Monroe Auto Repair

1. For performance and handling, the trend has long been toward fatter tires with a bigger footprint. That’s starting to change, though. Skinnier tires mean lower rolling resistance and better fuel economy, as well as a smaller aerodynamic profile. While fatter tires do handle better, tire engineers are making up the difference by designing skinny tires with a stickier tread formulation for traction and cornering ability.2. Static electricity used to be a real concern for vehicles; if you’re old enough, you may remember seeing station wagons with a “ground strap” dragging along the pavement. It’s become a concern again, with newer tread compounds cutting back on the amount of carbon black in newer tires. The solution? Many tires are now designed with an “antenna strip” of more conductive material down the center of the tread, providing a positive electrical contact between tire and pavement.3. Like with cars, tire manufacturers are doing everyt ... read more

We know that a lot of drivers are working pretty hard to make a dollar go farther and that the outlay for a full set of four tires – even inexpensive tires – can be considerable. That’s why we run across drivers pretty often who ask if it’s okay to just replace a pair of tires, then buy the other pair when they can afford them.The answer is…yes, but…You’ll really need to pay attention to the size of the set of tires that you’ve already got and go with that exact same size of tires for your new pair. Having mismatched sizes of tires on your vehicle can result in squirrelly and unpredictable handling and ride quality. If your existing tires are all-season, go with all-season tires. If they’re winter tires, go with winter tires. Ideally, you should even have the same tread pattern and design on the new tires.Also, the new tires will need to go on the rear, and you can then take the tires that have the most tread left and put them ... read more

So your vehicle’s been sitting for a while…you get in it, start the engine and pull out of the driveway when you notice a hard, rough (but very regular) vibration that only gets worse with speed. It doesn’t feel like it’s coming from the driveline or suspension – so what is it?It could be that the tires have developed flat spots.With the weight of the vehicle pressing down on the tires for long periods, a section of the rubber and belts can become softer (or harder) than the rest of the tire. This can be exacerbated by cold weather, or just by parking on a cold concrete floor.Low-profile tires with short sidewalls can be more prone to flat-spotting, as can tires with an H or higher speed rating. In most cases, you can just grit your teeth and drive and the flat spots will work their way out of the tires…but not always. In some severe cases, the flat-spotting is permanent.So, what can you do?There are all sorts of old-wives’-tales about parking ... 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

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