201 Street » Automotive

Cars as Heirlooms

Brody — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 23:53:01 +0000

Tradition says that families will pass down important objects from generation to generation. These heirlooms may be valuable items like jewelry or artwork or they may be items of little financial worth but that are imbued with great emotional and sentimental value. Heirlooms may be things like an engagement ring being passed down to the oldest son or a wedding gown worn by generations of daughters. In recent times cars have become heirlooms too.

There is a difference between a hand me down car and a true heirloom auto. The former is likely to be a car that is no longer needed or even valued by the owner. It may be in good working order and have a new set of toyo tires , but for whatever reason the owner is done with it — usually because they have replaced it with a newer and better car. They give the old car to a family member who can’t afford to buy anything else. Some of these cars can pass through all the siblings in a family and then be handed off to nephews and nieces before it completely breaks down.

An actual heirloom is going to be a vintage or antique car. It will have vintage wheel works and have been kept in peak condition, both the engine and the body. It was a treasured part of someone’s life and they hold on to it until they die. When they pass it on to the next generation of owner, they will select a recipient who recognizes the value of the car and will treat it with the same love and attention until it is time to pass it on yet again.

Cars as Heirlooms is a post from: 201 Street

Self Help for Car Maintenance: Brakes

Flat Tire: To Repair or to Replace?

Brody — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:24:19 +0000

So you get a flat tire. This is an inconvenience but provided you have good spare, and it is not the middle of the night on a lonely desert road, it is a relatively easy problem to solve. You may get a bit dirty, but you will be back on your way in no time. The question then becomes, do you buy a new tire to replace it or can you simply have it repaired or patched up. The answer to this question of course varies on what shape the tire is in, and what it was that caused it to go flat. Many antique tires have inner tubes, just like the tires of a bicycle, and if the tire was simply popped, the inner tube can be replaced.

On the tires of modern car makes and models, such as Nitto tires or Hankook tires, you may need to take the tire to a mechanic shop or a tire store and have the technicians assess whether the tire is too damaged to be repaired. Some times it is obvious, as when you experience a blow out or you see that the tire is gashed or torn. Also, if your tire was worn a bit in the first place, if the tread is shallow or it is showing cracks on the sidewall, it is best to just have it replaced. The best way to assess a tire that has been punctured by a nail or another smaller sharp object, it is recommended that you remove the tire from the wheel. Many times it is easy to the culprit. The shiny head of a screw or nail may be visible. At this time is good to check the rest of the tires as many times they too may have nails and have just not gone flat yet.

There are a couple of ways to fix a puncture hole in a tire. The best way is to take the tire to the shop and have them patch it. The patches work great, and at around $15 they are less expensive than buying a new tire. Another solution is to plug the tire, but this should always be acknowledged as a temporary fix. This is a convenient temporary solution however, as you do not need to remove the tire from the rim. However, once you get to where you are going, or have the time, the best thing to do is to take it in and have the plug replaced with a patch. A flat tire is a pain in the neck, but it does not have to mean the end of the life of the tire.

Flat Tire: To Repair or to Replace? is a post from: 201 Street

Self Help for Car Maintenance: Brakes

Brody — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:23:44 +0000

There are quite a few things I hadn’t thought of about brakes. I have been reading our two car repair manuals, just so I can talk a little more shop with my husband since he has become interested in maintaining our own cars. All car owners know that it is important to keep your breaks serviced. It says in the Pontiac Sunfire repair manual to remember to also check your parking break and actually walks through how to adjust the break itself. Each model’s parking brake is different I found out when I looked into it in the jeep grand cherokee repair manual for our other vehicle. I don’t understand most of the difference to be honest, but that is what I get for delving into something without understanding all the basics.

Another thing about the brakes I didn’t understand was why ninety percent of the brakes is in the front of the car. This results in the majority of the brake pads you go through are in the front of your car also. This was never the impression I got from watching commercials or listening to mechanics. I did gain an understanding of when the best time is to replace the brake pads however and it turns out I’ve been wearing down my break pads way too far. When you can actually feel like the car is having a harder time stopping, if you are hearing the breaks squeal, the brake pad is probably below 1/4 of an inch and could be damaging your car. It’s best to just look at the brake pads every so often and decide if they need replacing by the visual cues. This can keep you from having to pay for really costly repairs later. The break pads really should not get lower than 1/8 of an inch.

I do feel like I’ve learned a little in these past few days and I know my husband hopes that by us learning this we can save some money on costly repairs later. I really suggest picking up a repair manual for your own car.

Self Help for Car Maintenance: Brakes is a post from: 201 Street

Miranda the Mechanic: Tire Whisperer

Brody — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:47:16 +0000

Tires are the symbol of the modern world. The wheel has been around a while, but tires demonstrate that change from things around for a while to improving on those things. Everything about tires are modern, from the synthetics that go into making them to the mechanical process through which they are made where hardly a single person touches them during their in utero state. The perfection with which they are designed is modern too. The grooves in them might look like some ancient language stretched out on a cylindrical scroll made of rubber for future generations to scrye from, but the grooves are there to make the drive smooth for the navigator and the passengers. But it is a kind of language. The grooves in tires are whispering to the road and telling it to make the drive smooth and good for their people.

