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on earth, because of its logical extension of our faculties, and the hint, the provocation, to excess conferred by its honeyed untiring smoothness. —T.E. Lawrence

T.E. Lawrence, aka “Lawrence of Arabia,” was a passionate motorcyclist and a devotee of the Brough Superior. Brough Superiors were considered the “Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles,” and Lawrence had his custom-made; short of stature at 5’5″, he ordered his bikes with a smaller back wheel to accommodate his height. Lawrence owned seven Brough Superiors during his lifetime, referring to them as his Boanerges (sons of Thunder), and calling each George (the first was George I, the last George VII). In 1935, while riding George VII and awaiting delivery of George VIII, Lawrence swerved to avoid hitting two boys on bicycles, was thrown over the handlebars, and died a week later from his injuries at age 46. Lawrence loved to ride his bikes fast and hard; he was likely going around 100 mph, the bike’s top speed, at the time of the accident.

Marlon Brando

It still pleases me to be awake during the dark, early hours before morning when everyone else is still asleep. I’ve been that way since I first moved to New York. I do my best thinking and writing then. During those early years in New York, I often got on my motorcycle in the middle of the night and went for a ride — anyplace. There wasn’t much crime in the city then, and if you owned a motorcycle, you left it outside your apartment and in the morning it was still there. It was wonderful on summer nights to cruise around the city at one, two, or three a.m., wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a girl on the seat behind me. If I didn’t start out with one, I’d find one. —Marlon Brando

Before he became famous, Brando cruised the streets of NYC on his bike, and in the coming decades, whenever his fame started to feel oppressive, he’d get on his motorcycle and simply head out into the Southwest, riding through the desert for miles on end.

In the iconic film, The Wild One, Brando rode a 1950 Triumph 6T Thunderbird.

Bob Dylan

In 1966, Bob Dylan’s career was going full throttle; several of his albums had gone gold and platinum, he was touring the world, and he was soon to publish a novel. His schedule and impending commitments were brutal. Success was crashing over him like a wave — a wave that perhaps would have drowned him if a mysterious motorcycle accident hadn’t intervened. While tooling along near his Woodstock, NY home, Dylan apparently crashed his 1964 Triumph Tiger 100 and suffered an injury to his vertebrae. While he was not taken to a hospital, he enjoyed a long convalescence; he did not return to touring for almost a decade. The accident provided Dylan with a way to slow down his life. He would later say:

When I had that motorcycle accident . . . I woke up and caught my senses. I realized that I was just workin’ for all these leeches. And I didn’t want to do that. Plus, I had a family and I just wanted to see my kids.

Clark Gable

While this seems to be a posed press photo, Clark Gable did indeed ride a motorcycle, a 1934 Harley Davidson RL to be exact.

Hunter S. Thompson

But with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin and no room for mistakes. It has to be done right . . . and that’s when the strange music starts, when you stretch your luck so far that the fear becomes exhilaration and vibrates along your arms. You can barely see a hundred; the tears blow back so fast that they vaporize before they get to your ears. The only sounds are the wind and the dull roar floating back from the mufflers. You watch the white line and try to lean with it . . . howling through a turn to the right, then to the left and down the long hill to Pacifica . . . letting off now, watching for cops, but only until the next dark stretch and another few seconds on the edge . . . The Edge  . . .  —Hunter S. Thompson, Hell’s Angels

Writer Hunter S. Thompson earned his motorcycling chops the hard way: by riding his BSA A65 Lightning for a year with the Hells Angels. His experience riding with (and getting stomped by) the gang became the book, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga.

Clint Eastwood

While Eastwood was only an occasional rider in his personal life, he rode motorcycles as part of several of his films. In Coogan’s Bluff, for example, he chases an escaped criminal through Central Park while astride a Triumph Bonneville.

