Shop Press

Shop Press is the news and idea hub for everything related to working on cars and trucks, focusing on repair, technology, and wrenching lifestyle.

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FEATURE STORY

Hot Off the Press

Alignment and Inner Tie Rod Play – ASE Practice Question (VIDEO)

Description A vehicle equipped with a MacPherson strut suspension is in the shop for new tires and an alignment. The technician notes play in the left-side inner tie rod end. What should the technician tell the customer?A) The play will not affect the vehicle's...

Put the Second Floor to Work

Paying the mortgage (or the rent) on the bricks—the actual shop itself—is an expense. (A fixed cost, if you want to be particular.) But that building does more than keep your tools and techs dry. It provides room to work and house equipment. And if you’re like most...

How Does Regenerative Braking Affect Brake Wear?

We’ve come a long way since the days of rubbing wooden blocks against a wagon wheel to slow down a carriage. Modern braking systems are amazingly effective at halting several thousand pounds in a safe, controlled manner. The most common automotive braking technique is...

Don’t Overlook the Elementary

Today’s article is one borne from experiences. Exasperating experiences, no less. All novice mechaniclets are taught engines need fuel, air, spark, and compression to run. This is true, but we often take those for granted, and diagnosing even one vehicle with a basic...

ADAS Alignment and Calibration – ASE Practice Question (VIDEO)

Description Technician A says that the thrust angle must be maintained at zero degrees when performing an alignment on many vehicles equipped with certain ADAS systems (like lane departure warning). Technician B says that the steering angle sensor must be properly...

Our Contributors

Jonathan Roth

Jonathan has been a technical writer for Dorman for over a decade. If you’ve read any Dorman instructions instead of chucking ’em, he’s the guy who wrote them. He has also worked on the Dorman Helps benefit car show since 2013. Prior to writing for Shop Press, he was a freelance entertainment writer for the Allentown Morning Call, The Aquarian Weekly and two.one.five magazine. His dream car is a Tri-Five Chevy.

Mike Principato

Mike has been writing for and about the auto and heavy truck industries long enough to remember when Pontiac actually believed that the Aztek would save their brand and no self-respecting truck stop had a salad bar. He’s lost count of the number of vehicles he’s owned, fixed, reviewed, or conned an unsuspecting manufacturer into letting him drive. His work has appeared internationally everywhere but on your coffee table, and invariably reflects his irrepressibly nerdy fascination with highly engineered machinery of every kind. In Shop Press, his sworn mission is to help readers discover that same magic behind the seemingly mundane.

Mike Apice

Mike has been a long time photojournialist based out of Philadelphia. One day he walked into Dorman Products. They gave him a camera and said, “Shoot this part,” and almost 22 years later he’s still shooting. He’s seen a lot of changes in and around the automotive world, but is still a devoted manual transmission driver. He appreciates the stories each car and each driver has, and enjoys showing those stories in his photography.

Nick D’Alessio

Before coming to Dorman, Nick ran his own shop specializing in high-performance Japanese vehicles which he still owns and operates today. He holds a degree in electrical engineering, and holds certification as a Master Technician through the ASE. He began his career as a field service engineer for Bombardier Transportation working on projects like the SEPTA M4 train and AMTRAK Acela High speed train. Well-versed in fabrication and welding, you can find him performing complex try-ons, building on-vehicle test fixtures or test harnesses, or hosting Dorman product and original content videos.