Monroe Auto Repair

Yes, there are plenty of traffic laws in certain areas that don’t make much sense. Here, though, we present a collection of traffic laws from other parts of the world that are just bizarre:--In Thailand, the law states that no driver, male or female, shall ever drive without a shirt.--In South Africa, “the driver of a vehicle on a public road shall stop such vehicle at the request or on the signal of a person leading or driving any bovine animal, horse, ass, mule, sheep, goat, pig, or ostrich on such road.” Or face a $500 fine.--Splashing a pedestrian with water is illegal in Japan.--In Montana, you can forget about driving with a sheep in the truck unless the sheep has a chaperone... and the state of Alabama had the presence of mind to make it illegal to drive while blindfolded.--On the island of Cyprus, it’s illegal to raise a hand from the steering wheel. No waving at anyone, no eating or drinking anything while you drive.--Danish drivers are required to chec ... read more

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 for 112 mph. W, Y, and Z-speed rated tires are available for extreme performance cars and are rated as high as 186 mph.As for the rest of the information:--“P” denotes Passenger Tire--195 is the tire’s width from sidewall to sidewall... in millimeters--60 is the aspect ratio... the proportion of the height of the tire cross-section as compared to the width of the tread area--“R” stands for Radial construction--15 is the whe ... read more

You rely on your car every day, and you have a lot of money tied up in it. It’s probably one of the more valuable things you own…so make sure you get the most out of that investment:Oil changes: Changing your motor oil at regular intervals will ensure long engine life by cutting wear and friction and helping to prevent the buildup of sludge and carbon on internal engine assemblies.Cooling system: Older cast-iron engines could overheat with no serious consequences, but not so with today’s aluminum blocks and heads. Your engine’s coolant has a finite life and should be changed and flushed at regular intervals to prevent accumulation of scale and corrosion in the radiator, heater core and water pump.Finish: A good coat of wax does more than keep your car looking good. It also helps prevent rust from forming, helps to repel debris and dirt and keeps the paint in good shape.Filters: The air filter is crucial to protecting your engine from dirt and particulates ... read more

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 them together and paint them a cheerful color, then use them as a planter--Lay two rows of tires next to each other, somewhat staggered, and use them for broken-field running as part of football conditioning--Bolt two tires together, then affix a round glass top for an instant patio table--Tires can be hung or slightly embedded in the ground and used as planters (note: don’t grow vegetable plants in tires)--With a little imagination and some other building materials, you can u ... read more

Ever think about all the different vehicles that use rubber tires? Tractors, industrial equipment, everything else that rolls on rubber? Each specialized type of tire requires a specialized design for its specific purpose. Aircraft tires, for instance, have to be very robust and handle a great deal of weight and stress, but for only a short period of time. Aircraft tires are often filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen, for more stable inflation levels, and are designed with specialized fusible plugs which provide a safer failure mode (rather than a sudden, catastrophic tire explosion).   Off-the-road tires, for vehicles such as graders or mining equipment, operate at low speeds but have to be able to withstand severe service conditions while handling heavy loads. They’re designed with tough, thick carcasses to resist cuts, tears, gouges and punctures while still providing decent control and ride quality for the operator. Agricultural tires are designed for good traction ... read more