Charles Lindbergh

As a boy, Charles Lindbergh had a keen fascination for the mechanical workings of machines generally and for internal combustion engines in particular. When he was in high school, he ordered a twin-cylinder 1920 model Excelsior “X” motorcycle through the local hardware store. Lindbergh was a shy and quiet young man, but he rode his bike fast, hard, and, as his classmates remembered it, rather recklessly. “I loved its power and speed,” he admitted. On the way to town, Lindbergh would tear down a path that ran past a power plant, through a thicket of bushes, and along the steep banks of the Mississippi River. As an observer remembered, “it seemed like he wanted to see how close to the edge he could get without plunging in.” The owner of the plant became so concerned that he closed off the trail. But the future pilot was as cool on that bike as he was behind the controls of a plane; he never had an accident.

Buddy Holly

In 1958, coming off a tour and flush with success, Buddy Holly and the Crickets decided to spend some of their hard-earned money on new motorcycles. They flew to Dallas and started shopping the local bike stores. But the owners, unaware of who these young lads were, treated them dismissively; the owner of the Harley dealer practically pushed them out the door. But they found what they were looking for at Ray Miller Triumph Motorcycle Sales, where each man picked out one of the latest models: Buddy chose an Ariel Cyclone, J.I. picked a Trophy, and Joe B. decided on a Thunderbird. The guys then headed back to Lubbock on the bikes, but not before stopping by the Harley dealer to show off their new rides.

James Dean

Hope for teenage nerds everywhere: James Dean on his first real motorcycle, pre-smoldering angst.

Of course, the “Rebel Without a Cause” had a thing for motorcycles. He got his first real motorcycle at age 15, a 1947 CZ 125cc. He was the only kid in his small town in Indiana with his own motorcycle, and he rode it full throttle, losing two teeth in a fall. The locals called him “One Speed Dean.” And that one speed was “wide open.”

When he dropped out of college to pursue acting, he traded his beloved CZ for a Royal Enfield 500cc vertical twin. But he wouldn’t hold onto that bike for long. While home in Indiana on break from working on a play in NYC, Dean decided to ride his Royal Enfield all the way back to the Big Apple. But when it broke down along the way, he traded it in for an Indian Warrior TT. When Dean arrived back in New York, he had the bike serviced at a shop . . . where Steve McQueen worked as a mechanic.

Later, wanting to emulate Marlon Brando, Dean bought a Triumph TR5 Trophy, the last bike he rode before he died.

Steve McQueen

There is perhaps no famous man we associate more with motorcycles than the King of Cool, Steve McQueen.

Before Steve McQueen made it big as an actor, he would compete in — and win — weekend motorcycle races on the first bike he owned: a used Harley. Even when Hollywood success came calling, acting gigs always had to compete against his passion for motorcycles. McQueen amassed a collection of over 100 motorcycles, his favorites being vintage Indians. When the weight of celebrity grew too stifling, McQueen would grab one of those Indian bikes and tear out of Tinseltown and onto the open road. McQueen loved off-road racing as well, and raced the Triumph TR6 in everything from the Baja 1000 to the prestigious International Six Days Trial.

The TR6 also famously makes an appearance in The Great Escape. In that film, McQueen performed many of his own stunts; however, contrary to popular belief, it was not McQueen who jumped his bike over the barbed wire fence in that iconic scene. Because of insurance concerns, Bud Ekins was called in to make the leap.

With our archives 4,000 articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Sunday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. This article was originally published in March 2011.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

The other day, as I was driving my kids to school in our Toyota 4Runner, I noticed a dashboard light indicator turn on. It was a yellow exclamation point inside a horseshoe shape: check tire pressure. I flipped my dashboard display to check the tire pressure, and sure enough, my passenger side rear tire was at 27 PSI. So after I dropped the kids off, I pulled into a gas station to check things out and found a nail in that tire. I dropped the car off at a nearby Firestone, they patched it up in a few minutes, and I was back in business.

That experience reminded me of the usefulness of dashboard warning lights, and it nudged me to review what all of them mean, not only for myself, but for my son Gus, who has his learner’s permit and is starting to drive. Good opportunity to go over this stuff with him.

Dashboard lights are largely standardized across makes and models of vehicles. Because they’re uniform, they clearly convey what might be wrong with your rig, whether you’re driving a Honda Accord or a Ford F-150.

