Life In Car » Automotive

What Size Tires Does My Car Take?

bill — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:02:07 +0000

One of the greatest things about owning a vehicle is the freedom that associated with it. As long as you have gas you can go wherever you want, whenever you want in a relatively short amount of time. It makes getting to work faster and more comfortable and it allows family and friends, that may live far apart, to feel closer and visit more often. But with all of the advantages of vehicle ownership comes a lot of responsibility, the biggest of which is maintenance.

Staying on top of routine maintenance can go a long way toward preventing large, costly repairs. Checking and changing the oil every 3-4 months and maintaining proper tires pressure are just a couple ways to avoid major problems but, like all things used frequently, eventually things like tires will wear out and need to be replaced.

A common assumption that is made about shopping for tires is that it is a long and expensive process; however, utilizing your resources, like the Internet, and knowing what you are looking for can help find the perfect cheap truck tires without all the hassle.

Knowing what size tires your vehicle takes is key to finding the right set of tires. There are two primary places to look when determining what size tires you need. The first is your current tires. If you along the sidewall of your tires you will see a series of numbers and letters.

The first letter you will see indicates the type of vehicle the tires where designed for; P for passenger vehicles, T for temporary or spare, LT for light truck, C for commercial, and ST for special trailer. The first set of numbers indicates the width in millimeters, for example P225.

Next will be a two-digit number that indicates the sidewall aspect ratio. If the number is 50 that means that the sidewall height from rim to tread to is 50% of the tire’s width–higher number means a taller sidewall and a lower number means a shorter sidewall.

The final letter set indicates the type of internal construction; R is for radial, D for diagonal, and B for belted. The numbers following are the tire and wheel diameter. The last three digits are the service description. While this is a lot of information, it is very useful when looking at tires and comparing different brands that may not look the same; such as Firestone tires and Kelly tires.

The other extremely useful place that you can go to for information on your tires, including what will work and what won’t, is your vehicles owner’s manual. There should be a whole section detailing the maximum, minimum, and recommend tire size. If you no longer have the owner’s manual you can make a quick call to the dealership for the same information or look on the Internet.

photo by Arpit Gupta on Flickr, licensed by Creative Commons

What Size Tires Does My Car Take? is a post from: Life In Car

First Car Memories

bill — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:54:37 +0000

There are some standard life events that are related to various developmental phases, transitions and accomplishments. These times and events are remembered by most people and incorporated into their nostalgic memories. Among some of the standard milestones most of us encounter are our series of firsts; our first loves, first award, first best friend and of course our first car. Sometimes our first car lasts us longer than our first best friend and first love, while often times the first car also fills both of the other roles. But of course that’s not always the case, and even if it isn’t most people still remember fondly their first car, even if it was a major lemon. In fact, it’s very easy to romanticize various other actives, events and firsts, particularly if one’s first car required a lot of work. The temperamental nature of a clunker can frequently be interpreted as a personality, thus embellishing the personalization of the vehicle. Interestingly, we often have greater patience for the temperamental nature of our vehicle than for some of the most significant people in our lives.

photo by Stevo Arnold

It’s not important really what your first car was, how efficient it ran, or how many friends and members of the opposite sex it could fit into it -okay, these things mattered at the time- what matters most is the nostalgic memory of the times. Your first car could have been a Dodge Neon or a Camaro, it could also have been that legendary favorite Ford Mustang. While sometimes the make and model itself can hold a more significant relevance to your love of the vehicle than its actual functioning capacity and reliability, more often than not, we look back on our first car with extremely fond memories. Details like those perfect Custom wheels and the pin stripes are remembered with a sense of pride. And as we purchase our new vehicles throughout the years, we frequently look back on our first vehicle purchase. What is it about these memories that make them so special? Is the car, the people who road in it with us, or the hard work and effort we placed into not only its purchase but upkeep and care? In addition, there’s something about purchasing new Radial tires and other standard features that really gives us a sense of pride and pleasure of ownership. And we all know the major difference that putting new tires on your car will make in its overall smooth ride capacity.

First Car Memories is a post from: Life In Car

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Fixing Up Old Cars

bill — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:05:52 +0000

Looking for something to occupy your summer? Why not take an old car and fix it up? It will give you something to do and will give you a sense of accomplishment once you have finished. Car repair is a hobby of many people and it can be a profitable one as well. Many car repair fanatics will take old cars and fix them up so that they can sell them for more than they bought them for.

If you are looking to fix up an old car the first thing you are going to want to have are auto body repair manuals. Without one it will be difficult to try and figure out which parts go where and what types of parts are needed for that specific car. Each car is different and requires specific parts so it is important that you know what you are looking for. If you have lost your auto repair book, there is a Chilton auto repair manual online which is extremely beneficial if you are prone to losing the books themselves, it will be safely stored on your computer.

Make sure that you set a planned deadline for yourself as it will increase your work ethic. Repairing an old car is not a project that you want to just start and then forget about. It is a project that needs constant effort and attention and is one of those things that if just left, you will never finish. So make a plan in the beginning on what you want to accomplish, which parts you need, and how long you want it to take.

Once you get started, things will start to move along quickly, you will want to do the basic repairs before you try to customize the car. After all the basics have been fixed up, then you can worry about adding custom parts, a new paint job and fixing up the interior.

Fixing up an old car can be extremely self rewarding; it provides a sense of accomplishment while providing a monetary reward as well.

