Do You Need New Tires?

Car tires are typically rated to last anywhere from about 40,000 miles and up.  Some performance tires are much lower, while other tires are built for long-lasting wear. Do you need new tires?  In addition to checking out the tread wear indicators (TWIs; if the bars between treads are the same height as treads, you definitely need new tires!), the old coin tests also work well.

Most tires start out with between 8/32 and 10/32 of an inch of tire tread depth. To help deal with such small increments of measurement, certain tire tread depth and tire wear indicator tests were developed for the average person to be able to check their tires.

Believe it or not, coins are great tire wear indicator. For example, just about everyone knows the tire tread depth “penny test.” Tires need to be looked over periodically to measure tread depth, and the penny test is fine in a pinch. It is done by holding a penny heads-up, upside-down and sticking it into the deepest part of the tire tread. If the tread comes up to the top of Abe Lincoln’s head, it means the tire still has 2/32” of useable tread, the legal minimum in most states.

There is also a quarter test that shows when the tread is safer (for hyrdroplaning. etc.).  

Similar to the “penny test,” the “quarter test” is a tire tread depth test that’s done by holding a quarter upside-down and sticking George Washington’s head into the deepest part of the tire tread depth. If tread covers Washington’s head, this shows that the tire has at least 4/32” of tread left and is still perfectly useable. Performance will not be as good as new tires would be when driving over standing water or in other adverse conditions, but it is not as severely compromised as it could be. In terms of tire wear indicators, if your tires pass the “quarter test,” the tire tread depth should still be relatively safe.

Read more here:

http://www.thetirechoice.com/learning-center/tire-tread-depth-tests.aspx

Chevy Volt and Electric Cars

The Chevy Volt has made news because its drivers average about 1,000 miles between fill-ups.  But what does this mean?

• The Chevy Volt can go about 35 miles on a fully charged battery.  Then, the car operates on gas (it has a 9.3 gallon gas tank).  
• Thus, the average Volt driver drives about 111 miles per gallon. 
• Some drivers go about 4,000 miles between fill-ups, because they drive short distances and recharge the car frequently.  
• In most of the U.S., electricity costs less than the equivalent usage of gas, per mile.  (about 1/3 the cost).  

Read more here:

http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/02/autos/volt_1000_miles/index.htm

And how does the Volt perform in crash tests?  Due to the extra weight of battery packs, the Volt, and Leaf (another electric car) -- perform well in crash tests.

Read more here:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/26/news/companies/leaf_volt_crash_tests/index.htm?iid=EAL

4-Wheel-Drive and All-Wheel-Drive Vehicles

With the snow storm hitting many parts of the U.S., many folks are talking about four-wheel and all-wheel drive cars.  Here's some info...

Four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive systems are becoming popular options not only for SUVs, but cars as well. All SUVs and pickup trucks offer 4WD or AWD systems, and even some compact cars, like the Mitsubishi Lancer and Toyota Matrix, offer available AWD systems. Oftentimes, more than one system is available for any given vehicle, leaving consumers puzzled.

With so many options to choose from, it's easy for drivers to get confused by a barrage of acronyms, each more meaningless than the last. For most shoppers, there are three basic options: Full-time 4WD, part-time 4WD, or AWD. Although each system has its own merits, one thing is certain--any 4WD system will make your vehicle less fuel efficient and more complicated to repair and maintain. In many situations, it'll also add quite a few dollars to your vehicle's purchase price. 


http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/your-ride-4wd-vs-awd-cga.htm

List of cars:
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/your-ride-4wd-vs-awd-cga1.htm