Treat dashboard lights like a traffic light. Green and blue lights are informational. They’re confirming that a feature on your vehicle is active. Nothing to worry about here. Yellow lights mean something needs attention, but you’re not in immediate danger. Red lights mean find somewhere safe to pull over and figure out what’s going on before you keep driving.

Let’s get more specific and look at the most common dashboard symbols and what they mean.

Red: The “Pull Over Now” Lights

These are the ones that, if you ignore them, will run up a repair bill that will make you want to cry.

Oil Pressure Warning 

People assume this means they need to top off their oil. It doesn’t. It means oil isn’t circulating through the engine. Without pressure, metal components start grinding against each other, and your engine can seize up into a solid block of useless metal in minutes. Get off the road and take it to a mechanic post haste!

Engine Temperature Warning 

Your engine is overheating. Pull over, turn it off, and let it cool down before you do anything. Don’t open the radiator cap while the engine is still hot unless you want pressurized coolant to spray out and burn you.

Brake System Warning 

Best case, your parking brake is still engaged. If the light stays on while you’re driving and the parking brake is definitely off, you may have a hydraulic leak or severely worn pads. Test your brakes carefully and get it looked at ASAP.

Battery/Charging Alert 

Your alternator has stopped recharging the battery. You’re running the car on battery reserves alone, and you’ll start losing power to your lights, steering, and eventually the engine. Take it to the shop to get it checked out.

Airbag/SRS Warning 

This one is easy to ignore because the car still drives fine. Don’t. If this light stays on, your airbags may not deploy in a crash. Get it diagnosed.

Yellow: The “Handle This Week” Lights

These indicate something has failed or is approaching failure. Not pull-over emergencies, but not something to sit on for two months either.

Check Engine Light 

The most notorious light on any dashboard, though the dread it produces may or may not be warranted. It could be something minor. It could be a failing catalytic converter. You won’t know without a diagnostic scanner — most auto parts stores will pull the code for free. One thing to know: if the check engine light is flashing, that’s an active engine misfire that can cause serious damage. Treat a flashing check engine light the same as a red light.

ABS Warning 

Your anti-lock braking system has been deactivated. You still have brakes, but you’ve lost the system that prevents your wheels from locking up during hard braking on slick pavement. Drive accordingly and get it diagnosed.

Tire Pressure Monitoring

This is the one that popped up for me recently. It means one or more tires have dropped below their recommended PSI. Pull over to check for any sources of leaks. You’ll often find a nail.

This warning light can appear even when you don’t have a leak. Usually occurs during the winter because colder temperatures reduce tire pressure. Once you start driving, things start warming up again, and tire pressure goes back to normal.

You’ll want to address this issue soon since low tire pressure affects handling, fuel economy, and tire life.

Power Steering Warning 

More common on newer cars with electric power steering. When this system goes, the steering wheel gets very heavy very fast. If you’ve never experienced it, it’ll catch you off guard. Get it looked at.

Traction Control 

If this flashes briefly while you’re driving through rain or snow, that’s normal — the system is managing wheel slip. If it stays on solid, the system has been disabled or has a fault.

Blue/Green: The “Just Keeping You Informed” Lights

These aren’t warnings that something is wrong with your car. They’re your car confirming a feature is currently active.

High Beam Indicator 

Your brights are on. Flip them off for oncoming traffic.

Coolant Temperature 

Appears when the engine is still cold and disappears once it reaches normal operating temperature. Go easy on the throttle until it’s gone.

4WD Indicator

Green means four-wheel drive is engaged, which is purely informational. One thing worth knowing: if you leave it in 4Hi on dry pavement, you’ll start binding the drivetrain. Use 4WD for the conditions that call for it, then shift back out when you’re on a dry road.