Miranda Donne helped me to buy new tires . It was a couple of months ago. We had met at a local theatre production by some stray cats. It was a good show, but I forgot the name of the show but not the meeting. Miranda was perhaps the most fascinating person I had met. She was an auto mechanic with cherry bomb red nails. She was a theatre buff with a collection of trashy pulp films from the seventies. She was a vegan who celebrated Nation Bacon Day because according to her, you had to indulge in the bad at least once in while, or at least the slightly less than good: it was healthy for you. She can be pseudo philosophic like that a lot.

When we went to get my tires, she knew exactly what I wanted. That was really amazing to me because I didn’t even know what I wanted. But she was right. She found me the perfect set of tires and even installed them for me at her shop. I walked around and around my car until she told me stop because it was making her dizzy. She said it reminded her of the way tires start to whirl around so fast on the road you have a hard time reading the grooves. It made me wonder if the language of the road and tire was better than our language because it was so fast and that was what the modern is about: going harder, better, faster, stronger . We went to a play afterwards. Me with my dizzy walking and her with her red nails and oil tip manicure. I forgot that play too.

Miranda the Mechanic: Tire Whisperer is a post from: 201 Street

Cleaning Your Car Battery Yourself

Brody — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:28:15 +0000

I found out the hard away that it is necessary to ensure that your car battery, and the cables remain clean of corrosion. After spending all night waiting tables, I came out late, and tried to start my truck. Nothing. Now, I know very little about DIY auto repair, that is short for “do it yourself”, and when it comes to cars I fill own tank, and check my own oil. That’s about the extent of my “DIY” capabilities. But I popped the hood anyway, thinking I might be able to magically figure out what was wrong. Nope.

Within a few moments, one of the restaurant patrons that was dining on the patio, had jumped the fence in his nice suit and headed over to take a look at my truck. As it turned out, he was once a mechanic and still enjoyed working on cars. He pulled his truck up, and got out his tool box. He knew his way around a small engine, repair manuals for this guy were not needed. With a flash light he discovered the problem at once. I had been driving around with my battery and my cables covered with corrosion.

It was easy to see once he showed me, corrosion is a white layer of crust that builds up around the posts of the battery and when enough of it is present you will not be able to start your car, truck or motor cycle. Manuals are something I would soon be investing in. It does not take much to make certain that your battery, the cables and the posts remain clean. There are cleaning solutions, and together with the solution the only tool necessary is a metal brush, much like a toothbrush, but much tougher. The man cleaned my car battery and then jumped my car for me. He did this all on a 118 degree Phoenix summer night, in a nice suit. I made it home that night, with my truck, and I have never forgotten the kindness of that stranger, nor have I ever neglected taking a look at my battery from time to time.

Cleaning Your Car Battery Yourself is a post from: 201 Street

Know the Basics When it is Time to Buy New Tires

Brody — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:12:20 +0000

When one finds that it is time to replace their worn out tires with new ones, there are a couple key factors that will ensure that they are purchasing the right ones for their vehicle. It is important to understand the basics of the tire in general. This will help one in choosing not only the right tires for their car, but the right tires for the environment in which one lives as well as the right choice for the way in which one drives. Driving habits can add wear and tear to tires without one even being aware of it.

So, a tire is compressed air surrounded by a flexible rubber container. This simple device carries the weight of the vehicle and is one of the most important factors to ensure that a driver is able to stop on time, is to move forward, and to cushion the vehicle from and imperfections in the road. The inner liner of a tire is important as it gives shape to the tire and it holds the air inside, a pretty important job. The steel belts are then place on top of the liner. The belts serve to ensure the stability of the tire and to keep the tire face flat, as with tread that is as flat as possible, more of the tire is in contact with the road. This increases the traction and ensures a safer ride.

Then there is the tread. Different treads offer different attributes. Softer treads will absorb the bumps and the jars of the road, while treads that are more rigid provide the driver with better handling, especially when taking sharp turns and a better response to steering capabilities. When it is time to buy new tires, check the code on the side of the wall. On the side of every tire, be it a motor cycle tire, truck tire or car tire, will have a code that will outline the carrying capacity of that tire. The carrying capacity of a tire is extremely important, and one must be certain that the rating for that capacity is as high as the tires that are being replaced. This knowledge will not only serve to ensure that one will succeed in purchasing the right tires for their cars, but that they will remain safe and secure on their journeys.

Know the Basics When it is Time to Buy New Tires is a post from: 201 Street

Learning from Small Engine Repair Manuals

Brody — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:33:12 +0000

The key to taking a long distance road trip, especially when traveling in an older vehicle is DIY auto repair. This is just another way to say do it yourself, for when stuck out on a road in the middle of nowhere, the knowledge one will have gained from reading up on small engine repair manuals will come in very handy. Small problems with an engine may seem very big when there is not a mechanic’s shop in sight, and could ruin an otherwise fabulous vacation.

