Tire Pressure

Happens every fall. One cold morning, I go to start the car, and the tire inflation alert on my dashboard lights up. Something to do with molecules. According to United Tire and Service News,

"Air contracts when the temperature drops—and the air inside your tires is no exception. The reason this occurs has to do with the speed at which air molecules move. The lower the temperature, the slower they become. Slow-moving molecules are smaller, take up less space, and don't push up against the walls of your tires with as much pressure.

 

So, no, your tire pressure isn't low on cold days because your tires haven't technically lost air. (In fact, your tire pressure will likely go right back to normal the minute it gets warmer.) It's dangerous to drive on even mildly deflated tires, though. It can damage your tires, as well as potentially cause an accident, so always err on the side of caution and give your tire pressure a quick check to be sure. If they genuinely need more air, go ahead and top them off to be on the safe side."

Gem

 

Old & New

 

Tires

 

Dry-rotted and wearing thin, it was time again to replace my car tires. But which tires to get? And where to get them?

Those are the questions I faced on Thursday. Friday, I finally decided against simply asking my dealership to answer them. Instead, I went down to my friendly Goodyear Auto Service Center where, I think, I got a better deal. Better selection and better add-ons, like free wheel balancing and rotations as well as three years of free wheel alignments. The latter isn't so important, as I rarely need wheel alignments. Still, all of that came with maybe $100 off the price I probably would have paid at the dealership. So maybe it really does pay to shop around?

↑ UP

 

Bosch

Seeing that Packard yesterday inspired me to install some parts on my own humble Yaris, beginning with new windshield wipers. According to one source I consulted, you should replace your wipers after 50 hours of service. But since that can be a pretty hard figure to calculate exactly, I prefer my method, which is to replace them whenever I feel like or when they begin to squeak or chatter. 

Which wipers to buy? Well, I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference, since we should be replacing them more often than we do. Still, I've had a fairly good experience these last two go arounds with Bosch wipers. This time I bought the more expensive Envision wipers only because they came with a 10% discount AND a free gallon of windshield wiper fluid. (Not sure what I'm going to with that since I already have most of a gallon left. But . . . it seemed like a  good deal, so I went with it.) Here's what they looked like still in the box. BTW, I had to order the rear wiper blade myself through Amazon, since the attendant said her store didn't carry them. Not sure what THAT was about! I think she just didn't look very carefully at her inventory list.

Wishing you all clearer vision of the road ahead. :-)

Packard

 

Seeing this was like stepping into a movie set in the 1930s.

MGA

 

Gingerbread House

 

Eisleben, Germany