Get Yo’ Self an OBD-II Scanner

An OBD-II scanner is a device that plugs into your car to read diagnostic trouble codes and monitor engine performance. Pick one up and keep it in your glove box. They run $25–$50 on Amazon. Whenever you see a dashboard light (particularly that yellow check engine light), plug it into a port under your dashboard. It will give you an error code in about 60 seconds, so you know exactly what’s wrong with your car. Most auto parts stores will do this for free, too, but having your own scanner will allow you to check issues immediately instead of driving to a shop and waiting. It also lets you know what the problem is before going into a shop, monitor ongoing problems, clear codes, and avoid unnecessary trips for minor issues.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

First used as a necessary technique for pre-WWII clunky gear mechanisms, heel-toe shifting is largely unnecessary for daily drivers (if not impossible since most cars today have automatic transmissions!). Used mostly by motorsports professionals in high-octane cars and motorcycles, it’s not really something you need to learn unless, of course, you want to feel like a professional motorsports driver when you run to the store to get milk. In which case, you should absolutely learn how to do it.

The fancy footwork of heel-toe shifting does have a lot of benefits. It reduces stress on the transmission, keeps the weight of your vehicle balanced during gear changes, helps to prevent wheel lock, and allows smoother and more efficient acceleration around corners.

At its core, heel-toe shifting is a way of getting around the fact that we don’t have three legs. Utilized mostly when approaching corners, it’s used to match engine speed (RPMs) to road speed through gear changes.

When you approach a corner and apply the brake, your car slows down and engine speed drops. Coming out of the corner, to compensate for your reduced speed, you shift into a lower gear, but depressing the clutch only causes engine speed to drop faster. By the time you’re ready to release the clutch in 2nd gear, the engine is practically idling even though you’re still rolling along at a good clip. When you do release the clutch, the engine has to race to catch up with the rest of the car.

These big swings in engine speed vs. road speed are highly inefficient and make all the difference in high-end racing, where smooth acceleration around a corner is critical. Heel-toe shifting maintains engine speed so that it stays constant with your road speed, maximizing efficiency and power. To accomplish this, your brake foot rotates so that you can operate the throttle and the brake simultaneously during gear changes. Sound complicated? Follow the guide above, do some practicing, and you’ll have it down in no time. 

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

When you depress the brake pedal on your car, it pressurizes fluid in your brake lines which transmit force to your brake pads, forcing them to squeeze against your car’s wheel. The resulting friction is what brings you to a nice, comfortable stop. When your brakes fail, it’s typically because you’ve lost a substantial amount of brake fluid, or because your brake pads are incredibly worn out. The best way to deal with your brakes going out is to practice preventive maintenance on your car. Make sure to have your mechanic check your brake system whenever you go in for an oil change, or before a long trip.

If you are driving and think your brakes have failed, don’t panic. And certainly don’t just turn the car off — doing so while it’s moving could cause your steering wheel to lock. Fortunately, you’ve got other options; use the tips above to avoid an accident, slow down, and ultimately come to a safe stop.

Illustrated by Ted Slampyak

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

If you’ve driven on America’s highways, you’ve likely encountered a long line of military vehicles.

That, my friends, is a convoy.

In the military, convoys are used to move personnel and equipment long distances. Doing so in a group provides support to each individual vehicle.

While a convoy looks like just a bunch of vehicles following each other, there’s actually a lot of planning and preparation that goes into it to ensure everyone arrives safely, on time, and together.

Civilians often engage in convoys themselves. If you’ve ever gone on a big camping trip in a remote area that required multiple vehicles to follow each other to get there, you’ve taken part in a convoy. I did many of these convoys back in my Boy Scouting days when our troop would drive from our homes in Oklahoma to camp in Colorado. My 13-year-old brain caught on to the fact that the adults talked about our vehicular caravan as a “convoy” and had designated a “convoy leader,” but I didn’t really pay much attention to how the whole thing went down.

It wasn’t until I became an adult youth leader and started taking boys on camping trips myself that I realized it might be helpful to learn some tips on how to effectively plan, organize, and execute a convoy. So, I talked to Harrison Anderson, a former Green Beret who did 12 years of active duty service in the Army, about how it’s done.

Here’s what I learned.

