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Don’t you hate it when you try to find ways to save on gas and the first response you get is “drive less”?  If that was an option, I wouldn’t be looking up solutions. Unfortunately, we all depend on our vehicles and we all have to drive. Which means we all have to buy gas. But how can we do all this and still save money?    You can’t make it far in search results without coming across dozens of tips on how to make your gas go further. In case you’ve missed out, here are some of the best t...

Do you have a spare tire in your car? If you have to think twice about that question, I bet you either don’t have one or the spare you have needs attention. Your spare tire is one of the most important accessories on your vehicle, but it is often the most neglected.   If you never check your spare tire, it might not be useful when you need it. Here are some general steps you should take to make sure your spare tire will be ready when disaster strikes.   Think about the most basic thing you che...

Your vehicle is made of many different parts. In fact, a single vehicle can have 30,000 components or more! With so many parts, it’s hard to keep track of what they all do. In order to maintain your vehicle’s performance, your belts are something you should be familiar with. They might not be good at keeping your pants up but the belts in your car play a big role in your vehicle’s performance. The major belts in your vehicle are the serpentine belt and timing belt. Serpentines are responsibl...

How much do you remember about tire maintenance from your driver’s education class? I bet you don’t remember much. Most courses cover the rules of the road, not how to maintain a vehicle. As a new driver, there are many things to learn. Taking care of your car is one of those things. Let’s start with the one part of your vehicle that touches the road, your tires.   That’s right, your tires are the only part of your vehicle that actually touch the road. That makes them an important safety fe...

Let's talk about automotive performance. This term means a lot of things to a lot of people... from better handling, more speed, more off-road or track capability or even better fuel economy. For the purposes of this list, performance means one thing; getting where you are going sooner. Consider the following top pick performance upgrades if you want to put more power to the ground: Cold-air Intake - Factory air boxes are restrictive and are usually more about packaging under the hood than fe...

We are the land of the man (or woman) who has everything. We have electric dog nail trimmers, vacuums that work without your help and phones with more computing power than a fleet of space shuttles. With all this great and not so great stuff, it's getting harder and harder to give a great gift. Before you go flailing around for a gift nobody wants or needs just to say you have something to wrap, consider the gift of safety; a new set of tires for a friend or family member. Maybe you think this ...

It used to be as common as falling leaves in autumn for people to work on their own cars.  And while this red-blooded American pastime has not completely disappeared from our world, the expense and complexity of newer cars make some repairs best left to the professionals.  Here is a quick list of, "Don't try this at home"' auto repairs: 1.  Check Engine Diagnostics - With everyone from big box parts stores to smartphone app developers making it possible to talk to the computer in your car, many...

Ever wonder what the designations stamped on your tire sidewall actually mean? We’d like to break it down for you. Let’s take for instance, “P195/60R15 87S”. This is a full service description of a tire. In this case, “87S” denotes a tire’s load capacity and speed rating. The higher the number, the greater the load capacity – an 87 load capacity means that tire can support 1,201 pounds. Speed ratings range from L (75 mph) through V (149 mph), and an S speed rating means the tire is good...

Every year, about 290 million tires are discarded; of those, about 233 million are recycled in one way or another. Shredded tires can be used for playground surfaces, welcome mats, hot-melt asphalt, bark mulch and even made into building material for “green” construction. But what can you do with your old tires? Here are some ideas: --Fill a tractor tire with sand to make a great sandbox for kids --Hang a tire from a rope as a tire swing --Stack a couple of tires on top of each other, bolt th...

Nobody ever looks forward to a flat tire, and nobody ever says "well, that was a really good time" after having one. You can at least minimize the damage to your tire and danger to yourself, though. Flats vs Blowouts If you get a blowout, you'll know about it right away. Sometimes the tire can fail dramatically, with a bang as loud as a shotgun going off. Other times, it might just be a loss of air and a sudden change in your car's handling, followed by vibration, noise and a pull to one side. ...