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Replacing
your tires
Aside from obvious failures
such as a blow-out or an irreparable flat , how do you know when
it’s time to replace the tires on your vehicle?
The answer is simpler than
you may think thanks to an
industry standard known as “wear bars.” Deep within the
tread of every tire is a small ridge molded into the tire
to indicate when that tire has reached its useful limit. The
“bars” are located in several places around each tire and are
aligned to create a line across the tire tread. An old tire
trick involves using a penny. Hold the penny with Lincoln’s head
facing down and toward you. Insert it into a worn area of the
tread. If you can see all of the president’s head, the tires are
worn out. Tires are officially worn out when the tread depth
reaches 1/16th of an inch.
It is always best to
replace all four tires at once. It ensures that the vehicle will
ride and handle as it was designed for optimum safety and
comfort - this is especially important if your vehicle is
all-wheel drive. Traction control and computerized all wheel
drive systems rely on all of the tires being exactly the same
size and rotate at exactly the same speed. On a typical front or
rear wheel drive vehicle you should at least replace your tires
in pairs.
If you buy a new pair of
tires the next question is where to have them installed. Old
school logic had always professed installing the better tires on
the front. Logically, the front tires handle the weight of the
engine, steer, and provide most of the braking. This made good
sense until engineers at Michelin proved that logical is not
always practical. At their proving grounds Michelin demonstrated
how having the better tires on the rear of a vehicle – either
front or rear wheel drive – reduced hydroplaning and
consequential oversteer caused by the rear tires losing
traction. Hydroplaning is a condition that occurs when a tire
cannot channel away the water beneath it and therefore loses
contact with road by literally riding on a film of water.
Another thing to keep in
mind is that all tires have a break-in period. Tires perform
best after the first 500 miles of service. This is due to the
use of various chemicals necessary during the manufacturing
process that wear away after 500 miles or so.
The tire industry is
extremely competitive so be sure to shop around before buying.
Keep in mind that every tire manufacturer has several models of
tires to choose from and then several variations of each model
so be sure your comparing apples to apples.
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DETROIT
- As
summer
comes to
a close,
drivers
across
the U.S.
are
packing
up their
trailers,
RVs,
campers
and
boats
for one
last
weekend
in the
sun.
Yet,
there
are
several
mistakes
that
they
often
make
when
trailering.
These
mistakes
can not
only
damage
their
trailer,
but also
their
tow
vehicle.
DETROIT
-
General
Motors
Company
today
announced
that it
has
filed a
registration
statement
on Form
S-1 with
the U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
for a
proposed
initial
public
offering
consisting
of
common
stock to
be sold
by
certain
of its
stockholders
and the
issuance
by the
company
of its
Series B
mandatory
convertible
junior
preferred
stock.
Detroit
- Buick
posted a
137-percent
total
sales
increase
in July
compared
to the
same
month
last
year.
This
includes
a
104-percent
increase
in
retail
sales,
driven
by
customer
demand
for the
LaCrosse
and the
all-new
Regal.
DETROIT
-
General
Motors
today
announced
that it
has
concluded
the
dealer
arbitration
process
and that
effective
Nov. 1,
it will
have a
network
of about
4,500
U.S.
dealerships
to sell
and
service
customers
for
Chevrolet,
Buick,
GMC and
Cadillac
vehicles.
BLACKSBURG,
Va. -
Better
fuel
economy
and
lower
emissions
are two
reasons
why
General
Motors
Co. is
investing
$5
million
to help
create
the
National
Tire
Research
Center
at
Virginia
Tech
Transportation
Institute.
DETROIT
-- Led
by the
Chevrolet
Camaro,
General
Motors
had five
of the
10
most-successful
all-new
or
totally
redesigned
vehicle
launches
in 2009,
based on
an
analysis
by
Edmunds.com
leading
to the
automotive
information
firm’s
first
Launch
Breakthrough
Award.
 Cadillac
Stages
Premiere
Week For
New 2011
CTS
Coupe
DETROIT
-
Cadillac
dealers
across
the
United
States
are
unveiling
the
all-new
2011 CTS
Coupe in
their
local
markets
starting
today as
they
host
special
events
for CTS
Coupe
Premiere
Week.
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