Pre-Departure Briefing: The Foundation of Success

Before wheels hit the pavement, a thorough convoy brief is essential. Convoy leaders, truck commanders (see below), and drivers should attend this pre-departure briefing. Here’s what it should cover:

Establish the Chain of Command

Harrison recommends having the following chain of command for your convoy:

• Convoy leader. The convoy leader should be in the first vehicle. His job is to oversee the planning and execution of the convoy, ensure the safety of everyone in it, and make navigation decisions like route adjustments.
• Second-in-command (2IC). A convoy should have a second-in-command who should sit in the last vehicle in the convoy. His job is to support the convoy leader in his responsibilities. By being positioned at the end of the convoy, the 2IC can monitor its length and respond to any issues, such as a vehicle in the line getting a flat tire. Harrison also told me the 2IC monitors the weather and informs the convoy leader of any inclement conditions that could affect the convoy’s safety.
• Truck commander (TC). Each vehicle in the convoy should have a truck commander who sits shotgun to the driver. The TC’s job is to monitor the communications line with the convoy leader to stay abreast of updates and keep things coordinated. Drivers, of course, shouldn’t handle communications for safety reasons!

Vehicle Checks

Convoy leaders should check with drivers to ensure that vehicles are completely fueled and tire pressure is at a safe level. Harrison also likes to check with drivers to make sure their vehicles have a filled spare tire and a working jack in case they get a flat. Also, check that the drivers have adequate supplies to manage an emergency situation, like being stranded away from civilization for a bit. See our article on what every man should keep in his car.

Communications Check

After establishing a chain of command for the convoy, the next part of your pre-departure briefing should be a “comms check.” Communication is a key part of a successful convoy. It allows for adjustments to be made on the fly while ensuring the convoy stays together.

Again, truck commanders of each vehicle will be in charge of communications.

If you’re using radios for communications (see our guide on walkie-talkies), Harrison recommends checking the following items on your radios:

• Radios are fully powered
• Everyone has backup batteries
• Everyone is on the same channels

If you’re not using radios, establish a group text chat that everyone will use for comms. The convoy leader sends a text to all the truck commanders and has each truck commander send a text to the group to ensure everyone is sending and receiving messages.

After establishing a group chat, the convoy leader ensures that all truck commanders have the cell phone numbers of the convoy leader, the 2IC, all the other truck leaders, and emergency contacts programmed into their phones.

Route Overview and Navigation Alignment

After the comms check, the convoy leader goes over a general, big-picture overview of the route the convoy will be taking to its destination with all the drivers and truck commanders.

After verbally sharing the route, the convoy leader ensures that all truck commanders will be using the same navigation app on their smartphones. “Some people are using Google Maps, and some people might be using Apple Maps, and these apps might use different routes to get to the same destination,” Harrison noted.

After the convoy leader has verified that everyone is using the same map app, the convoy leader will text all the truck commanders a pin to the destination and verify that all truck commanders have the same route on their app.

As a redundancy (Two is one and one is none! Always be antifragile!), the convoy leader should print out paper directions to the destination and hand them to the truck commander of each vehicle.

Review Planned Stops

After discussing the route, the convoy leader will communicate planned stops to the drivers and TCs. At planned stops, vehicles will refuel, and members of the convoy can get out, go to the bathroom, and grab something to eat.

Establish Emergency Procedures

The convoy leader should establish emergency procedures in the event of a car breakdown, accident, or other event that separates the group and communicate these procedures to the drivers and TCs.

Harrison offered this example of a procedure for addressing a flat tire:

• Have the affected vehicle and the last vehicle with the 2IC pull over to handle the flat tire.
• The rest of the convoy proceeds to the next safe stopping point while staying in communication with the affected vehicle and the 2IC.

“If you’re on a freeway, you don’t want everyone pulling over if one vehicle has a flat tire because it’s just dangerous to have that many vehicles on the shoulder of the road. You want to minimize your footprint as much as possible,” Harrison told me.