It isn’t that one should learn everything, all at once, but the ability to know how to, and what to, inspect on one’s vehicle before heading out, will safe a lot of headaches down the road. And just a little bit of knowledge about car maintenance will help. Keep the manuals in a convenient location, say in the glove box, so that they are easy to find when trying to diagnose the issues that may come up on the back roads of Kentucky or in the middle of the Ozarks.

And when dealing with many issues of car engines on the road, often times these are minor repairs that one can accomplish on their own, just by following the suggestions in the vehicle’s manual. Same holds true for motorcycle manuals. Many a journeyman, or woman traveling the open road via the motorcycle has studied up and will be able to fix their own bike should they need. It’s putting to use the practical chapters of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance“.

And this knowledge does not only come in handy on long trips, but in day to day life and driving as well. Independence is gained. Independence from what? one may ask. Independence from the worry, and independence from the dependence on car mechanics who may take advantage of those who are unsuspecting, and just want their car fixed. With this knowledge one will be able to fix the small problems, and will know exactly what the big problems are. This way, even when one can not fix those big problems, one will at least know what they are when they take their car or motorcycle in to someone who can.

Learning from Small Engine Repair Manuals is a post from: 201 Street

Best Motorcycle Tires

Brody — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:59:52 +0000

Both the tires of a motorcycle and the engine, are responsible for the best possible operation and handling of a bike, as well as for the safety. Some people wonder which is most important to them, but to be honest, both are. The ride of the bike is determined by the engine and quality performance tires such as those produced by the Toyo Tire Corporation. In general, tire size should always be the proper size for the make of the bike. The tire bias, the style of the tread as well as the materials used in production should one consider all the aspects for the making of the optimal performance and the life of the tire as well as the safety of the driver.

As opposed to the tire of a car, which should all be the same size and style, the front and rear ends of a motorbike have different functions, so often times the tires are different from front to back. The rate of acceleration and the power of the bike is under the control of the rear wheel while the front wheel takes most charge of a bikes capacity to effectively brake. Some bikes have close to an eighty percent difference between the capacity of the two tires.

Another difference between the front and the rear wheels is that the back tire needs to be designed to withstand the lean and tilt of the bike, while the front tire is of course, more affected by turns. And while all four tires of a car bear the weight of the vehicle, it is the back tire of a motorcycle that carries most of that weight. All of these aspects must be considered when one is deciding on and purchasing the tires for their bike. There are various forms of tires, from racing Cooper tire, to sport tires, and touring tires to cruisers. It just depends on the make and model of the bike, as well as the intention of the driver, as to which is the best for ultimatum performance.

Best Motorcycle Tires is a post from: 201 Street

Check tire pressure

Brody — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:24:19 +0000

Did you know that your tire pressure could be really impacting what kind of gas mileage your car gets?

Tire pressure is the pounds per square inch measure of the amount of air in a car, truck or SUVs tires. The only thing tire pressure is secondary to in maintaining the safety of a vehicle is the brakes. Car tires are that important to the overall safety of your car.

In the summer months, tire pressure is even more important because high temperatures can cause tires to burst more easily. And they are more susceptible to bursting if the tire pressure is not correct.

This goes for every type of tire from cars to truck wheels. Not having proper tire pressure could result in a serious accident. And what a shame, after you paid so much for your brand new truck rims. All kidding aside,

Americans waste more fuel by not having the proper tire pressure than any other way you could think of.

Think about it, your tires are the only thing that touches the road. And if your air pressure is too high, less of the tire will be reaching the road. If your air pressure is too low, too much of the tire may be touching the road, and either scenario can result in catastrophic consequences, not just poor gas mileage.

To make sure your tires are at the correct tire pressure, buy yourself a tire pressure gauge, or sometimes they are available inside gas stations if you just ask the attendant.

Then open your door and look for a sticker that is affixed to the driver’s side door, the sticker there will tell you what the manufacturer finds to be the correct tire pressure. Follow these directions and you should receive optimal performance in your car tires. Check your tire pressure regularly for a smoother and more fuel-efficient ride.

Check tire pressure is a post from: 201 Street

Hugh Jackman Hits the Road

Brody — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:15:57 +0000

Hugh Jackman finally passed his driving test in the U.S. The Aussie actor recently cleared his busy schedule to head to the Department of Motor Vehicles in New York’s Staten Island for a road exam.

And a witness tells the New York Daily News the X-Men star “passed with flying colours” – before celebrating the milestone by buying a sandwich and a handful of lottery tickets at the nearby Corporate Grind deli.

It’s unsure what vehicle he plans on driving, but he did arrive to the world premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine on a Harley Davidson motorcycle with cheers from the crowd. He should be able to get a top of the line vehicle with a fantastic wheel and tire package or custom tires as his film has become a hit worldwide.

Jackman has had a great year as he just hosted the Academy Awards in February and was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine in November. Jackman needs his drivers license for his next film directed by Neil Marshall. Jackman’s next role is as a Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman and discovers that a contract has been put out on him. The movie, fittingly enough, is called Drive.

Hugh Jackman Hits the Road is a post from: 201 Street