Fixing Up Old Cars is a post from: Life In Car

Grand Prix of Mosport to be a Summer Favorite

bill — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:47:06 +0000

In two weeks, Ontario, Canada will host the Grand Prix of Mosport at the Mosport International Raceway. The race will have race teams from over 15 countries and will feature the American Le Mans Series on July 21- 24. This will be the only race in Canada that the American Le Mans Series will take part in.

The ALMS is the leader in green racing, or environmentally efficient racing, and touts higher end manufacturers than any of the other associations. Some of the manufacturers include, BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and Jaguar. These cars are built for speed as well as looks as they have custom wheels and the best possible racing tires.

For the past three years Michelin has sponsored the Green X Challenge which is a competition that rewards the Series teams for environmental impact and overall performance at each sponsored event. The competition runs throughout the season and points are awarded for clean, fast, and efficient race teams as well as manufacturers.

The race will be four days long and will feature all types of races as well as things to do off the track. There will be autograph sessions, Driver talks, Tech how to’s, vendors who will sell race related merchandise as well as the Open Grid Walk, which allows fans to get up close with the drivers and racing teams right before the start of the race.

Tickets are rather inexpensive and are $70 for a four day pass until July 20. Children under the age of 12 get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket. There are facilities available to camp at the raceway for those who do not want to rent a hotel or would just like to be close to the event. This race will be one of the more exciting races of the summer and it will be in beautiful Ontario. With so much hype about the race, it is bound to be one of the highlights of the summer.

Grand Prix of Mosport to be a Summer Favorite is a post from: Life In Car

Car Show to be Independence Day Highlight

bill — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:27:28 +0000

Car shows have always been a great family event to attend. There is always something for everyone. For the car enthusiast, it is a paradise and for the kids it is a new and exciting experience. There are also those who just like to go along and look at the cars and meet people with the same interests. One this is for sure though, people will drive from all over to engage in cars, camaraderie, and fun.

In Des Moines, Iowa the 20th annual Goodguys Heartland National will take place this weekend. The car show will take over the Iowa State Fairgrounds and run throughout Independence Day weekend.

The show has many different events going on including a “show n’ shine”, an automotive swap meet and vendor tents. You can expect to see all kinds of vintage cars with custom wheels from over two dozen states. These cars will have everything from a custom paint job to radial tires.

If you are looking for more than just the cars, there will be live entertainment, how to seminars and on Saturday night there will be a fireworks display. There will also be a race track for registered participants to take part in. Participants must be 18 years or older and have a valid driver’s license.

The show is one of 21 annual car shows put on by a California based company, but it draws people from over 30 states and some from parts of Canada. The Iowa State Fairgrounds were chosen as a part of a road trip taken by the chairman and founder of Goodguys, Gary Meadors. After an event in Oklahoma, he drove to Des Moines to check out the fairgrounds and decided that it would be a great place to host the event. Since then the Heartland Nationals have been a 4th of July tradition.

Car Show to be Independence Day Highlight is a post from: Life In Car

Roadside Car Repair

bill — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Nothing can spoil a road trip faster than having car problems, especially on the highway in the middle of nowhere. While you may have roadside service like OnStar or AAA, depending on where you are it may take them awhile. So to help you get back on the road faster, it always a good idea to care a Pontiac repair manual with you so that you can make repairs yourself.
One of the first things that you need to consider when doing roadside auto repair is safety. Make sure that your car is pulled far enough off the side of the road that you won’t be hit by passing cars. It’s also important that you put your hazard lights on , especially at night, so that cars know you are pulled off the road.
There are some repairs, like a flat tire, that can be easily fixed with just some basic tools and a jack. There may be other repairs that can be quickly fixed by consulting your repair manual.
Unless you are a professional mechanic, there will probably be times when you don’t have all of the right tools and you are going to need to call a tow truck . But hopefully with the proper repair manual and a little patience your car will be fixed and back on the road in no time.

Roadside Car Repair is a post from: Life In Car

Race Car and Air Navigation Video Games

Dynamic and Permanent Tire Balance

bill — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:25:49 +0000

Wheels and tires must be properly balanced in order to maintain handling of your vehicle. When they are aligned and in balance your car will stay on the road, and your tires will show the signs of wear and tear at a slower rate. In order to achieve dynamic balance of your tires, spin balancing is often the technique that is used by mechanics. This is convenient as it can be done with your tires and wheels, cheap rims and all, still mounted on your vehicle.

This is how most tires are balanced, using these spin machines that are now computerized. Once the wheel is affixed to the machine, the machine speeds up and the computer calculates where the tire is in need of weights to be placed. Many different options for the kinds of weights to be used are available, some are clipped to the edge of the rim, on the inside as the ones placed on the outside wall of the tire can be either easily damaged, or tend to fall off while the car is in motion. Certain wheels made of alloy, such as custom truck wheels, must have the weights attached to the rim’s lip. Other weights used for balancing tires, have an adhesive that sticks to the center of the vehicle’s wheel.

These are convenient to install but again, they are likely to get scraped away by snow, mud and sand. Another way to dynamically balance the tires is by shaving off some of the rubber. But this may remove too much tread in the end, and is much more costly than applying the weights to the rims. Shaving the tires is usually only effective on larger vehicles such as trucks and tractors, vehicles with tires so large they have that rubber to spare. Whichever way you choose to balance your tires, either by the addition of weight, or the shaving off of the rubber, having a vehicle with properly balanced tires will ensure that you have a smoother and a safer ride.

Dynamic and Permanent Tire Balance is a post from: Life In Car