If the convoy leader thinks it’s appropriate, he can direct the rest of the convoy to continue to their final destination while the affected vehicle and 2IC stay behind to fix the flat tire or address another issue. They can catch up with the rest of the group later. If this is what the convoy leader decides to do, the truck commander of the last vehicle of the remaining convoy becomes the 2IC of the segment of the convoy that continues to advance.

On the Road

Once you’re moving, keep these guidelines in mind:

• Vehicle Positioning: Place the convoy leader in the front of the line and the second-in-command in the last vehicle.
• Spacing: Maintain 2-3 car lengths between vehicles to balance cohesion and safety. On dusty roads, you’ll want to increase your space even more.
• Lighting: Keep headlights on even during the day for better visibility and easy identification.
• Lane Discipline: Stay in the right lane to avoid unnecessary separations. No passing!
• Regular Check-ins: The convoy leader should provide regular updates on upcoming turns or potential hazards to TCs. 2IC communicates weather conditions to the convoy leader.

Post-Trip Debrief

After reaching your destination, take a moment for a quick after-action review (AAR):

• Address any issues that arose during the trip.
• Check fuel levels and vehicle status for return trip planning.
• Discuss any lessons learned for future convoy operations.

Key Takeaways From a Special Ops on Running a Successful Convoy

1. Preparation is paramount: A thorough pre-trip briefing sets the stage for success.

2. Communication is key: Establish clear channels and protocols for staying in touch.

3. Flexibility matters: Be ready to adapt your plan to changing conditions or emergencies.

4. Safety first: Always prioritize the well-being of your convoy members and other road users.

There you go. How to execute a convoy like a Green Beret. Use these tips on your next multi-car trip to ensure everyone gets to the destination safely and efficiently, and don’t forget to play the soundtrack of convoys everywhere.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

Hydroplaning is a terrifying situation for even the most experienced driver. It occurs when water is forced under your tires, causing them to leave the surface of the roadway and you to lose control of the car. In normal conditions, your tires are designed to shed water to the sides. But, in deeper pools of water, or when your tires are worn, the grooves on your tires may not be sufficient to force water out of the way. When water isn’t sent to the side, it goes underneath and hydroplaning occurs. At higher speeds, the problem is only exacerbated.

As with most emergency maneuvers, the best way to deal with them is to avoid them entirely. A few pointers for prevention:

• Keep tires properly inflated
• Replace worn tires
• Avoid cruise control in wet conditions
• Drive slower in wet conditions
• Avoid road edges where puddles tend to accumulate

If you do find yourself losing control, staying calm and making smooth maneuvers is important. As outlined above, what specific actions you take depend on the type of car you drive.

Illustrated by Ted Slampyak 

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

If you have to park your car outside during the winter, there’s a good chance you’ll have to deal with the ice that can accumulate on its glass in wet and frigid conditions. 

To avoid the cold, unpleasant task of de-icing in the first place, you can prevent ice from accumulating on your windshield with a little prep work. The night before a freeze, spray your windshield with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water and wipe it dry with a towel. If a little snow is expected, cover your windshield with a towel.

If an icing catches you by surprise and you’re greeted by an encrusted windshield in the morning, follow the dos and don’ts of the protocol above to make easy work of this chilly chore.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

A blind spot in terms of driving refers to an area where the traffic outside your vehicle cannot be seen in its mirrors. 

The first time you encounter the reality of blind spots as a new driver can be quite disturbing; you look in your side-view mirrors and see nothing, but as soon as you start to change lanes, you realize there was another car right next to you, completely invisible to your view!



If you were like me, you were probably told that blind spots are inevitable, and the only thing you can do to overcome them is to physically look over your shoulder. 

I’ve been driving for a quarter of a century. And for 25 years I’ve been looking over my shoulder whenever I change lanes in order to check my blind spot. 

Well, I recently learned that cars don’t have to have blind spots. With a small adjustment of your side-view mirrors, you can, in fact, eliminate them. Here’s how to do it.

The Problem With Traditional Mirror Placement

Traditionally, many drivers adjust their side-view mirrors so that they can see both the other lanes of traffic and the sides of their own vehicle. While this may seem normal, positioning your mirrors this way is what creates blind spots and limits a driver’s field of view. 

The SAE Method: Adjusting Your Mirrors for Maximum Visibility

Back in 1995, The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper suggesting an alternative approach to mirror placement that eliminates blind spots and provides a seamless rear-view panorama. No more looking over your shoulder when changing lanes. 

The SAE method challenges the conventional mirror placement by advocating for a wider field of view. Instead of seeing the side of your own vehicle in the side-view mirrors, the goal is to capture as much of the surrounding traffic as possible. To achieve this, follow these steps:

Center Mirror Adjustment: Start by adjusting your inside rearview mirror. Position it so that you can see across your rear windshield while maintaining a clear view of the road ahead.

Driver-Side Mirror Adjustment: Look straight ahead with a level chin. Now lean to your left until your shoulder touches the inside of the door. Keep leaning until your head touches your window.

While holding this position, adjust the driver-side mirror until you can barely see your car door.

When you return to a center position, you shouldn’t see the side of your car at all in the mirror.

Passenger-Side Mirror Adjustment: Lean your body to the right, so that your head is just above the center console. Look into the passenger-side mirror and adjust it until you can barely see your car’s door. 

When you return to your center position, you shouldn’t see the right side of your car in the mirror at all.

With your mirrors in these positions, you’ve eliminated your car’s blindspots. Cars behind you should now appear to move cleanly from your center mirror to a side mirror.

Overcoming the Initial Disorientation

When you first adjust your mirrors according to the SAE method, you may experience a sense of disorientation. You’re probably used to seeing your own car when you look in your side mirror. But you’ll get used to the new view quickly and appreciate the enhanced situational awareness this mirror arrangement provides.

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

I’ve been driving for 25 years. I’ve likely filled up a car’s gas tank some 1,300 times during that stretch.

Every time I fill up a car at the gas pump, I’m met with three different fuel choices with varying levels of octane: 87, 89, and 93 (or 91/92). These different octane levels are usually labeled “Regular,” “Plus,” and “Premium, respectively. 

I’ve always gone with regular unleaded gasoline because all the cars I’ve driven indicated that I should do so. I’ve known that some fancy luxury cars like Porsches and Mercedes required Plus or Premium, but I never understood why. 

So I decided, after 25 years of not knowing what it meant for fuel to have different octanes, to finally acquire this bit of knowledge. 

Today I’ll pass it along to you. Here’s the layman’s guide to what’s going on at the fuel pumps. 

To Understand Octane Levels, You Need to Understand Engine Compression Ratios

Before we dig into fuel octanes, we need to understand engine compression ratios. In our article on how an internal combustion engine works, we explained the four-stroke cycle that powers your vehicle:

Intake Stroke

The piston lowers in the combustion cylinder, sucking air into it through the intake valve while the fuel injector simultaneously sprays fuel into the cylinder.

Compression Stroke

The valves close, and the crankshaft moves the piston up, compressing the air-fuel mixture.

Combustion Stroke (Power Stroke)

When the piston reaches the top, the spark plug sparks, igniting the fuel-air mixture. The resulting combustion forces the piston to the bottom of the cylinder again. 

Exhaust Stroke

When the piston reaches the bottom, the exhaust valve opens up. The piston comes back up, forcing the exhaust out of the cylinder. 

Compression ratio is a measure of how much the engine squishes the air-fuel mixture before it ignites it, creating the combustion that forces the piston to the bottom of the cylinder again. 

Here’s an analogy to help you understand this:

Imagine you have a big empty soda can. Let’s say you pour some liquid into it, up to a quarter of its height, and then squish the can until it’s also a quarter of its original height. The liquid now resides in a much smaller space. Now imagine the squished space is our engine cylinder, and the liquid is the air-fuel mixture.

The compression ratio is a way to describe how much squishing happens. It’s the ratio between the volume of the space when the piston is down (called Bottom Dead Center, or BDC) and the space is biggest, to the volume of space when the piston is up (called Top Dead Center, or TDC) when the space is smallest.

So, if the space is ten times bigger when the piston is down compared to when it’s up, we say the compression ratio is 10:1. The bigger this number, the more the engine squishes the air and fuel together.

Most engines in passenger cars manufactured in the past 20 years have compression ratios that range from 8:1 to 12:1. 

So why do some cars have higher compression engines? What’s the benefit?

I liked the explanation Dr. Andy Randolph, Technical Director at ECR Engines, gave to Jalopnik: 

From a layman’s perspective, engine power is generated when combustion exerts a force on the piston and pushes the piston down the cylinder during the expansion stroke.

The higher the piston is in the bore when combustion begins, the more force will be exerted.

As compression ratio increases, the piston moves higher in the bore, hence there is additional force for the expansion stroke (additional force for the same amount of fuel equals higher efficiency). 

Basically, cars that ignite the fuel-air mixture at a higher compression will have more power and are more fuel efficient than cars with lower engine compression. 

High Octane Gasoline Is For Engines With a High Compression Ratio

Alrighty. So now we understand that engines with high compression cram more fuel-air mixture into the same small space during the compression stroke of the four-stroke engine cycle. We’re ready to bring in fuel octanes. 

For the four-stroke engine cycle to work, timing is everything. 

If the air-fuel mixture ignites too early during the compression stroke, you’ll create “knocking.” Knocking is no bueno. An early explosion creates a knocking or pinging sound in your engine. Your engine is offbeat. Over time, if this premature explosion or knocking keeps happening, it can cause wear and tear or even damage your engine.

High compression increases your risk of knocking because gasses heat up when compressed. As the air-fuel mixture gets squeezed into a small space in a high-compression engine, it heats up and could prematurely combust before the spark plug ignites it.

Many engines today have knock monitors that adjust the engine’s timing if it recognizes knocking going on. 

But it would be better just to avoid engine knocking in the first place.

That’s where those different fuel octanes come in.

Fuels with higher octane can withstand more compression before igniting. 

So, if you have a car with a high-compression engine, you need to use the gas with the higher octane. If you don’t, you’ll experience engine knocking.

How does a fuel company increase the octane level in a gas? 

Basically, it mixes additives into the fuel that will make it more resistant to combusting under pressure. 

Here’s an important point about octane levels:

Octane rating does not relate directly to the power output or the energy content of the fuel per unit mass or volume. 

89 and 93 octane-level fuels have the same amount of energy. 

The octane level simply indicates the gasoline’s resistance to igniting against compression. 

That’s it. 

Which Octane Gasoline Should You Use?

Use whatever octane level of gas the car manufacturer tells you to use. 

They tell you in different places. 

First, in your owner’s manual. It will tell you straight up what octane fuel to use.

The second place to check is your fuel gauge. You’ll usually see “Unleaded Fuel Only.” If you see that, you can use 87 octane level fuel. Sometimes, you’ll see “Premium Fuel Required.” If that’s the case, you have a car with a high-compression engine, so you need to use the higher octane fuel.

If you have a car that just needs 87 octane level gas, you won’t benefit from using a higher octane level fuel. Your car’s engine has a lower compression ratio, so the risk of the fuel-air mixture igniting before the spark plug fires is nil. You don’t need a gas with a higher resistance to combustion. Higher-octane gasoline won’t give you more power or improve your gas mileage. You’d need an engine with a higher-compression ratio to get those benefits. You’d be wasting your money using a higher-octane fuel. 

But if you have a car with a high compression ratio engine, you need to use the higher octane fuel. If you use the lower octane gas to save money, you’re setting yourself up to experience engine knocking and damage.

Sometimes, you’ll see cars that say “Premium Gas Recommended.” You can use regular unleaded or premium. Premium may improve your car’s performance a little, but it will work fine with regular unleaded. 

There you go. That’s what those differences in gas octane levels mean. It indicates the fuel’s resistance to combusting prematurely. Use the higher octane fuels for engines with high combustion ratios, as you see in luxury or performance vehicles; stick to regular unleaded for most cars.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

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This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.